''Aletes humilis'' is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names Colorado aletes and Larimer aletes. It is native to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in the United States; it is also known from

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, but there are no recent collections there.''Aletes humilis''.
The Nature Conservancy. ,

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

regarded ''Aletes'' as a synonym of ''

Cymopterus ''Cymopterus'' is a genus of perennial plants in the family Apiaceae native to western North America. They are commonly known as the springparsleys.

'', but did not provide a name in that genus for ''Aletes humilis'', stating only that the name is a synonym. This plant forms a mound or cushion up to 10 centimeters tall by 20 wide. The thick, leathery, bright green leaves have toothed edges.''Aletes humilis''.
Center for Plant Conservation. The leaves have a

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, lea ...

-like or "soapy" scent.Moore, L. and S. Friedley
''Aletes humilis'' Coult. & Rose (Colorado aletes): A Technical Conservation Assessment.
Prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project. September 24, 2004. The short

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

has yellow flowers. This plant grows in cracks and crevices on rock outcrops and cliffs. The habitat is dry. The vegetation is a sparse mix of ponderosa pine (''Pinus ponderosa'') and Douglas-fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii''). Other plants in the habitat include quaking aspen, fivepetal cliffbush kinnikinnick,

common juniper ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the c ...

, wax currant, littleflower alumroot, bigflower cinquefoil, mountain muhly, and needle and thread grass. This species was first discovered in

Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denver. ...

, in the 1890s. Today there are about 39 known occurrences.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Aletes humilis''
Apioideae Flora of Colorado Flora of Wyoming Endemic flora of the United States Taxa named by John Merle Coulter {{Apiaceae-stub