Saskatoons

Saskatoon, Western Serviceberry ~ amelanchier alnifolia

These blossoms are among my favorites for three reasons. They are pretty in their own right, the shrubs get up to 15 feet tall and decorate the spring landscape with large splashes of white in the spring, and the berries are my favorite of all the wild berries (despite containing a lot of small seeds).

The plump purple berries have a light taste, but at their peak of ripeness they are sweet and juicy with a taste that is unexplainably pleasant. The locals here call them Service Berries and pronounce it “Sarvice Berries” for some reason I never did understand. The best way to eat them is not one berry at a time, but to pick a whole big handful and pop them in your mouth all at once. You will experience a big rush of their unique flavor and juicy sweetness.

Recent wildflower blooms

Despite the foibles of spring weather, our wildflowers are bound to begin their spring and summer cycle. Here are some of the newest:

Shooting Star ~ Dodecatheon pulchellum

Arrow-leaved Balsamroot ~ Balsamorhiza sagittata

Pear blossom

Nineleaf Biscuitroot ~ Lomatium triternatum

Serviceberry, Saskatoon ~ Amelanchier ainifolia

Kinnikinnik ~ Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Oregon Grape ~ Mahonia aquifolium ~ Berberis aqufolium

Early May wildflowers.

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

Fairy Slipper, Calypso orchid ~ Calypso bulbosa

Marsh Valerian, Northern Valerian ~ Valeriana dioica

Hooker Fairy-bells ~ Prosartes hookeri

Kinnikinnik ~ Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Field Chickweed ~ Cerastium arvense

Arrowleaf Balsamroot ~ Balsamorhiza sagittata

Black Hawthorn ~ Crataegus douglasii

Holboell’s rockcress ~ Boechera pendulocarpa

Menzies’ fiddleneck ~ Amsinckia menziesii

Meadow death-camas ~ Toxicoscordion venenosum

Large-flowered Tritelia ~ Triteleia grandiflora

It’s getting along toward that time of the season

Last Saturday there some shrubs along the trail with pairs of red berries; Utah Honeysuckle. Then today as I was enjoying some Serviceberries (my favorite wild fruit) I noticed the seed head of a Goat’s Beard, and I realized that it is already getting into the mature time of the season.

Utah Honeysuckle, Lonicera utahensis

Yellow Salsify, Goat’s Beard, Tragopogon dubius

Saskatoon, Serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia

May wildflowers

After the late arrival of warm weather, the wildflowers in this part of Western Montana have been hurrying to catch up with spring. Here are more that have started blooming in May:

Miner’s Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata

Unknown

Western Blue Clematis, Clematis occidentalis

Heart-leaf Arnica , Arnica cordifolia

Fairy Slipper, Calypso Orchid , Calypso bulbosa

Falsebox, Mountain Boxwood, Oregon Boxwood, Paxistma myrsinites

Blue-eyed Mary, Collinsia parviflora

Yellow Wood Violet, Viola glabella

Arrow-leaved Balsamroot, Balsamorhiza sagittata

Arrow-leaved Balsamroot, Balsamorhiza sagittata

Serviceberry, Saskatoon, Amelanchier alnifolia

Antelope Bitterbrush, Antelope-brush, Purshia tridentata

Antelope Bitterbrush, Antelope-brush, Purshia tridentata

Sticky Purple Geranium, Sticky Geranium, Geranium viscosissimum

Woolly Groundsel, Packera cana

Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea

Largeflower Triteleia, Triteleia grandiflora

Meadow Death Camas, Common Death Camas, Zigadenus venenosus

Small-flowered Woodland-star, Small-flowered Prairie-star, Lithophragma parviflorum

Holly-leaf Oregon-grape, Shining Oregongrape, Tall Oregongrape, Berberis aquifolium

Unknown shrub

Common Hawkweed, Hieracium lachenalii

Two-lobe Larkspur, Upland Larkspur, Delphinium nuttallianum

Three whites and a purple

With the exception of the Larkspur, the last flowers I observed blooming in April were white.

Saskatoon, Serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia

Saskatoon, Serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia

Upland Larkspur, Delphinium nuttallianum

Upland Larkspur, Delphinium nuttallianum

Meadow Death-camas, Zigadenus venenosus

Meadow Death-camas, Zigadenus venenosus

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana