May 20, 2011
Wildflowers of spring (2)
Kinnikinnik ~ Arctostaphylos uva-ursi – 5/6
Holboell’s Rockcress ~ Arabis holboellii – 5/6
Blue clematis ~ Clematis occidentalis – This is a vine and it climbs into the lower branches of nearby trees. The blossoms often look like bluebirds flying through the forest. – 5/10
Utah Honeysuckle ~ Lonicera utahensis – 5/13
Heart-leaved Arnica bud ~ Arnica cordifolia – 5/13
Western Larch ~ Larix occidentalis – (Not a flower, just the beauty of new leaves on our deciduous conifer!) – 5/13
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Montana Outdoors 
Excellent. I especially love the clemantis. Thank you for sharing your love of nature’s beauty for those of us who don’t live around these beautiful blooms.
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Comment by Anonymous — May 21, 2011 @ 7:10 am
The Clematis is really pretty along some of our canyon trails. Very whimsical touches to the green foliage around them and large enough to be easily seen.
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Comment by montucky — May 21, 2011 @ 7:58 am
I just love that you share the botanical names with us! Thanks.
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Comment by Tammy McLeod — May 21, 2011 @ 8:23 am
Thanks Tammy!
A little caveat here: I try my best at identification, but I doubt that I’m anywhere near 100% accurate. At least if someone is interested in these plants my ID’s will give them a place to start.
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Comment by montucky — May 21, 2011 @ 8:46 am
I just learned about the larch a couple of months ago – a woman in the Swiss Alps mentioned it!
Just when I think you can’t find anything more spectacular, you do. that’s partly location and partly your eye, of course. The rockcress is splendid.
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Comment by shoreacres — May 21, 2011 @ 10:01 am
There is so much beauty in our National Forests! This time of year especially, they seem to be celebrating and showing off their best stuff!
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Comment by montucky — May 21, 2011 @ 10:28 am
Pretty, pretty, pretty!
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Comment by mitambien — May 21, 2011 @ 10:30 am
I love seeing them and especially the settings in which they grow.
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Comment by montucky — May 21, 2011 @ 12:34 pm
Absolutely beautiful!! I particularly like the Kinnikinnik!
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Comment by Barbara — May 21, 2011 @ 11:12 am
The Kinnikinnik flowers are tiny, but I think they are very pretty. It’s a very pretty plant, with dark green leaves and bright red berries in the fall and winter. I have some very good memories that involve it.
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Comment by montucky — May 21, 2011 @ 12:36 pm
I think maybe you have some new ones here… unposted at least from years past, no? I like the Kinnikinnik too!
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Comment by kcjewel — May 21, 2011 @ 8:15 pm
I think in years past I have posted photos of all but the Rockcress, but these are all recent photos. I see them differently from year to year.
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Comment by montucky — May 21, 2011 @ 9:03 pm
All of the are beautiful. I really like the Blue clematis and Heart-leaved Arnica bud—great capture as it seems to be coming right at you. 🙂
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Comment by Anonymous — May 21, 2011 @ 8:28 pm
Both of those flowers are very photogenic, which accounts for why I have so many photos of them. The Arnica blooms in great patches and make quite a statement.
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Comment by montucky — May 21, 2011 @ 9:06 pm
Oops! That is me, #7 anonymous. I forgot to fill in the blanks. LOL
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Comment by Anna — May 21, 2011 @ 8:30 pm
That’s OK… I do that too.
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Comment by montucky — May 21, 2011 @ 9:08 pm
Oh my… the Utah honeysuckle is just fabulous with the sheen to the tiny blossoms and the absolutely perfect focus! The rock cress and Arnica are stunning too… all the images are so lovely I just want to sit and look at them for awhile… but I must do some other things today besides drool over your lovely images!
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Comment by Victoria — May 22, 2011 @ 2:24 pm
Thanks Tory! It’s very easy to get carried away with finding and photographing Montana’s wildflowers!
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Comment by montucky — May 22, 2011 @ 8:53 pm
Lots of pretty new wildflowers here. Some look slightly familiar, but I could remember them from Oklahoma.
I didn’t know that clematis was a native plant.
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Comment by sandy — May 22, 2011 @ 2:58 pm
This one is. I’ve seen it in some of the most remote areas. It’s actually fairly common here and grows in most of the northern states minus the Dakotas.
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Comment by montucky — May 22, 2011 @ 8:56 pm
All beautiful photos, but my favorite is the larch, called tamarack or hackamatack in New England. Thanks.
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Comment by Wild_Bill — May 22, 2011 @ 5:20 pm
I love that tree! Many of the old timers here call these Tamaracks too, but I think the true Tamaracks are only in your area. In the old-growth forest areas there are some huge specimens of these and in some of the burned or logged areas many Larch were planted. I’ve seen hundreds of acres of them that way.
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Comment by montucky — May 22, 2011 @ 8:58 pm
They are called Tamaracks in Wisconsin, but are just another species within the Larix genus: Larix laricina. I don’t know if there is such a thing as a “true tamarack”…
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Comment by Kim — May 25, 2011 @ 11:41 am
I’ve understood that “laricina” was known only by the common name “Tamarack”. It’s interesting to see what “common” names are common in different areas. Since back in the 1940’s I remember folks in western Montana calling the Western Larch “Tamarack”, and I’ve also noticed western Canadians doing that too.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2011 @ 8:30 pm
I may not have been clear in my reply, but what I was trying to say is that the tree that is always called Tamarack in Wisconsin, is in the same genus (Larix) as the tree that I only hear referred to as Larch in Montana.
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Comment by Kim — May 26, 2011 @ 2:36 pm
“Like bluebirds flying through the forest,” wow, that must be quite a sight.
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Comment by Candace — May 22, 2011 @ 7:36 pm
It’s a beautiful sight, because they grow mostly in canyons along streams where the vegetation is lush and green anyway.
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Comment by montucky — May 22, 2011 @ 8:59 pm
It’s lovely to see plants growing wild that are often in people’s gardens here, like the clematis. And how nice to see a different variety of Honeysuckle. Is it a highly scented one?
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Comment by Val — May 23, 2011 @ 5:23 pm
In one of our flower beds we have clematis too, but a much different variety. I haven’t noticed much scent at all with this honeysuckle. It’s not a very large plant.
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Comment by montucky — May 23, 2011 @ 9:13 pm