Celebrating Wildflowers

1
Celebrating Wildflowers

• Hike leader booklet

2
Shrubs
3
Mountain Maple(Acer glabrum)

• Maple Family Aceraceae
•  
• Habitat Tall shrub draws, forest and woodland
•  
• Description A large shrub or small tree with
  gray bark. Its young twigs are smooth and dark
  red its winter buds are bright red. The leaves
  are palmately 3 to 5 lobed, sharply toothed. Its
  small, chartreuse-colored flowers are fragrant.
  Always grow as several trunks in a clump. Fruits
  are twin-winged.
•  
• General Leaves turn vivid red in autumn.
  Montana Indians used the wood for arrow shafts.
  Deer, elk, moose and mountain sheep browse the
  sweet foliage and twigs. The young shoots and
  leaves and the seeds are edible.

4
Western Serviceberry(Amelanchier alnifolia)

• Rose Family Rosaceae
•  
• Habitat Tall shrub draws
•  
• Description Is a shrub or small tree, up to 20
  feet tall. Flowers are white with five rounded
  petals and five sepals, and appear before the
  leaves. They are borne in multiple clusters at
  the ends of branches and appear in early spring.
  The leaves are round toothed above the middle.
  The dark blue to purple berries ripen generally
  in July. Bark reddish-brown, grayish when older,
  branchlets hairy.
•  
• General Native people considered this plant an
  important berry crop, plentiful enough to store
  for winter use. Lewis and Clark mentioned that
  some Serviceberry loaves weighed as much as 10 or
  15 pounds. Its stems were also used for arrow
  shafts. Bear, grouse, and other species eat the
  berries.

5
Silver Sagebrush(Artemisia cana)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Grassland and shrubland
•  
• Description Silver-gray to yellowish shrub 1-3
  feet tall. Has turpentine-like odor. Stems
  branch freely to form rounded bushes, older stems
  have dark brown, fibrous bark. Leaves
  silky-haired, long, narrow, with pointed tips.
  Flower heads yellowish in narrow, leafy clusters
  5-12 inches long. The leafy appearance of the
  upper stem tends to obscure the small flowers.
•  
• General Silver Sagebrush is the most common
  large sage found on Mount Helena. It is well
  adapted to fire and resprouts from surviving buds
  found on horizontal stems below the surface.

6
Rabbitbrush(Chrysothamnus nauseosus)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Dry slopes in the valleys, foothills
  and montane forests
•  
• Description A shrub usually from 1-3 feet tall.
  Twigs covered with dense, white, feltlike hair.
  Leaves narrow less than 2.5 inches long. Flowers
  are rayless heads with 5 yellow disk flowers per
  head.
•  
• General There are six specimens of rabbitbrush
  in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium more than any
  other species. An original label in Lewis hand
  reads No. 32, specimens of aromatic plants on
  which the
• antelope feeds. During the rubber shortage of
  World War II, scientists became interested in the
  latex and found that a high-quality rubber could
  be produced, but not in high quantities needed at
  that time,
• nevertheless, the name rubber rabbitbrush stuck.

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Common Juniper(Juniperus communis)

• Cypress Family Cupressaceae
•  
• Habitat Forest and woodland
•  
• Description Low spreading shrub, never more
  than 2-3 feet in height, often spreading up to 6
  feet. The sharp-pointed leaves are green with a
  white line on the upper surface. The round
  berries are blue when ripe.
•  
• General A circumpolar species, found over the
  whole northern hemisphere. It is commonly used
  in landscaping.

8
Rocky Mountain Juniper(Juniperus scopulorum)

• Cypress Family Cupressaceae
•  
• Habitat Forest and woodland
•  
• Description Is a tree or shrub, sometimes
  reaching 50 feet in height, and much branched at
  the base. The leaves are scale-like, somewhat
  glandular and arranged in twos. The fleshy,
  bluish cones are about a quarter inch in
  diameter, and mature the second year.
•  
• General As incense, juniper ranks as one of the
  most important in Montana. Indians placed these
  leaves on fire to produce a sacred, purifying
  smoke in many religious ceremonies. Juniper
  provided native people with a vast storehouse of
  cures for common ailments such as colds, fevers,
  and pneumonia. Its wood was considered to make
  an excellent bow.

