Today’s wildflower finds

This afternoon it seemed to me that I ought to check the area of West Swamp Creek (about 20 miles to the southwest of my home). Sure enough, there were several species blooming there in profusion and I was glad that I paid attention to my hunch.

Small White Violet ~ Viola macloskeyi

Both the white and yellow violets are growing right in the water of a small spring fed stream, which makes photographing them a rather wet and messy endeavor, but that’s alright because it is now warm!

Pioneer Violet ~ Viola glabella

Alpine Springbeauty ~ Claytonia megarhiza

Glacier Lily ~ Erythronium grandiflorum

Shooting Star ~ Dodecatheon pulchellum

Small Bluebells ~ Mertensia longiflora

Slender Phlox ~ Microsteris gracilis

Today in the Swamp Creek canyon:

Pioneer Violet ~ Viola glabella

Large-leaf Sandwort ~ Moehringia macrophylla

Small White Violet ~ Viola macloskeyi

Siberian springbeauty ~ Claytonia sibirica

Smallflower Miterwort, Side-flowered Mitrewort, Cross-shaped Mitrewort ~ Ozomelis stauropetala

The yellow violets were blooming in the bubbling water of a spring that was flowing right out of a steep hillside. At the base of the hillside the water accumulated into a tiny stream and at the very edge of that, the white violets bloomed. A fairly subtle difference in habitat, but yet quite a distinct one.

A strange spring for western Montana wildflowers

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.

Western Blue Clematis ~ Clematis occidentalis

Early Blue Violet ~ Viola adunca

Arrowleaf Balsamroot ~ Balsamorhiza sagittata

Grand Fir ~ Abies grandis

Pioneer Violet ~ Viola glabella

Beyond the Fairy Slippers

Nearly all of my photos result from my frequent wanderings in the mountains and forests of western Montana. The wildflowers in my previous post were encountered on the way to a hike to view the peaks of the Cherry Peak roadless area, something I choose to do at least once every year. After a ten mile drive from the valley to a starting point at 5000 feet and a two mile hike from there up an old road to 6000 feet I arrive at my preferred viewing spot with an open view of the north side of the peaks. Mountains are always viewed best from high places.

The road at 6000 feet

Wood violets (Viola glabella) in bloom just below the snow level.

View to the northwest over the Clark Fork River.

View of Koo-Koo Sint Ridge north of the river from the access road.

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

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