American Vetch, Vicia americana, May 19
Annual Hawksbeard, Crepis tectorum, May 19
Midget Phlox, Phlox gracilis, Microsteris gracilis, May 20
May 24, 2012
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Montana Outdoors 
The blue Camas are so pretty – they remind me of fireworks but they last longer.
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Comment by Homestead Ramblings — May 24, 2012 @ 8:10 pm
It has been so dry lately that these are much smaller than in a normal year.. I think they may have been set back by a deep frost a week or so ago too, but they are still very pretty.
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Comment by montucky — May 24, 2012 @ 8:25 pm
I enjoy the blue Comas too!
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Comment by Grampy — May 24, 2012 @ 10:25 pm
There are times when thousands will bloom in a large meadow, giving the entire meadow a bluish caste. Their bulbs were a major food source for the Indians of the Inland Northwest and wars were fought for harvesting rights on some of their major meadows.
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Comment by montucky — May 24, 2012 @ 10:53 pm
Beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like the Blue Camas before.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — May 25, 2012 @ 1:08 am
We have a great diversity of wildflowers here, perhaps because there are so many different little climate zones and each has its own unique set of wildflowers that have adapted to that zone.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 10:49 pm
These are gorgeous…such exquisite sweet beauty!
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Comment by Marcie — May 25, 2012 @ 5:40 am
I think they are too, Marcie.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 10:52 pm
Thanks for sharing. Our desert wildflower scene has past and was slim this year from lack of rain.
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Comment by Tammy — May 25, 2012 @ 6:41 am
Our wildflowers had a good start, but it has been so dry lately that I think the ones that should be starting to bloom now might be damaged. We also had a hard freeze a couple of weeks ago and that must have had an effect too.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 10:54 pm
Wow, Montucky! If I had 1/100th of your photographic talents I’d be the happiest man in town!
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Comment by Wild_Bill — May 25, 2012 @ 7:09 am
Thanks Bill. What a very kind thing to say! There are so many beautiful subjects to photograph here that it speeds up the learning process!
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 10:56 pm
so many beautiful flowers and photos~
have you gone looking for the Bitteroot flowers this year?
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Comment by Tammie — May 25, 2012 @ 10:11 am
I have not yet. They should be blooming in another week though and I will be sure to go look for them.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 11:00 pm
They are all beautiful!!
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Comment by allbymyself09 — May 25, 2012 @ 10:33 am
I think they are too, Barbara. Each is unique.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 11:01 pm
I like them all. The camas interests me because I have read about it in a lot of books. We have cow vetch. It is the same color, but seems more like clover to me.
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Comment by sandy — May 25, 2012 @ 12:58 pm
Camas was a very important plant in these parts. I don’t know if the Indians still harvest the bulbs or not: I haven’t heard of it. They do still harvest the Bitterroots though and have a ceremony every year for them.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 11:03 pm
I love that Camas. I looked it up though, and I’ll never see it here in NH. I’ve never seen or heard of midget phlox-apparently that one is a lot tougher to research because there are so many phlox cultivars with “midget” in their name. It’s a beautiful flower and another one that I doubt I’ll ever see here.
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — May 25, 2012 @ 7:01 pm
I will visit a large natural meadow that I know of to see if the camas are doing well there this year and perhaps get some pictures of them blooming over the large area. It’s quite a sight. The little Phlox seems to be quite common here but the blossoms are so tiny (about 1/8 inch across) that I’m sure they are usually overlooked.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 11:06 pm
I’ve not heard of Camas – they’re beautiful, and the information about their value as a food crop and the trading practices of the various tribes is fascinating. I always have to allow a little extra time for your site – I’m getting my geography, history and anthropology along with the flowers!
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Comment by shoreacres — May 25, 2012 @ 9:36 pm
The stories of the plants that grow here tie so many things together and show the natural relationships that existed between the plants, the animals and our species. The more I lear about them the more respect that I have for the tribes that were native to this area. I really think that those old Indians had more knowledge of the flora and fauna than we will ever have. They respected nature and related to the flow of it, blended into it instead of trying to dominate it. Today we are blinded by our arrogance.
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Comment by montucky — May 25, 2012 @ 11:21 pm
So beautiful. When I looked at first time the photo from Midget Phlox, I thought that it is Red Campion (Silene dioica)”, but very soon I understand the differences.
I enjoyed Your post again.
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Comment by Sartenada — May 26, 2012 @ 2:14 am
I’m so glad that you enjoy seeing the flowers! They are so pretty and get so little attention!
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Comment by montucky — May 28, 2012 @ 9:07 pm
I bet that’s awesome to see a field full of thousands of blue camas.
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Comment by Candace — May 26, 2012 @ 3:04 pm
I’m hoping that I’ll have a chance to visit that big meadow before the Camas finish blooming. Maybe this next week.
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Comment by montucky — May 28, 2012 @ 9:08 pm
Love the blue camas. Do you also have Death Camas?
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Comment by Kim — May 28, 2012 @ 8:11 am
We do. There is a bumper crop of them this year and they are blooming for a long time too, much longer than usual.
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Comment by montucky — May 28, 2012 @ 9:09 pm
I’m really enjoying your wild flowers. You have some gorgeous pictures of really beautiful flowers. The woods and meadows around you must be spectacular!
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Comment by Finn Holding — May 30, 2012 @ 3:27 pm
Yes, there are some really pretty places now. All of the plants have leaved out so the forests are all green and the flowers are going through their blooming cycle. Lots more to go still too.
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Comment by montucky — May 30, 2012 @ 9:31 pm
Beautiful flowers you have in Montana! 🙂
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Comment by Watching Seasons — May 31, 2012 @ 5:49 pm
Thanks. Yes we are blessed with so many species of wildflowers!
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Comment by montucky — May 31, 2012 @ 9:03 pm