9
Mock Orange(Philadelphus lewisii)

• Hydrangea Family Hydrangeaceae
•  
• Habitat Tall shrub draws
•  
• Description This is an erect shrub, up to 9
  feet tall and densely branched. On older stems
  the reddish-brown bark cracks open at a right
  angle to the stem and eventually falls away in
  small pieces, revealing the gray bark underneath.
  The leaves are in pairs,
• opposite each other on the stems. Each flower
  has 4 petals, many stamens, 4 styles, and a
  sweet, orange blossom aroma. The fruit is a hard
  capsule that remains on the shrub through the
  winter.
•  
• General Is the state flower of Idaho, where it
  is often called Syringa. In 1814, it was named
  in honor of Meriwether Lewis, from specimens that
  Lewis
• collected in 1806.

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Chokecherry(Prunus virginiana)

• Rose Family Rosaceae
•  
• Habitat Prefers damp ground and fairly rich
  soil. Often found in exposed locations.
•  
• Description Heavy crooked shrubs to small
  trees. Abundance of dark green leaves and
  drooping pencils of flowers or berries. Rough,
  grayish-brown bark.
• Leaves sharply pointed and finely saw-toothed.
  White flowers with dense, cylindrical clusters
  near ends of the limbs. Dark berries in masses.
•  
• General Berries are very puckery to the taste.
  Some Native Americans blend them with meat to
  make an important food called pemmican. The
  bruised bark gives off a pungent smell.

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Bitterbrush(Purshia tridentata)

• Rose Family Rosaceae
•  
• Habitat Dry slopes in the valleys, foothills
  and montane forests
•  
• Description Shrub with a spreading structure of
  stiff, awkward branches. The wedge-shaped leaves
  are green on the upper surface and appear
  gray-green
• beneath. The leaves are so tiny that the outline
  of the limbs is quite distinctive. Flowers are
  yellow and fragrant. The shrub flowers early,
  while the leaves are just starting to emerge.
•  
• General Although it is bitter, this shrub
  provides an extremely important food source for
  deer, especially in winter. Bitterbrush also
  goes by the common names antelope brush or
  antelope bitterbrush. Lewis and Clark collected
  this plant on July 6, 1806 in western Montana.

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Skunk-bush Sumac(Rhus trilobata)

• Sumac Family Anacardiaceae
•  
• Habitat Tall shrub draws
•  
• Description A much-branched dense, rounded
  shrub, 2-5 feet high. Leaves compound with 3
  leaflets, middle leaflet largest. Tiny
  yellow-green flowers appear before leaves in
  crowded catkin-like clusters and are followed by
  flattened velvety, red or orange berries. Light
  brown bark.
•  
• General This shrub is also called Lemonade
  Bush. Its berries have an acid flavor and have
  been used to make a substitute for lemonade.
  Given its name because of its strong odor. Also
  known as Three-leaf Sumac.

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Golden Current(Ribes aureum)

• Gooseberry Family Grossulariaceae
•  
• Habitat Tall shrub draws
•  
• Description Shrub of medium height, up to 6
  feet with yellow, spicy-fragrant, tubular
  flowers. Short petals often tipped with red,
  leaves wedge-shaped and 3-lobed. Stems smooth
  without spines. Fruit a small, round, black or
  red-brown berry.
•  
• General This shrub is browsed by game animals,
  and the berries furnish food for small mammals
  and birds.

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Wax Current(Ribes cereum)

• Gooseberry Family Grossulariaceae
•  
• Habitat Tall shrub draws
•  
• Description Low, rather sticky-hairy shrub from
  2-5 feet tall. Leaves small, round or oval in
  outline and ordinarily quite hairy and sticky to
  the touch. Flowers white and sometimes tinged
  with pink. The flowers are tubular and occur in
  small clusters of two or three from short, stubby
  side branches. Fruit orange-red, edible but
  rather bitter.
•  
• General Also known as Western Red Currant. As
  a rule of thumb, gooseberry bushes bear thorns
  and currants go unarmed.

