Today I hiked the first couple of miles of the Munson Creek trail (from about 2,400 ft elevation to about 3,400 ft elevation) to see how the winter treated it. It was in very good condition, with a sprinkling of wildflowers all along, but only of some of the early blooming species were blooming. It is a steep and rather rough trail that is well worth hiking later in the summer when the valley is hot and the trail is cool and when there are dozens of species of wildflowers in bloom (and I will return later to see them). Here are a few photos of the trail and the flower species now in bloom along that stretch.
In spite of a cold spring and below normal rainfall here in western Montana, the wildflowers are blooming, but about two weeks later than usual. This morning there was fresh snow on the mountainsides a thousand feet above the valley floor.
Western Gromwell, Lemonweed ~ Lithospermum ruderale
Western Serviceberry, Saskatoon ~ Amelanchier alnifolia
Field Pepperweed, Field Peppergrass or Pepperwort, Field Cress ~ Lepidium campestre
After a winter with large amounts of snowfall (the high country around here still has 140% of normal snowpack) and lots of cloudy/rainy days this spring, the forests are very dry. The rain we’ve had has been mostly light showers with not much water volume, and the flowers which depend on April rain are doing poorly, at least in this specific area. These were taken on a couple of short hikes recently and the selection was not very good.
Round-leaved Violet ~ Viola orbiculata
In an area that usually abounds with violets, this and the following one were found only on a small hillside where water from snow melting at a higher elevation was trickling out of the ground.
Canadian White violet ~ Viola canadensis
Woodland Strawberry ~ Fragaria vesca
Mule Deer ~ Odocoileus hemionus: (A fellow wild plant aficionado)
Heart-leaf Arnica ~ Arnica cordifolia
Pacific Trillium ~ Trillium ovatum
These are Pacific or Western White trilliums that are in the final stages of their boom, when they turn pink. It took me awhile initially to realize that the pink ones are not from a different species.
About four posts ago I posted a photo of one sunflower variety just budding out. (Mule-ears, named for the shape of their leaves.) Here it is in full bloom:
Mule-ears, Wyethia amplexicaulis
Although they are not as plentiful as usual because of the drought, The Arrowleaf are now in full bloom. They are perhaps the largest of our wildflowers here and really brighten up the hillsides where they grow. (They are also named for the shape of their leaves.)
In the last few days nature decided to get out the big guns. This is our largest wildflower with flower heads 2 to 4 inches across, and not only are the flowers large, but often these members of the sunflower family will cover entire hillsides, including the one behind our house. This was the first I’ve seen this year, blooming in the back country.
The next day, these appeared in our back yard.
Balsamorhiza sagittata grows in twelve of the far western states and in Alberta and British Columbia.
Mule-ears, Wyethia amplexicaulis
Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Balsamorhiza sagittata
