Wildflowers #9

Wildflowers in meadow near Mystic Falls, YNP

As I prepare for hiking season, I am drawn to the many varieties of wildflowers I have encountered in my travels.  Here are a few more.  There are thousands of different wildflowers and variations.  As a designer I am drawn to color.  I love the natural wildflowers far more than domesticated flowers.  I don't think man has improved much on nature.

Pearly Everlasting
Anaphalis margaritacea

Pearly Everlasting

Getting ready to open

We saw these specimens on the trail to Mystic Falls in Yellowstone National Park in  August of 2013.  Pearly Everlasting is a plant with a strong fragrance and was used as an herb by the native peoples.  This particular variety is native to North America, although it has relatives in Asia as well.  This variety is so named because of the pearl white petals around the yellow center.

Fringed Grass of Parnassus 
Parnassia fimbriata

Fringed Grass of Parnassus

This is a pretty wildflower that we saw on the same trip.  I had never seen it before, or at least noticed it.  It is an alpine to subalpine flower that ranges from Alaska to the southern Rockies.  It was used by native peoples as a poultice and a tea.

Indian Pipes
Monotropa uniflora

Indian Pipes

Closeup

Up until now, I've only been posting wildflowers I have encountered in the West.  This specimen was so cool, though I am breaking with tradition to post about it.  This is called an Indian Pipe and I photographed it last July on the Tusten Mountain Trail along the Delaware River in the Catskill region of New York.  At first I thought it was a mushroom.  I was wrong.

This is a parasitic plant and has no chlorophyll.  So it doesn't photosynthesize, rather it's roots feed on the roots of plants that do photosynthesize, particularly beech trees.  It happens that I photographed this specimen at the roots of a beech tree.

The beech tree

Spotted Jewelweed
Impatiens capensis

Spotted Jewelweed

This was also photographed in New York, in the Catskill mountains on the Bouchoux Mountain Trail.  These flowers grow in moist areas in woodlands.  As you can see from the photo, it was plenty moist.  This was kind of an exotic flower for me.  It's unlike the stuff we have in the West.  Pretty though.  It is also used as a traditional herbal cure for rashes and such.  The seed pods explode and spread millions of seeds at the slightest touch.

I'm getting excited for hiking season!

Wildflowers #8

Penstemons near Fairy Falls, YNP

Another installment of wildflowers.  This time I'll focus mainly on desert wildflowers, but I'll start with one from the Yellowstone, Fairy Falls trip last summer.

Blue Eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium idahoense

Blue eyed grass near Fairy Falls, YNP

and another

and another

At first I mistook this plant for deadly nightshade because of the coloring.  It grows below 7,900 feet above sea level in moist, grassy meadows and open woodlands.  It can be found along stream banks.  These specimens were discovered near Fairy Falls in Yellowstone.


Evening Primrose
Oenothera caespitosa

Evening primrose on the R Mountain

again

Closed

Seed pods

Closed in full sun

Closed

I don't know much about the evening primrose, but I know it's a desert plant and has a long woody taproot.  One man's weed is another man's wildflower I suppose.  I thought they were interesting though.  The evening primrose opens later in the day, toward evening sometimes.  I think it also opens in the shade which is the case for the ones I saw.  The bloom can open in under a minute.  They grow in disturbed soil, and that's about all I know about them.


Prickly Pear
Opuntia macroorhiza

Prickly Pear

Single bloom

bud

and another

Different looking bloom

I have lived in the sagebrush steppes of Idaho for thirty-eight years and have seen many prickly pear cacti.  A couple of years ago we took a hike along the Henry's Fork of the Snake River and I saw prickly pear cacti that had been in bloom.  It dawned on me I had never seen one in bloom in all the years I have lived here.  I decided last year to rectify that.  We took a hike in June on the R Mountain, which is an extinct volcano west of town.  We also walked through a lava flow at Hell's Half Acre and we spotted prickly pear in bloom in both places.  The photos above are from the R Mountain.  The ones below will be from Hell's Half Acre Lava Flow.