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Wild Rose(Rosa arkansana or Rosa woodsii)

• Rose Family Roseaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, tall shrub draws
•  
• Description Shrubs with prickly or bristly,
  usually upright stems. Flowers are pink but may
  fade to white, or petals may be streaked with
  darker pink and are in a cluster of 2-3 blooms.
  Wild Rose flowers are much flatter when open than
  those of the Woods Rose, which are distinctly
  saucer-shaped and usually a deeper pink.
• Leaves are medium green, pinnately compound, with
  9-11 leaflets that are smooth and shiny. The
  fleshy apple-like fruit is called the rosehip.
•  
• General Woods Rose is the state flower of
  North Dakota. Roses have been used for food and
  medicine. The hips are high in vitamin C and
  make a good syrup or jelly. The flowers and
  leaves make a tea.

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Gray Horsebrush(Tetradymia canescens)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Grassland and shrubland
•  
• Description Thickly branched shrub up to 2 feet
  tall with white, felty foliage. Leaves are long,
  narrow, or with broad tips, densely white,
  felt-covered, bunched at stem joints. Flowers
  are yellow, about 4 to a head, surrounded by four
  or five bracts at the flower base. Heads are in
  compact somewhat flat-topped clusters at the ends
  of stems. Seed-like fruits are smooth or thinly
  hairy, each with tuft of grayish bristles at tip.
•  
• General Also called Spineless Horsebrush. All
  parts of the plant are poisonous.

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Grasses
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Bluebunch Wheatgrass(Elymus spicata)

• Grass Family Gramineae
•  
• Habitat South facing slopes and other dry areas
  in forest regions
•  
• Description A native, cool-season,
  drought-tolerant, perennial bunchgrass. This
  grass grows in large, erect bunches from 2 to 3
  feet tall. It has numerous, rather lax, flat
  leaves situated along the length of the stems.
  The seed heads are narrow, 3 to 6 inches long.
  The spikelets are solitary at the points of a
  zigzag rachis. Each spikelet is 3 to 6 flowered,
  with the seeds tipped by a characteristic, rough,
  divergent awn. There are 4 to 12 seed heads per
  plant. It has an extensive, deep, fibrous root
  system.
•  
• General Bluebunch wheatgrass was designated the
  official state grass of Montana in 1973. It
  provides good forage for elk and deer.

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Idaho Fescue(Festuca idahoensis)

• Grass Family Gramineae
•  
• Habitat Open woods, rocky slopes of the
  mountains and foothills
•  
• Description Idaho fescue is a cool-season,
  densely tufted, perennial bunchgrass. The
  characteristic bluish-green leaves are tightly
  inrolled and rough to the touch. The narrow
  panicle is 3 to 8 inches long, with branches
  ascending or appressed, somewhat spreading during
  pollination. The spikelets are five- to
  seven-flowered, with awns up to ¼ inch long.
  This species is shade tolerant, and often
  functions as an understory plant however, it
  also occurs on exposed sites as a dominant plant.
•  
• General Idaho fescue is considered a key
  indicator of the condition and trend of native
  forage stands. First noted by the Lewis and
  Clark Expedition, June 10, 1806, on the Weippe
  Prairie, Idaho.

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Forbs
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Yarrow(Achillea millefolium)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, cliff and rock
  outcrops, tall shrub draws, forests and woodlands
•  
• Description A flat-topped to somewhat rounded
  blossom, typifies yarrow. Ordinarily white or
  sooty-colored, the flowers occasionally show pink
  or even yellow shades. This plant averages 1 to
  3 feet in height. The leaves have a fern-like
  appearance. Soft, woolly hairs coat the foliage.
•  
• General Yarrow is a medicinal wonder. It has
  been used to stop bleeding from wounds and cuts,
  as a poultice on burns, boils and open sores, to
  treat fevers and colds, and alleviate
  toothaches. Many call this plant Chipmunks
  Tail because the leaves bear a resemblance to
  the tail of a chipmunk.

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Small-leaf Pussytoes(Antennaria parvifolia)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Dry forest openings, plains
•  
• Description From a small, grayish basal rosette
  rises an erect, sparsely-leaved flower stalk with
  cluster of small, rayless, whitish flower heads.
  Leaves are long, equally hairy on both sides
  those in rosettes lanceolate but are obviously
  broader near the top, those on the flower stalk
  are much narrower. The fruit is seed-like, with
  5 white bristles at top.
•  
• General The clusters of small, soft, whitish to
  pink flower heads resemble a cats paw.
  Pussytoes seedlings are quick to volunteer in
  open areas. This is a suitable ground cover for
  sunny, barren areas.

