Thursday, May 28, 2009
More Wildflowers
It's been 2 days since I've visited my wildflower meadow down Red Rock road and this is the time that growth is rapid, so Reggie and I walked down there today to see what new flowers have bloomed, me with my camera and flash, and Reggie with... well with nothing but his enthusiasm to explore.It was a beautiful day, only a few fluffy clouds and a bright blue sky. The mountains still have some snow and in fact, there are still spots of it in our meadow under the Douglas Fir trees and throughout this forest.
My first impression as I climbed the small hill to the meadow was how widespread the Vase Flower (Clematis hirsutissima) had become since it's first bloom only 8 days ago. The entire hillside (east facing slope) was in full bloom with these fresh looking purple bells of joy. I couldn't resist photographing several of them including this one with one of last years florescence of flowers as a backdrop.
On the same hill is a profusion of the beautiful, mostly green, Meadow Rue (Thalictrum occidentale). The male stamens and the female Pistils are on different plants. A few of the plants are "blooming". There are no petals, just the Stamens or Pistils bunched on the end of the stalk. The leaves are lobed and are especially Symmetric and beautiful.
Western Meadow Rue (female plant) is starting to "bloom" on the hillside of the meadow.
Another newcomer today is the Utah Honeysuckle (Lonicera utahensis) which is a perennial shrub that produces twin trumpet-like flowers and eventually, bright red berries. Today, it is showing it's yet to bloom twin flowers. The flowers resemble those of the previously described Fairy Bells. The leaves are green and lobed or almost heart shaped and are attached to a woody shrub-like stem.Soon this will be found throughout our forest, including across the street from the RV Park. They make a nice accent to the more traditional colorful wildflowers. Once the bright red berries appear they are truly a beautiful accent to the forest. The fruits of Utah honeysuckle are edible raw or cooked. They are juicy and were used for food by the native Americans among others. The others include both Black and Grizzly bears who love the berries.
The Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) continues to burst forth with its sunshine flavor of summer in our early springtime. Not yet pervasive, I'm seeing more and more of this delightful yellow flowers dotting the landscape. This plant is obviously part of the sunflower family. It is similar to the Mule's Ear which will cover the meadows around here with solid orange in about a month. It has more arrow shaped leaves and smaller flowers than the Mule's Ear. The first specimens of this plant were collected by Meriwether Lewis on the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Rockies in 1806.
I also saw a lonely specimen of the Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) blooming with a single white flower. This plant is part of the larger Rose family. It's low to the ground and easy to miss if you aren't watching your feet most of the time (as I do when in this meadow.) Western Indians prepared a tea from the green leaves of the Strawberry plant. They also made use of the tiny, sweet fruit of the Strawberry. They were used for a variety of medicinal remedies, including curing colds by the Indians.My biggest surprise for the day was finding the Low Larkspur (Delphinium bicolor), a flower with a deep purple color. There are 5 sepals spread wide with the upper one extended backwards into long conical spur, typical of all Larkspur species. This image shows the Larkspur in conjunction with a Nine-leaf lomatium. Larkspurs contain toxic alkaloids that cause skin reactions and affect the nervous and the respiratory systems of humans and especially cattle.
Low Larkspur is poisonous to cattle and can make you sick.
One of the strangest "flowers" I've been looking for over the last week here is the Orange Peel Fungus (Aleuria aurantia). It's not a wildflower, but certainly a bright spot on the forest floor. I found my first today next to the path in the meadow. It can be mistaken for litter, maybe a wrapper from a candy bar or even an orange peel. It is edible but not particularly a choice one. It's found throughout North America and even in Europe and grows on bare clay or disturbed soil.Another newcomer to this meadow today is Nuttall's rockcrest (Arabis nuttallii) in the pink variety. There is also a white variety. It is a very small plant as you can see. Soon all the buds will open.
Nuttall's rockcrestThe soft and furry looking (purple flowered) Ballhead Waterleaf continues to proliferate with many more specimens found under other shrubs and plants in the meadow.
As you can see there is no end to the new plants blooming around RedRock RV Park. Many of these same plants can be found in Yellowstone National Park, but they are easier to find here. Come see us and make your own discovery journey. The Glacier Lilies are continuing to put on a show. Every flower has a unique shape and makes them all the more interesting to find and study.
Glacier Lily in Island Park, Idaho# posted by RV Guy @ 8:32 AM 
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