Prickly pear at Hell's Half Acre

Cluster

With the pollinator

Another cluster

Sagebrush Mariposa Lily
Calochortus macrocarpus

Sagebrush mariposa lily

and it's brother

a first cousin

And the red-headed stepchild

The sagebrush mariposa lily is found from Oregon to Montana, eastern Washington up through parts of western Canada.  It was once very common and I believe the bulb was used as a food source.  Development, agriculture and cattle grazing have exiled this majestic flower to lava rock outcrops and steep rocky hillsides where cattle have a hard time existing.  We were fortunate enough to see several of these both on our hike of the R Mountain and our walk through the lava flow at Hell's Half Acre last June.  Those pictured above are from the R Mountain and those below are from Hell's Half Acre.

Sagebrush mariposa lily with the pollinator

Side view from Hell's Half Acre

Thanks for reading, I've enjoyed hunting these wildflowers for the last two or three years.  Nature is never boring.

Wildflowers #4

Garrett and his mother hiking through a wildflower meadow

The Northern Rockies are a great place to see wildflowers.  I had no idea there was such a great variety of wildflowers here.  I have been interested in wildflowers for most of my life, but it was always something I put off learning too much about, waiting for someday to come.  Someday is here and we've been enjoying the journey.

Sego Lily
Calochortus nuttallii
Liliaceae

Sego Lily

Sego Lily

I had heard of Sego Lilies since I was a child, but never had known what they were or what they looked like.  We learned in the fourth grade that Sego Lilies were used as a food source in this area by the native peoples, the early Mormon settlers and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

I viewed these specimens at the trailhead to Sheep Falls in Island Park, Idaho on July 7th, 2012.  The Sheep Falls trailhead is found by turning on the first road after mile marker 369 on Highway 20, heading north towards Yellowstone.  The dirt road goes for several miles through a lodgepole forest and the trailhead is a marked sideroad on the left.  Many great wildflowers on this trail.

Sickletop Lousewort
Pedicularis racemosa
Scrophulariaceae
(Figwort family)

Sickletop Lousewort

This specimen was also photographed on the Sheep Falls trip. 

It is related to the snapdragon.

Sickletop Lousewort

This specimen was photographed on the Darby Canyon trip


Wild Buckwheat
(Subalpine Buckwheat)
Eregonum umbellatum
Polygonaceae

Wild Buckwheat

I photographed this wild buckwheat on the Sheep Falls trip

Wild Buckwheat

Wild Buckwheat

Both of these photographs were taken on the Darby Canyon trip on July 25th, 2012.  It's interesting to note that these plants were within five feet of each other.

Wild Buckwheat comes in several colors including white, yellow, pink, purple and light blue.  I hope to photograph all of it's varieties.

Wild Buckwheat

This specimen was observed in Yellowstone National Park, July 30th, 2013 at the Virginia Meadows near Little Gibbon Falls.  I added this one to show the depth of color I have observed so far.

Lewis Monkeyflower
Mimulus lewisii
Phrymaceae

Lewis Monkeyflower

Lewis Monkeyflower shrub

When I first saw this flower, I didn't believe it was a wildflower.  I thought it was a type of dwarf petunia that well intentioned but misguided people had planted to beautify the travel stop/picnic area at Howard Springs on the way to Yellowstone on Highway 20.  I thought as much because the plant was so perfect it appeared to have been domesticated.  I kept coming back to it and eventually found it in the literature described just as I found it.

This Lewis Monkeyflower was observed growing on the bank of the runoff stream at Howard Springs.  It was abundant at the sight and I observed it again one year later at the same location.  The wayside area of Howard Springs is a great place to observe wildflowers.  I found the Lewis Monkeyflower growing next to Yellow Monkeyflower at this location.

Lewis Monkeyflower is so named for Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Lewis Monkeyflower

This picture was taken at the same location, one year later.

Deadly Nightshade
Belladonna atropa
Solanaceae

Deadly Nightshade

Deadly Nightshade

Deadly Nightshade

I found this pretty purple flower on our river walk in Saint Anthony, Idaho on July 22nd, 2013.  I thought it was really pretty and considered taking some home with me.  I didn't and am glad of that.  Turns out it was deadly nightshade, one of the most poisonous plants on the face of the earth.  Pretty cool, though.

I am enjoying this hobby.  Like I needed another hobby.

Wildflowers #3

Wyoming Paintbrush
(aka Indian Paintbrush)

For this posting, I'll be gathering pictures from several excursions.  I had no idea there were so many different kinds of wildflowers in the northern Rockies.  I'll give a place and a date for each of the pics.