23
Holboells Rockcress(Arabis holboellii)

• Mustard Family Cruciferae
•  
• Habitat Dry slopes and foothills into the lower
  mountains
•  
• Description This plant is biennial or perennial
  from a tough, persistent base bearing slender
  taproots. There are usually only one to three
  stems. Plants are covered with short, appressed
  hairs. Individual plants can be up to three feet
  tall, but are usually less than 20 inches tall.
  Ten to 50 light purplish-to-pink flowers about
  ¼-inch long are crowded along the upper half of
  the stem. At maturity, flowers form narrow pods
  (siliques) about two inches long that bend
  downwards. Each pod holds several dozen tiny
  seeds.
•  
• General All rockcresses are edible, with the
  typical sharp flavor of the mustard family. The
  tender leaves and flowers are usually added to
  salads and sandwiches for flavor.

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Fringed Sagewort(Artemisia frigida)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Grassland and shrubland
•  
• Description An aromatic herb, the silver-gray,
  finely cut foliage is the most noticeable feature
  of this plant. Grows in tufts 4-8 inches tall.
  Small, yellow, nodding flower heads bloom in
  August. The many-divided, soft and silky leaves
  are clustered near the ground.
•  
• General Native people called this plant
  Womens Sage. Women would make a tea to
  correct menstrual irregularity. The early
  settlers used this plant to make a bitter tea
  which was believed to be a tonic and a remedy for
  mountain fever (typhoid). Plants have a pungent
  sage odor and were also used as a smudge for
• protection from mosquitoes.

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Prairie Sagewort(Artemisia ludoviciana)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Grasslands and shrubland
•  
• Description Most often noticed for its
  silvery-white to greenish foliage and stems that
  are covered with a dense mat of woolly hairs.
  Leaves, usually linear, bear a spike with
  clusters of small, yellow disk flowers in late
  summer.
•  
• General Native people called this plant Man
  Sage. It was used in religious ceremonies. They
  believed this plant had the power to drive away
  bad spirits. The species name, ludoviciana, means
  of Louisiana but refers to the vast Louisiana
  Territory rather than to the state.

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Pasqueflower(Anemone patens)

• Buttercup Family Ranunculaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland and shrubland
•  
• Description Flowers are pale blue or mauve,
  occasionally white or light yellow. The sepals,
  five to seven, are colored and petals are absent.
  Leaves are gray-green, basal, stalked, and much
  divided. They appear after the flowers fade.
  The fruit is a large group of feathery achenes on
  a lengthened flower stalk.
•  
• General Was used as medicine by many tribes.
  Blackfeet women boiled the plant and drank tea to
  speed delivery in childbirth. The Blackfeet also
  bound the crushed pasqueflower leaves on some
  injuries as a counterirritant.

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Arrowleaf Balsamroot(Balsamorhiza sagittata)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Dry, low elevation forest and open
  grassland in deep sandy soil
•  
• Description A clump of large, velvety,
  olive-green leaves with a pale green, woolly look
  to both sides of arrowhead-shaped leaves. A dozen
  or so large, yellow, sunflower-like flowers on
  leafless stems. Often forms dense, spectacular
  populations.
•  
• General One of the most colorful plants of the
  sagebrush ecosystem. In spring, the many species
  of Balsamroot brighten the landscape with yellow.
  Native people ate the rich, oily seeds, and the
  deep-growing roots were eaten raw or were toasted.

28
Wyoming Kittentails(Besseya wyomingensis)

• Figwort Family Scrophulariaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, forest and
  woodland
•  
• Description This plant lacks petals, but the
  dense cylindrical flower heads bristle with dark
  red stamens. A perennial, 3-10 inches tall, the
  leaves are gray-hairy and often reddish-tinged,
  the lance-shaped basal leaves ½ to 1 inch long,
  the stem leaves smaller.
•  
• General The genus Besseya was named in honor of
  Charles Edwin Bessey, an eminent botanist from
  the University of Nebraska.

29
Harebell(Campanula rotundifolia)

• Campanula Family Campanulaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland and shrubland
•  
• Description This plant has numerous blue or
  somewhat lavender, bell-shaped (5 lobed) and
  nodding flowers on thread-like stems. This plant
  ranges from 4-12 inches tall, with narrow leaves.
  Grows in clumps.
•  
• General Harebell is the true Scottish
  Bluebell.

