Hymenoxys grandiflora. Synonyms: Rydbergia grandiflora,Tetraneuris grandiflora.
(Old Man of the Mountain)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Alpine. Tundra. Summer.
Trail above Bridal Veil Creek, Telluride, July 23, 2009 and
Lizard Head Trail, June 11, 2008.

Click for the view that Old Man of the Mountain has.

Alpine. Tundra. Summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, June 17, 2004.

With flowers so large they often obscure the stems and leaves, Old Man of the Mountain cannot be missed -- unless you don’t hike above tree-line.  On the open alpine tundra, this plant is abundant and very obvious.  Flower stalks range from just a few inches tall, as in these early flowers shown at left, to ten inches tall in July and August flowers.  Old Man of the Mountain is often abundant on alpine tundra and it is a treat to see its huge sunflowers, most of which always face east.  The stems and leaves of Old Man are a distinctive very densely hairy green.

Alpine flowers are a special breed with a special beauty.

Alpine. Tundra. Summer.
Lizard Head Trail, August 18, 2005.

The genus name honors a giant in Colorado botany, Per Axel Rydberg, who wrote Flora of the Rocky Mountains and Adjacent Plains in 1917. (More biographical information.)

Hymenoxys grandiflora was first collected for science by John Fremont in the early 1840s in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and it was named Actinella grandiflora by Torrey and Gray in 1845.  In 1898 Edward Greene named it Rydbergia grandiflora, and in 1980 K. L. Parker named it Hymenoxys grandiflora, the name presently accepted by The Flora of North America. Tetraneuris grandiflora, was also given by Parker.

Alpine. Tundra. Summer.
Sharkstooth, July 14, 2006.

Research over the past few decades by Dr. David Inouye with the Rocky Mountain Biological Institute in Gothic Colorado, indicates that Hymenoxys grandiflora grows for 12-15 years without flowering.  Once it does flower, it dies.

Click for the view that Old Man of the Mountain enjoys.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Hymenoxys grandiflora