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Pisissewa, Prince-of-Pine ~ chimaphilia umbellata
Blooming in July and August, Pipsissewa flowers are in clusters of 3 to 10 at the top of its stem, but the flowers always face down toward the earth. It is common across most of the northern US and Canada, but because the flowers always face down I suspect they are often overlooked.
Montana Outdoors 
We share a beauty between Maine and Montana. Your photos are fabulous.
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Comment by lmachayes — July 25, 2018 @ 8:10 pm
We do indeed. I am somewhat surprised to see that we share so much of the same plant and animal life despite some quite different environmental conditions.
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Comment by montucky — July 25, 2018 @ 10:16 pm
A cute name for an adorable bloom 🙂
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Comment by lagiraffaminor — July 25, 2018 @ 8:28 pm
Some indigenous people thought that the leaves contained a substance that would dissolve kidney stones and the name came from a Cree Indian word which meant “it-breaks-into-small-pieces”. I’ve always liked the name.
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Comment by montucky — July 25, 2018 @ 10:21 pm
Oh wow- not cute, but instead very functional! I guess the plant is small and mighty.
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Comment by lagiraffaminor — July 25, 2018 @ 10:29 pm
Yes. The present uses are straightforward but I I wonder what caused the indigenous people to believe that it would dissolve kidney stones (realizing that while they would be considered uneducated by our standards, but by the same token we would be considered very uneducated by their standards).
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Comment by montucky — July 25, 2018 @ 10:42 pm
Yes indeed. We have a lot to learn!
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Comment by lagiraffaminor — July 26, 2018 @ 8:01 am
Almost looks like candy.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — July 25, 2018 @ 10:15 pm
I’ve always thought that too. It actually is used as a flavoring in candy and soft drinks.
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Comment by montucky — July 25, 2018 @ 10:25 pm
That’s funny. I guess someone else must have thought like we do and tried it out.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — July 26, 2018 @ 10:52 am
I’ve read that it is thought to be a root parasite and therefore nearly impossible to cultivate, so I have to wonder how much candy could be made from it.
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Comment by montucky — July 26, 2018 @ 2:40 pm
Beautiful!
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Comment by centralohionature — July 26, 2018 @ 4:10 am
I can’t imagine how that design could just evolve. I’ve never seen anything close to it.
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Comment by montucky — July 26, 2018 @ 2:41 pm
What a delicious-looking flower. Candy processed by Mother Nature 🙂
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Comment by Vicki — July 26, 2018 @ 4:48 am
“Eye” candy. The design is certainly pretty, but puzzling.
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Comment by montucky — July 26, 2018 @ 2:42 pm
Too bad they always look downward. Their pretty little faces would cheer anyone up but I do suppose they get overlooked. They look so sweet like candy and good enough to eat. 😉
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Comment by Mama's Empty Nest — July 26, 2018 @ 5:42 am
It seems strange that such a pretty little face doesn’t stand at an angle where it could be seen, but I clearly don’t understand the plant’s survival strategy.
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Comment by montucky — July 26, 2018 @ 2:45 pm
Beautiful, the last image looks like pieces of peppermint, cool!
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Comment by bayphotosbydonna — July 26, 2018 @ 2:18 pm
It does looks as though if you were to take a bite of it you would expect a peppermint taste.
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Comment by montucky — July 26, 2018 @ 2:47 pm
Beautiful clear portraits of this little flower!
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Comment by Tammie — July 26, 2018 @ 4:17 pm
Thanks Tammie. Each summer I look forward to seeing these. I was on the trail where this one grows, but they are all finished blooming now. Seems very early for them. Perhaps there are some still blooming up higher.
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Comment by montucky — July 26, 2018 @ 4:34 pm
Very Nice and a Nifty looking flower! How large are the flowers? Never saw these before.
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Comment by Reed Andariese — July 26, 2018 @ 4:52 pm
They are about the size of a nickel, and fairly common in the coniferous forests in the northern US. They are plentiful in this general area.
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Comment by montucky — July 26, 2018 @ 5:09 pm
The flowers certainly do look as though they’d taste like peppermint. Can you imagine peppermint pipsissewa patties? They’d be fun to market, even if they were hard to make. Are those two seed pods in the second photo? If so, they’re just as neat and tidy as the flowers. I had to grin when you said that the flowers generally face downward. That means the photographer was facing upward — hooray for you, for being so flexible!
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Comment by shoreacres — July 26, 2018 @ 5:54 pm
Yes, those are seed pods. The flowers turn upwards when they go to seed. And yes, the flowers are hard to photograph! Worth it though.
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Comment by montucky — July 26, 2018 @ 9:59 pm
Eye candy, yes, almost little candy canes.
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Comment by Candace — July 28, 2018 @ 1:41 pm
One might expect to see them in a confectionery window.
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Comment by montucky — July 28, 2018 @ 3:40 pm
What a pretty little plant, and an intriguing name – Prince of Pine.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — July 29, 2018 @ 1:45 am
It sure chose to depart from the more conventional blossom designs. I love seeing it, and if is plentiful here in certain areas.
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Comment by montucky — July 29, 2018 @ 8:39 am
Up close and personal. Very nice, Terry.
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Comment by seekraz — July 29, 2018 @ 4:33 pm
I visited their home just the other day, but the flowers are now gone until next summer. The seasons are speeding by.
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Comment by montucky — July 29, 2018 @ 6:37 pm
You’ll be deep into Fall before you know it up there, Terry….
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Comment by seekraz — August 25, 2018 @ 3:22 pm
I think so. The temps are dropping for the coming week and we will get some rain. It will be a relief from the heat we have had for the past 8 weeks. Snow is expected above 7500 feet tomorrow night.
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Comment by montucky — August 25, 2018 @ 8:12 pm
What a gorgeous flower .. and such lovely images. Thanks for sharing … 🙂
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Comment by Julie@frogpondfarm — July 30, 2018 @ 1:58 pm
They sure are different, aren’t they! I can still remember the first time I saw one many years ago.
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Comment by montucky — July 30, 2018 @ 7:38 pm
Incredible beautiful Macro.
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Comment by Sartenada — July 31, 2018 @ 2:08 am
Thanks!
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Comment by montucky — August 1, 2018 @ 10:21 am
I can hear the cheer, not Hip, hip, hooray, but Pip, pip, pipsissewa.
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Comment by Steve Schwartzman — August 3, 2018 @ 9:03 am
It’s kind of a fun name, isn’t it!
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Comment by montucky — August 4, 2018 @ 8:20 am