30
Yellow Paintbrush(Castilleja lutescens)

• Figwort Family Scrophulariaceae
•  
• Habitat Dry slopes and open coniferous forests
  in the grasslands of the steppe and montane zones
•  
• Description A perennial forb with clustered
  stems that are erect, stout, and often branched
  above. They are 1 2 ft tall, sometimes
  purplish and have leaves that are linear.
  Although the flowers are rather small and
  non-showy, they are associated with numerous
  colorful bract-like leaves that function as an
  attractant.
•  
• General An interesting adaptation of
  paintbrushes is that they are able to parasitize
  the roots of associated plants, especially
  sagebrush. From the host plant, the paintbrush
  derives both water and organic materials, thus
  increasing its tolerance to dry conditions and
  its ecological range.

31
Field Chickweed(Cerastium arvense)

• Pink Family Caryophyllaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, and tall shrub
  draws
•  
• Description Flowers snowy-white, almost ½ inch
  across, with 5 deeply cleft petals and five
  sepals. Plants are up to 12 inches tall. Stems
  tend to spread or lean. Leaves are narrow,
  small, velvety and gray-green in color. This
  plant is often found in large patches.
•  
• General Also known as Mouse-ear Chickweed. It
  is often the most abundant white flower on open
  fields and dry meadows in spring and early summer.

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Wavyleaf Thistle(Cirsium undulatum)

• Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Dry, open sites in plains, foothills,
  and montane forests
•  
• Description Has large, showy, rose-purple
  flower heads that may be over 2 inches wide and
  1.5 inches tall. Leaves and stems are whitish
  gray because of a covering of woolly hairs.
  Sharp yellow spines project from the leaves and
  sides of the flower heads and wavy leaf margins.
•  
• General The thick roots were cooked by several
  tribes of North America. Thistledown is relished
  by birds for food and nest linings. This plant
  should not be confused with the noxious Canada
  thistle.

33
Miners Candle(Cryptantha celosioides)

• Borage Family Boraginaceae
•  
• Habitat Dry slopes and foothills into the lower
  mountains
•  
• Description A spike of white, open-faced
  flowers, crowds the upper portion of a stem,
  hence the common name. The basal leaves broaden
  at the tip into spatula or oar shapes. A few
  smaller, narrow leaves attach along the stem.
  Dense white hairs, straight and somewhat stiff to
  silky, cover the leaves, stems and sepals.
•  
• General Plants usually flower 1-2 years and
  then die. There are no known economic uses of
  this plant.

34
Little Larkspur(Delphinium bicolor)

• Buttercup Family Ranunculaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, forest and
  woodland
•  
• Description Flowers have dark blue as the
  prominent color due to five petal-like sepals.
  The four petals are blue to creamy white and
  somewhat hairy. The four petals are much smaller
  than the sepals. The flowers are spurred. The
  flower stalks are long and hairy. Leaves are
  palmately compound and deeply parted into slender
  leaflets.
•  
• General Is also known as Montana Larkspur and
  Low Larkspur.

35
Slimpod Shooting Star(Dodecatheon conjugens)

• Primrose Family Primulaceae
•  
• Habitat Grasslands, montane to near treeline
•  
• Description A perennial forb. Leaves are all
  basal. Flowers are magenta to lavender, swept
  backwards and united at the base by two yellow
  rings. Dark stamens and style cling together to
  form a spear-like point.
•  
• General Flowers are said to smell like root
  beer. Such an unusual flower requires a special
  technique for pollination. A bumblebee grasps
  the yellow band while hanging upside down. It
  then gives a quick buzz of its wings that shakes
  pollen out of the flowers anthers and onto its
  abdomen. When the bee visits the next shooting
  star, the thin stigma protruding from the tube is
  placed perfectly to receive the pollen.

36
Cut-leaved Fleabane(Erigeron compositus)

•  Composite Family Compositae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, forest, and
  woodland
•  
• Description This is a little tufted plant with
  stems 2-6 inches tall. Rays are usually white
  but may be bluish or purple. Leaves mostly
  basal, once or twice 3-parted into narrow, blunt
  lobes. The very small stem leaves are entire.
•  
• General A very large genus that is confused
  with asters. Erigerons usually bloom in spring
  and early summer, asters in late summer and fall.
  Many Erigerons have only one head to each stem,
  and most have fewer than five (most asters have
  several to many heads).

