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

East of Big Hole

Today a friend and I hiked several miles on an old road on the east slope of Big Hole looking for a trail that has been decommissioned by the Forest Service and abandoned for many years. We found it in pretty bad shape with a large number of trees down over it. It would be nice if we could convince the Forest Service to revive it because it would complete a nice loop that would be good for horse people as well as an occasional hiker.

I’ve included a few photos showing what the old road looks like, followed by some of the things that are in bloom at 5.600 feet. The road was cleaned up last year to allow some heavy equipment to get up to work on the Copper King fire so it will be in good shape for a few years before the Alders again close in over it.

These tiny flowers (about 1/8 inch across) caught my eye but I can’t positively identify them. I think they may be Western Wood Anemones (Anemone oregana) but I’m not positive.

Sitka Alder ~ Alnus viridis

Utah Honeysuckle ~ Lonicera utahensis

Huckleberry ~ Vaccinium membranaceum

Northern Black Currant ~ Ribes hudsonianum

New arrivals

Redstem Stork’s Bill ~ Erodium cicutarium

Hooker’s Fairybells ~ Prosartes hookeri

Utah honeysuckle ~ Lonicera utahensis

Blue-eyed Mary~ Collinsia parviflora

Arrowleaf Balsamroot~ Balsamorhiza sagittata

(As a size comparison, a few Blue-eyed Marys can be seen in the background of this last photo.)

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

And more April flowers

This is appearing to be an unusual spring for wildflowers. Some seem to be blooming later than normal and some seem to be early. In this and the following post I will show the rest of this year’s April blooms that I’ve encountered.

Stream Violet, Wood Violet, Viola glabella

Stream Violet, Wood Violet, Viola glabella

Redstem Stork’s Bill, Erodium cicutarium

Redstem Stork’s Bill, Erodium cicutarium

Utah Honeysuckle, Red Twinberry, Lonicera utahensis

Utah Honeysuckle, Red Twinberry, Lonicera utahensis

Falsebox, Mountain Boxwood, Oregon Boxwood, Pachistima (or Paxistima) myrsinites

Common Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale

Wildflowers of spring (11)

White Campion, Bladder Campion ~ Silene latifolia 6/2

Henbit Deadnettle, Common Dead-nettle, Giraffehead ~ Lamium amplexicaule 6/2

Tolmie’s star-tulip, Tolmie’s mariposa-lily, Cat’s-ears ~ Calochortus tolmiei 6/2

Thread-leaved Phacelia, Thread-leaf Scorpion-weed ~ Phacelia linearis 6/3

Largeflower triteleia ~ Triteleia grandiflora, Brodiaea douglasii 6/3

Utah honeysuckle, Rocky Mountain honeysuckle ~ Lonicera utahensis 6/5

Sticky Currant, Mountains Currant ~ Ribes viscosissimum 6/5