rock-spiraea, Holodiscus dumosus

Rock-spiraea is a shrub that grows in western canyons, in this case along the Gunnison River in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. And it does get kind of dark down there. On our side of the river these shrubs were just beginning to bloom, and the result was this somewhat disappointing image. On the sunnier side things were in full bloom (see the blog). But there was no question of getting across fifty feet or so of river. The Isleta, Paiute and Shoshoni people used tea from rock-spiraea leaves to treat colds, digestive issues and sometimes other problems. Rock-spiraea can be found in AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, and BC. Montrose Co CO, 6/21/13. Rose family, Rosaceae.