37
Howards Alpine Forget-me-not(Eritrichium
howardii)

• Borage Family Boraginaceae
•  
• Habitat Cliff and rock outcrops
•  
• Description A cushion plant with fragrant,
  brilliantly blue, yellow-eyed flowers. Its stems
  rise from compact rosettes of tiny, silver-hairy
  leaves.
•  
• General A member of the Borage family, this
  lovely plant likes limestone hills and ridges
  east of the Continental Divide. The name
  Eritrichium comes from the Greek, and means
  woolly.

38
Wild Strawberry(Fragaria virginiana)

• Rose Family Rosaceae
•  
• Habitat Openings and open forest to timberline
•  
• Description Perennial, low-growing herb. Thin
  leaves with 3 leaflets and small white flowers
  with 5-7 petals. Fruit is a small, red
  strawberry. Delicious!
•  
• General Native Americans used strawberry leaves
  for tea and to make anti-diarrhea medicines. The
  berries are only eaten fresh since they are too
  juicy to dry like other berries.

39
Yellowbell(Fritillaria pudicua)

• Lily Family Liliaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, forest and
  woodland
•  
• Description A single, golden-yellow,
  bell-shaped flower hangs downward or sidewise
  from a bent stalk. It begins blooming in March
  and the flower soon fades to red or purple. The
  slender, blunt-tipped leaves, often two or three
  in number, measure from 2-4 inches in length.
  Plants are 3-8 inches in height.
•  
• General The bulb-like underground corms were a
  minor portion of the native peoples vegetable
  diet in Montana. Wild animals such as bears,
  gophers, and ground squirrels avidly dig for
  these corms. The fruity pods are also edible.

40
Prairie Smoke(Geum triflorum)

• Rose Family Rosaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, forest and
  woodland
•  
• Description Has finely dissected leaves and
  nodding flowers, usually 3 on a stalk, the whole
  inflorescence is rose-colored. The calyx lobes
  overlap to form a sort of urn, from which whitish
  or pale yellow petals protrude slightly. The
  fruit becomes puffs of long, feathery plumes that
  are carried on the wind.
•  
• General In the Rose family. Also known as
  Three-flowered Avens and Old Mans Whiskers.
  The latter name due to the feathery plumes of the
  fruit.

41
Bitterroot(Lewisia rediviva)

•  Purslane Family Portulacaceae
•  
• Habitat Dry open foothills, montane and
  subalpine sites
•  
• Description Low perennial herb, inconspicuous
  until the beautiful flower appears in early
  summer. Each flower has numerous petals,
  stamens, and styles. The petals vary from nearly
  white to deep rose. The succulent leaves are
  small, club-shaped, and inconspicuous.
•  
• General The fleshiness of bitterroot reflects a
  water-storing adaptation, which parallels that of
  cacti and other desert succulents. The roots can
  survive extreme dehydration. A staple food for
  many Native American tribes. A 50 lb. bag of
  roots was
• considered enough to sustain a person through
  winter. This plant was an important trade item
  a bag of bitterroot could be traded for a good
  horse. This is Montanas state flower.

42
Gromwell(Lithospermum ruderale)

• Borage Family Boraginaceae
•  
• Habitat Dry slopes, plains and shrub-steppe, up
  to mid-elevation in the mountains
•  
• Description A perennial forb with several
  ascending stems. Its stems and prominently
  ribbed leaves appear grayish-green from their
  coating of fine hairs. The nutlets (seeds) are
  bony hard. Leaves are narrowly lance-shaped.
  Flowers are light yellow.
•  
• General The generic term, Lithospermum, comes
  from two Greek words meaning stone and seed.
  Our plants species name, ruderale, means
  waste-place or dump in Latin. Native
  Americans gave the name puccoon to a related
  plant that grows in the eastern United States.
  Captain John Smith wrote about this plant in
  1612 Pocones is a small roote that groweth in
  the mountains, which being dryed and beate in
  powder turneth red and used by Indians to paint
  their skin. The roots of the Columbia puccoon
  contain a yellow dye that was used by Native
  Americans in that region.

