During our Spring Break trip to the St. Francois Mountains, we couldn’t resist going to see Taum Sauk Mountain and hiking the trail down to see Mina Sauk Falls. The trail goes down the face of an igneous glade in full sun. The footing was a bit treacherous and my knees were tired from hikes earlier in the week. I took a moment’s rest on a ledge about midway down and was quite pleased to see this plant. I’m not 100% sure about the ID. I know it’s a Yellow Fumewort of some sort. And I’m positive it’s Corydalis sp. But the specific ID as Slender Fumewort or Corydalis micrantha is a best guess. Apparently they’re pretty hard to ID without getting out your books and some glasses.

The color was magnificent. Bright and clear and golden yellow. It was particularly nice against the bluish green leaves that are typical of the fumeworts. This plant was growing in full sun on a glade. I only saw this one plant in this one location, so I don’t think they’re plentiful.