Wild Flowers:  Sky Pilot

During the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to do high elevation trail maintenance in Colorado.  I was enthralled by the wildflowers.  I thought I would highlight some of my favorites, one at a time, so that you could learn a bit about each one.  The information comes from both my experiences and the book “Guide to Colorado Wildflowers” by G.K. Guennel.  I really found this book helpful in unmasking the identities of these beautiful flowers.  I took the pictures; they don’t do the flowers justice.  If you think my picture is good, go out and see them in person, it’s a hundred times better.  Happy Trails!

Sky Pilot, also known as Sticky Polemonium or Skunkweed, is a member of the Phlox family.

The Sky Pilot’s flowers are fragrant, funnel-shaped, and in tight, terminal clusters.  They have 5 blue or lavender (or sometimes white), roundish corolla lobes and a densely hairy calyx.

When hiking in Colorado, look for the Sky Pilot in alpine areas, 11,500 feet to 14,400 feet in elevation.  Be sure to inspect tundra slopes and crests, boulder fields and disturbed meadows, and along trails to catch a glimpse of them. 

To catch them while flowering, plan a hike to the high country anytime the conditions allow from June to August.  I saw this flower while inspecting one of our trail crew’s work on the re-route on Mt. Yale.  I wasn’t expecting to see it but when I did, it put a big smile on my face.