43
Nine-leaf Lomatium(Lomatium triternatum)

• Parsley Family Umbelliferae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, tall shrub draws,
  cliff and rock outcrops
•  
• Description Pale yellow flowers are arranged in
  compound umbels. The compound leaves are often
  in sets of 3 leaflets each and are very narrow.
  Flowering stalk and leaves are covered with fine
  hair.
•  
• General The Blackfeet made a tea from the roots
  of this plant and the rose, to relieve sore
  throats and coughs. Long distance runners would
  chew the fruit to avoid side aches.

44
Leafy Musineon(Musineon divaricatum)

• Parsely Family Umbelliferae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrubland, cliff and rocky
  outcrops
•  
• Description Flowers are powdery-yellow with
  five petals and sepals, and are supported by
  linear bractlets. The flowers are borne in a
  compound umbel. Leaves are basal, doubly
  pinnate. Leaflets are oblong, bright green and
  smooth. Growth habit is erect, but low-growing
  and spreading. Flower heads are not usually more
  than 4 inches tall and the leaflets are beneath
  them.
•  
• General Leafy Musineon is in the Parsley family
  that contains many edible plants, but also some
  deadly poisonous ones.

45
Prickly Pear(Opuntia polyacantha)

• Cactus Family Cactaceae
•  
• Habitat On arid plains, canyons, benches and
  foothills on gentle slopes
•  
• Description Fleshy forb, 4-12 inches tall. A
  shallow, extensive lateral root system forms
  rounded clumps and spreads into mats. Stems are
  fleshy, strongly flattened, and jointed into
  obovate segments. Straight spines up to 2 inches
  long cover the stem (only slightly barbed).
  Leaves are fleshy with tawny bristles. Flowers
  appear waxy, yellow (often reddish tinged).
  Fruit is pear-shaped berry (brown or tan). Plant
  gets its common name from the prickly fruit.
•  
• General Antelope and mountain sheep graze the
  pods. Seeds and fruit are eaten by rabbits,
  ground squirrels, wood rats, chipmunks and mice.
  Native Americans ate the pods raw, dried and used
  them in stews or soups and boiled in a tea as a
  remedy for diarrhea.

46
Hoods Phlox(Phlox hoodii)

• Phlox Family Palemoniaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland, shrub land, forest, and
  woodland
•  
• Description Early flowering dense cushion
  plant. The 5-petaled flowers are white to pale
  violet. Flowers grow directly attached to the
  short main stems of the plant and form whitish
  patches on the ground. Leaves are gray-green in
  color and are awl-shaped.
•  
• General Also known as Carpet Phlox and Moss
  Phlox. Growth habit is short and tufted, not
  much more than an inch above the ground. After
  the flowers fade, the leaves and stem form an
  inconspicuous part of the ground cover. The
  plant is named for Robert Hood, midshipman on Sir
  John Franklins expedition of 1819-22.

47
Early Cinquefoil(Potentilla concinna)

• Rose Family Rosaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland and shrubland
•  
• Description This is a low, silvery plant with 5
  leaflets. The leaflets are green above, white
  below. The flowers have 5 separate, heart-shaped
  petals, which are yellow and have an orange spot
  at the base. The 5 sepals are united into a calyx
  that resembles a 5-pointed star. Five extra,
  narrower bractlets alternate with the main calyx
  lobes to give the calyx a 10-lobed appearance.
•  
• General The old common name for this genus,
  Cinquefoil, which in French means 5-leaf, was
  originally applied to a European species that has
  5 leaflets. Among the large number of American
  species, most have more than 5 leaflets, so the
  name is inappropriate for the genus as a whole.

48
Sagebrush Buttercup(Ranunculus glaberrimus)

• Buttercup Family Ranunculaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland and shrubland
•  
• Description The waxy, shiny yellow cups have 5,
  or as many as 8, petals. Many yellow stamens
  encircle a mound of greenish-yellow pistils in
  the center of the blossom. Five shorter sepals
  beneath the petals bear a purplish tinge. The
  round or oval, fleshy leaf blades may be either
  simple or 3-lobed and both kinds often occur on
  the same plant.
•  
• General A small pocket at the base of each
  petal holds nectar for bees and other pollinating
  insects.

