Spring Forward
Near the Spring equinox, the first wildflowers began to appear, spotted while out on area hikes. The first “wildflowers” spotted were the psuedo-flowers of Puccinia monoica. This is a parasitic rust fungus that inhabits a host plant (usually a boechera), suppresses the plants natural flowering processes, and transforms the host with its own morphology, pseudo-flowers, there to attract pollinators who will spread the spores to more host plants. Shortly afterwards, there were many sagebrush buttercups (Ranunculus glaberrimus) emerging all at once in open sheltered spots in the grasslands/open forests above the valley.
A few days later, the first yellow bells (Fritillaria pudica) emerged on sagebrush slopes. Upland larkspur leaves were well-developed and flowering will come in the next weeks. Some of the early mustard varieties were just starting to bud. All photos by the author from this year’s spring hikes. Click and image for a lightbox view and a caption/ID/comment.
There are other wildflowers in bloom too and with each new hike, I hope to spot, photograph, identify, and share them.
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I love the Sagebrush Buttercup, my first sure sign of spring, along with the bluebirds and the Meadowlarks. And I love the way the Yelloebells change to orange over their early season. Just south of Lac du Bois proper, I found a whole small field of these in the orange stage. The slow spring helped,I think. My favorite flower is the larkspur. I found a 2′ tall purple one once, just north of Pritchard, on the Wolf Ranch property before it was logged. It was out in the open, so it might be still there.🥀🥀🥀