Dan noticed a new flower blooming in the rocks down the hill from our house.
A Bitterroot. First time we've noticed this flower blooming here.
They have a pretty wide color variation, from really dark pink to a very pale pastel pink.
Still tightly furled, this Bitterroot is a deep rose color.
This plant was first collected on the Lewis & Clark expedition, and they tried to eat it. I think they tried to eat everything they came across, actually. They said it was too bitter, and called it Bitterroot. When the dried specimen was returned to the east coast, it looked like it still had life, and they planted it. Sure enough, it grew. And so the scientific name is Lewisia Rediviva, and rediviva means “restored to life.”
Meadow Death Camas, a highly poisonous plant whose roots were historically mashed and used to coat the tips of arrows.
Two that I’ve taken pictures of before but that I always love to see each spring are the Larkspur and wild hyacinth.
Upland Larkspur are some of the earliest blooming flowers. I love the deep blue color.
I can never remember what this one is called and then I figure it out, and forget again until next year. It reminds me of Chinese paper lanterns. I found it, a type of Lily.