49
Scarlet Globemallow(Sphaeralcea coccinea)

• Mallow Family Malvaceae
•  
• Habitat Dry, often disturbed open plains,
  foothills, and montane sites
•  
• Description Low-spreading perennial herb,
  grayish with dense, star-shaped hairs. Leaves
  alternate cut into 3-5 wedge-shaped segments
  arranged like fingers on a hand. Flowers are
  orange to brick red.
•  
• General Roots of this plant were chewed and
  then laid on sores and wounds to aid healing and
  stop bleeding. Whole plants were used to make a
  sweet-tasting tea.

50
Birchleaf Spiraea(Spiraea betulifolia)

• Rose Family Rosaceae
•  
• Habitat Dry, open, mountain forests.
  Bunchgrass and Ponderosa Pine ecosystems mostly
  east of the Continental Divide.
•  
• Description Under 2 feet tall with slender
  stems. Leaves are rounded like a birch leaf and
  coarsely toothed along upper two thirds. Dense,
  flat-topped crown of small, white flowers
  occasionally tinged pink. Commonly found with
  Douglas-fir and Lodgepole Pine.
•  
• General Birchleaf Spiraea is also called
  Meadowsweet and is used by herbalists to relieve
  pain and reduce fever and inflammation.

51
Yellow Prairie Violet(Viola nuttallii)

• Violet Family Violaceae
•  
• Habitat Grassland and shrubland
•  
• Description Small, bright yellow, 5-petaled
  flowers. The petals may be veined with purple or
  the upper ones tinged with red on the back.
  Leaves are lance-shaped. Plants are 4-8 inches
  tall.
•  
• General This plant is also called Nuttalls
  Violet, named for Thomas Nuttall, a naturalist of
  the early 19th century. His interests were in
  both birds and plants. He was professor of
  botany at Harvard and collected plants in the
  western U.S.

52
Trees
53
Limber Pine(Pinus flexilis)

• Pine Family Pinaceae
•  
• Habitat Forest and woodland
•  
• Description The bark is light gray on young
  trunks and branches, but much darker on old
  trunks. The needles are dark green, usually 5 in
  a cluster, and more bluish than those of the
  Ponderosa Pine. The cylindrical cones are often
  very pitchy. Each scale is rounded, with a pale
  border.
•  
• General Limber Pine got its Latin name from its
  flexible branches. At timberline and other windy
  sites, they become gnarled and twisted. The
  trunk may separate into several main,
  upward-reaching branches. They become mature at
  about 300 years.

54
Ponderosa Pine(Pinus ponderosa)

• Pine Family Pinaceae
•  
• Habitat Valley bottoms to mountain slopes in
  dry, well-drained soils
•  
• Description Its straight trunk is topped by a
  large mass of heavy branches with tufts of bushy
  needles. Has the longest needles of any evergreen
  in our area 6-9 inches in bunches of 3. The
  bark is flaky, terra cotta red bark, and furrowed
  like jigsaw pieces. Its cones are roundish,
  shiny, and light brown.
•  
• General Common in low, forested portions of
  Montana between 1,500-3,000 feet elevation.
  Isolated occurrences in dry, gravely places west
  of the Cascades. Ponderosa Pine has a flammable
  chemical in its needles. Quick ground fires do
  not harm the tree but do destroy competing
  vegetation.

55
Douglas Fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii)

• Pine Family Pinaceae
•  
• Habitat From extremely dry, low elevation sites
  to moist montane sites
•  
• Description Large, evergreen tree with thick,
  ridged and rough brown bark. Needles spirally
  arranged with one groove on upper surface and two
  white bands of stomata on lower surface. Cones
  hang down green at flowering, turning reddish
  brown to gray, with bracts prominently
  three-forked (look for the mice hiding in the
  cone the bracts are their hind feet and tails).
•  
• General Under natural conditions, Douglas-fir
  establishes primarily after forest fires. The
  trees have very thick bark that allows them to
  withstand moderate surface fires. The soft inner
  bark was used for survival food. Young twigs and
  needles can be used as a substitute for coffee or
  tea. Fragrant Douglas-fir boughs were often
  used for bedding. The pliable roots have been
  used to weave baskets. Rotted wood from old logs
  was burned slowly to smoke hides , and the bark
  was used in tanning.