You don’t see this plant everywhere, but today it just carpeted the ground on a flat-topped ridge over which I was traveling. I enjoyed sitting in this large clump (in the foreground) while eating my lunch.
But while it seemed to be everywhere up on top, there were hardly any berries. Those I found on plants which are growing down off the side of the ridge, on the northern slope, near a small seep of water; and quite nice ones, too. Seeing them always reminds me of several passages in The Sun Singer.
Occasionally mixed in with the kinnikinnik were some small plants, some kind of holly, I believe, and the colors caught my eye. I would have to guess that the areas that are still bright green have been sheltered from the frost by the other leaves (our nighttime temperatures have been in the teens lately).
Montana Outdoors 
As usual, gorgeous! š
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Comment by narziss — November 3, 2007 @ 8:49 am
Thanks, narziss! Just a couple more glimpses of the beauty of fall before it gets covered up by snow.
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Comment by montucky — November 3, 2007 @ 10:05 am
not familiar w/ this. can you eat these?
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Comment by silken — November 3, 2007 @ 10:00 pm
The berries are frequently eaten by grouse, and they are edible, although I don’t care much for the taste. I would love to find them if I were lost in the high country though. In “The Sun Singer” they made bread from them.
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Comment by montucky — November 3, 2007 @ 10:45 pm
The bottom picture looks like lovely, colorful, deadly weapons.
I’m not much of berry lover, but the pictures are wonderful.
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Comment by Pinhole — November 4, 2007 @ 8:24 am
The holly looks mean, but those teeth are not very stiff at all: they’re just for show. I tend to view the presence of both of these plants as a sign of a health ecology in that area.
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Comment by montucky — November 4, 2007 @ 9:30 am
I love stumbling across wild holly. Most of the holly we’ve seen in Oregon is bright red, growing in open sun. Your blog is a treat!
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Comment by Photo Buffet — November 4, 2007 @ 9:48 am
Thanks, Photo Buffet!
I’ve always loved to see wild holly too, from the desert holly in the Arizona high desert to that growing up here. Kind of like having a friend wherever you go!
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Comment by montucky — November 4, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Neat image and subject Terry.
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Comment by Bernie Kasper — November 4, 2007 @ 6:48 pm
Thanks Bernie. I really don’t know if these are found outside of the Rockies or not.
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Comment by montucky — November 4, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
One of my favourite plants. And I like your choice of spelling, for then you can say the word is spelt the same forwards and backwards.
Malcolm
“The Sun Singer”
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Comment by knightofswords — November 7, 2007 @ 9:30 pm
Whenever I see kinnikinnik I think of the time when I was very young and tagging along with my Dad on a hunt and he showed it to me and explained all about it. It has always been special to me for that reason.
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Comment by montucky — November 7, 2007 @ 11:15 pm