Small-flowered Penstemons

Yesterday on a hike on the Spring Creek trail I found some of (I think) the prettiest wildflowers in bloom: Penstemons. A close-up look at them always stirs my imagination and I adore the subtle and delightful colors. Their faces make me think of festive little clowns.

Small-flowered Penstemon ~ penstemon procerus

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More of USFS trail 345

Trail 345 is about 15 miles long. Extending from Baldy Mountain on the east to Big Hole Peak on the west, it follows the crest of a small divide called different names in various places: Loneman Divide, Weeksville Divide or, on old maps, Buffalo Bill Divide. These photos were taken on June 16, 2017 in the rain along Loneman Divide, about 5 miles east of those in the previous post and a thousand feet lower in elevation.

Red Clover ~ Trifolium pratense

Small-flowered Penstemon ~ Penstemon procerus

Pointedtip Mariposa Lily ~ Calochortus apiculatus

Yellow Indian Paintbrush

Stonecrop ~ Sedum rupicola

Today’s new arrivals

Mountain Lady’s Slipper ~ Cypripedium montanum ~ Wild Orchid

Redosier Dogwood ~ Cornus sericea

Small-flowered Penstemon ~ Penstemon procerus

Wildflowers of spring (9)

This series of photos was taken on one brief trip through an area of the Flathead Reservation not far from here where I also found the Bitterroots in bloom. I must have chosen exactly the right time to go there.

Dalmatian Toadflax, Butter and Eggs, ~ Linaria vulgaris 6/1

Dame’s Rocket, Wild Phlox ~ Hesperis matronalis.  I see them along the highways, but not usually anywhere near ranch houses, and never away from the roads either. They grow in very thick bunches and get to be over three feet tall. 6/1

Rydberg’s penstemon ~ Penstemon rydbergii 6/1

Small-flowered Penstemon, Littleflower Penstemon ~ Penstemon procerus 6/1

Yarrow ~ Achillea millefolium 6/1

Cushion Buckwheat ~ Eriogonum ovalifolium 6/1

Sulphur Lupine ~ Lupinus sulphureus 6/1

May… the month of the blues

Large-flowered tritelia, Wild Hyacinth, Triteleia grandiflora, Brodiaea douglasii

Large-flowered tritelia, Wild Hyacinth, Triteleia grandiflora, Brodiaea douglasii

Blue Azure

Early blue violet, viola adunca

Small-Flowered Penstemon, Penstemon procerus

Small-Flowered Penstemon, Penstemon procerus

Silvery lupine, Lupinus argenteus

A few more blues.

Just had to squeeze in one more Penstemon!

Small-flowered Penstemon
Penstemon procerus
Figwort family

This photo is a week or so old, but these are blooming everywhere around here now.

Arctic Lupine
Lupinus arcticus
Pea family

And while on the subject of the pea family,

American Vetch
Vicia Americana
Pea family

(This Hyacinth heard that “blue” was being featured and crept in through the tall grass.)

The “not a clue what this little blue flower is” flower. Some kind of monkey flower perhaps? Update: I think this may be Ground Ivy, Glechoma Hederacea, in the Mint family.

The flagship of the Harebell family,

Harebell, Bluebell of Scotland
Campanula rotundifolia

And last but not least, resplendent with its own blue markings,

Western Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio rutulus

(I didn’t say they were all flowers!)