Odds and ends

Our wildflowers here have been catching up with their blooming cycles and it’s hard to keep up with finding and photographing them. Here are some of the more recent ones.

Blue-eyed Mary ~ Collinsia parviflora

Lanceleaf Springbeauty ~ Claytonia lanceolata

Utah Honeysuckle ~ Lonicera utahersis

Oregon Boxleaf ~ Paxistima myrsinites

Heart-leaf Arnica ~ Arnica cordifolia

Blue Clematis ~ Clematis occidentalis

A short hike on USFS trail 223 ~ July 11, 2017

Sometimes it’s nice to begin a hike with a pleasant scene.

USFS trail 223 starts along the river at an elevation of about 2,400 feet, climbs up and over a small hill then proceeds up the river for another 7 or 8 miles. In their seasons, wildflowers along it are diverse and plentiful. Those included in this post are the late-season ones.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera villosa): the first one I had seen this year.

These bluebells are everywhere this time of year and I can seldom pass up a chance to photograph them.

As the trail enters the lower and most dense part of the forest, the color is intense.

The shade-loving Three-leaf Foamflower ~ Tiarella trifoliata 

The berries of the Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus) are just beginning to turn red.

I did mention that I love these bluebells, didn’t I?

Slender Hawkweed ~ Hieracium triste

The seed head of the Blue Clematis, (Clematis occidentalis)

I love the steeper parts of this trail: there is a small stream below.

Another flower which grows at just about all elevations, Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea).

These are the fruit of the Clasping Twisted-stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius) which is a plant that I have seen in only two locations. It is interesting because the flowers and fruit appear on the underside of the leaves.

White Sweet-clover ~ Melilotus albus

A little of the Munson Creek trail (USFS Tr 372)

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.

Arrowleaf Balsamroot ~ Balsamorhiza sagittata

Oblongleaf Bluebells, Sagebrush Bluebells ~ Mertensia oblongifolia

Hooker’s Fairy Bells ~ Disporum hookeri

Blue Clematis ~ Clematis occidentalis

Yellow Glacier Lily, Erythronium grandiflorum

Western White Trillium ~ Trillium Ovatum

Any day is a good day if there’s a Trillium in it.

The Trilliums are starting to bloom now at the footbridge over Munson Creek. (And a couple of friends joined in.)

Western White Trillium ~ Trillium Ovatum

Blue Clematis ~ Clematis occidentalis

Rough-fruited Fairybells ~ Disporum trachycarpum

Arnica, Clematis, Gromwell

In May, the wildflower parade continues…

Heart-leaved Arnica, Heart-leaf leopard bane, Arnica cordifolia

Blue Clematis, Columbia clematis, Clematis occidentalis

Lemonweed, Western Gromwell, Western stoneseed, Lithospermum ruderale

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