It’s time to wander into the unknown again.
These were near the Roosevelt Arch. They had a large number of petals, so my suspicion is that they are a Showy Daisy. Or something closely related. The Oxeye Daisy doesn’t have as narrow a petal as these do.
We spent the morning hiking around the paths at Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces, kind of working our way from top to bottom. It was very encouraging to have a large section of wildflowers rather than an isolated one or two.
These are Larkspur, though I don’t know the specific kind.
We got a chance to get a little closer shot of some later on the trail. This shot gives a better view of the shape of the flower, almost bugle-like.
On our way to Mammoth Hot Springs we visited the North Entrance and the Roosevelt Arch. In addition to getting our picture taken under the arch, there were some blooming wildflowers.
This is a Bitterroot or Lewisia rediviva. It is the state flower of Montana.
Mystery Flower #5 is one I didn’t even know I took. The digital photograph takes in a wider field than just the flower I’m aiming at. Most of the photos I’m including in this blog have been cropped to remove the extra dirt and foliage.
The image for the Pasque Flower (my previous post) had this little yellow flower peaking out of the upper left hand field of view.
It is probably a young plant, so more petals may grow. It seems to only have 5 petals. Using the park’s wildflower sheet an Arnica or Groundsel would be a good bet, since they are parkwide.
Arguing against Groundsel is the seemingly single plant instead of a cluster.
Your thoughts?
The next flower has the making to be a pretty flower in bloom. Unfortunately, it was in the shadows and hadn’t opened yet. (Or it was still immature.)
I was told it was a Pasque Flower or Pulsatilla patens.
At the time, I didn’t know what it looked like in bloom. So I snapped the photo, as if that was its normal state. It was the only one in the area so there was nothing to compare it to.
From the bus it was easy to spot what looked like sunflowers. They were quite common. It’s just difficult to get a good shot from a moving bus.
On the way to Mammoth Springs we stopped at Undine Falls. The parking area had its share of wildflowers, including the sunflower-like plants.
The plant is an Arrowleaf Balsam Root or Balsamorhiza sagittata. This first picture is mostly of the flower itself. The leaves are broad arrowhead like, giving it part of its name. I took a shot that shows off the leaves rather than the flower.
Just an aside. Our hungry squirrel in Post #1 is chewing on the leaves of one of these plants.
