Orange Honeysuckle ~ Lonicera ciliosa 6/13
False Solomon’s Seal ~ Smilacina racemosa 6/13
Sulphur Penstemon, Taper-leaved Penstemon ~ Penstemon attenuatus 6/13
Thimbleberry ~ Rubus parviflorus 6/13
Sicklepod Rockcress ~ Arabis sparsiflora 6/13
June 19, 2011
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Montana Outdoors 
These photos are all amazing. I’m most impressed by the false solomon’s seal, since I have been trying to get a decent photo of that all spring.
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Comment by kateri — June 19, 2011 @ 9:16 pm
There are a couple of places near here, in the lower ends of some canyons where the false solomon’s seal grows quite large. Perhaps something special in the soil. There’s one sidehill where they look like a miniature forest.
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Comment by montucky — June 19, 2011 @ 10:08 pm
It looks as if the lower flowers on “unidentified” are forming seed pods. Do you think that is the case? The upper flowers don’t seem to look the same. There is one called Elegant Rock Cress Arabis sparsiflora var.arcuata in one of my books that has purple flowers and curved fruits that hang down that looks very much like this plant.
Beautiful pictures, as always.
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Comment by anniespickns — June 19, 2011 @ 9:42 pm
Thanks! I looked that up in USDA Plants and the variation arcuata is specific to California, but there it shows Sicklepod Rockcress ~ Arabis sparsiflora Nutt. that grows in Montana and judging from their photos, I think that’s it!
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Comment by montucky — June 19, 2011 @ 10:24 pm
I’ve never seen anything like this plant, but will keep my eyes open for it now. I would have guessed it was a Mustard family member from the seed pods and 4-petaled flowers, but didn’t even know there were purple ones til now. Thanks for sharing.
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Comment by Kim — June 24, 2011 @ 9:35 pm
gorgeous photos…. !
how do you get such wonderful clarity in your photos? Your style of detail and clarity catches my eye, I love it.
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Comment by Tammie — June 19, 2011 @ 9:52 pm
Thanks Tammie! The key ingredient is the lens. These were shot with an AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 D lens on a NIKON D80. The lens took a little getting used to, but it does a great job.
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Comment by montucky — June 19, 2011 @ 11:04 pm
Gorgeous photos. I love close ups of wild flowers. You get to see detail that you can only see in person (and sometimes only if you have a hand lens). We, too, have false solomon seal, a quiet, difficult to notice flower. Thank you for sharing these. Amazing!
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Comment by Wild_Bill — June 20, 2011 @ 5:55 am
Since I began taking close-up photos of the wildflowers I grew to love them even more and with the anticipation of seeing more to photograph, discovered many species new to me. I hike simply to be out in truly wild country and the flowers have become more of a big part of that.
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Comment by montucky — June 20, 2011 @ 10:25 pm
Stunning photos. Does the Thimbleberry set fruit? We have a native called the dewberry that’s delicious – not much of a crop this year because of drought, unfortunately.
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Comment by shoreacres — June 20, 2011 @ 6:44 am
The thimbleberry does have a delicious fruit. It resembles a raspberry in size and appearance with very thin flesh and tiny seeds.
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Comment by montucky — June 20, 2011 @ 10:27 pm
I can’t even pick a favorite here, they’re all beautiful.
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Comment by thedailyclick — June 20, 2011 @ 8:33 am
I have been pleasantly amazed at the beauty of the wildflowers here as well as the diversity. I think it’s also wonderful that the different species bloom at slightly different times too.
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Comment by montucky — June 20, 2011 @ 10:28 pm
Hi Montucky, Gee, I just love how that orange Honeysuckle glistens in that top picture of yours! Have a very great day today!
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Comment by wildlifewatcher — June 20, 2011 @ 9:00 am
They are really bright, aren’t they! They are plentiful and the vines get quite long, making some very pretty scenery along some of the trails.
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Comment by montucky — June 20, 2011 @ 10:30 pm
What a lot of pretties! All the whites are wonderful, especially the mariposa lilies. The sicklepod rockcress reminds me of a rack of purple umbrellas.
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Comment by sandy — June 20, 2011 @ 2:35 pm
I love the lilies. There are several more species of them that I hope I can photograph before they quit blooming.
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Comment by montucky — June 20, 2011 @ 10:32 pm
That’s a beautiful photo of the orange honeysuckle, with all the fine details retained.
Steve Schwartzman
http://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com
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Comment by Steve Schwartzman — June 20, 2011 @ 3:27 pm
Thanks Steve! It’s a very photogenic plant!
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Comment by montucky — June 20, 2011 @ 10:33 pm
These are spectacular flower shots T. Wonderful lighting and focus. Outstanding work my friend.
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Comment by Jeff Lynch — June 20, 2011 @ 7:49 pm
Thanks Jeff! I really try to give folks a good, accurate look at the wildflowers.
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Comment by montucky — June 20, 2011 @ 10:36 pm
that honeysuckle is really pretty. a different color from what I normally see around here
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Comment by silken — June 20, 2011 @ 7:51 pm
It’s a pretty plant! Sometimes they look like Christmas ornaments when the vines grow into the lower branches of fir trees.
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Comment by montucky — June 20, 2011 @ 10:37 pm
I love the orange honeysuckle and the photo is excellent in detail. Reminds me of a peach.
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Comment by Candace — June 22, 2011 @ 10:54 pm
I like them too: they are very pretty against all of the green, and an unusual color among all of the wildflowers. Also fairly large (for wildflowers) and scented.
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Comment by montucky — June 22, 2011 @ 11:20 pm
I’ve missed visiting your gorgeous blog while traveling in Sweden and Iceland! Have I mentioned before that your wildflower images are so wonderful that they should be collected and published in a book?! I’ll be visiting a few of the posts I’ve missed while being away because I just love to see what is going on in your neighborhood… the orange honeysuckle image is a stunner in this group!
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Comment by Victoria — July 18, 2011 @ 5:39 am
Thanks Victoria! I hope you had a great time on your trip!
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Comment by Montucky — July 18, 2011 @ 9:19 pm