Wyoming Paintbrush
(aka Indian Paintbrush)
Castilleja linariifolia
Scrophulariaceae
(figwort family)

Indian Paintbrush

This specimen and the picture of the wild garden above were photographed on July 14th, 2013 at Treasure Mountain Boy Scout Camp.  My son, Haydn had a job as a camp counselor there this summer and this picture was taken when we dropped him off for work.

Indian Paintbrush

This specimen was photographed on July 7th, 2012 when we took a short hike to Sheep Falls in Island Park, Idaho.

Indian Paintbrush is the state flower of Wyoming.  It is abundant and there are over 200 varieties in the northern Rockies.  It's one of the first wildflowers I learned as a young boy.  We had a cabin lot in Island Park and this flower grew all over the property.  My mother taught me the name.  I've always liked this flower.

Parry's Purple Bellflower
(aka Harebell)
Campanula parryi
Campanulaceae

Harebells

These Harebells were photographed on the same trip to Treasure Mountain when we dropped off our son.  Harebells are common in the Northern Rockies.

Harebells

Harebells

These two pictures are from the same trip.

Streambank Wild Hollyhock
lliamna rivularis
Malvaceae

Wild Hollyhock

Wild Hollyhocks

Wild Hollyhock

Wild Hollyhock

These wild Hollyhocks were also photographed on the trip to Treasure Mountain.  The foliage is less intense than it otherwise would be because of the dry conditions and the fact that these plants were adjacent to a dusty, dirt road.  Still quite pretty though.

Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum
Geraniaceae

Purple Wild Geranium

Purple Wild Geranium

Wild Geraniums are one of the more common wildflowers in North America and one of the easiest to identify.  It's abundance in no way diminishes the drama of this flower.  They come in many colors and saturations from purple to pink, red and sometimes white.

These two pictures were taken July 30th, 2013 at Howard Springs on Highway 20 on the Idaho side, just before the Montana Border.  That particular wayside area is a great place to see wildflowers.  They are abundant on the open meadow nestled in the forest and along the streambank.  Many different varieties are found there throughout the summer months.

Pink Wild Geranium

Pink Wild Geranium

These pink Wild Geraniums were photographed at Treasure Mountain Boy Scout Camp on the same day as the other pictures from that site.

White Wild Geranium

This White Wild Geranium was photographed August 17th in the Tom Miner Basin, north of Gardiner Montana.  We camped there last summer when we collected petrified wood from the petrified forest there.

Wild Sweet Pea
Lathyrus odoratus
Fabaceae

Wild Sweet Pea

Wild Sweet Pea

Wild Sweet Pea

I'm not sure this is a true wild sweet pea.  I'm not even sure if it's native to the Americas.  From my research I found that the sweet pea is native to the Mediterranean.  If this is a wild sweet pea, it is likely that it is an invasive species.

I found these wild sweet peas on a steep hillside on a roadcut on the East side of the Huckleberry Ridge Caldera, otherwise known as the Ashton Hill.  It was in an area that made it very unlikely that they were planted by people, so that is why I believe they were wild.  I photographed them on July 23rd, 2012 on our trip to Lower Mesa Falls in Island Park, Idaho.  We took the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway from Ashton, Idaho to the Lower Mesa Falls.  These photos were taken just before the road descended into Bear Gulch, at the scenic overlook where the Teton Mountains are visible.

Whether this is a naturally occurring wild sweet pea or an invasive species that has been transported here, it was beautiful and a great find.  I love finding things like this where I wouldn't expect it.

Dalmation Toadflax
Linaria dalmatica
Scrophulariaceae
(figwort family)

Dalmatian Toadflax

Speaking of invasive species...  Dalmatian Toadflax was introduced to the west in the 1870's from Asia or southern Europe.  It's pretty but doesn't belong in our environment.  It is spreading rapidly through the west and chokes out native plants.  The National Park Service has orders to pull it up wherever it is found.  We saw this on August 17th, 2012 on our campout to the Tom Miner Petrified Forest.  This specimen was photographed on the plateau on the trail to the other side of Undine Falls in Yellowstone National Park.  I didn't know it wasn't a native plant at the time or I might have been tempted to uproot it.

Dalmatian Toadflax

Dalmatian Toadflax

These other specimens were photographed on the Treasure Mountain trip this summer, just East of Driggs, Idaho.

This is enough wildflowers for today.  I've enjoyed getting to know the local flora.  I hope you have enjoyed the images of my travels.