Photographing Wyoming Wildflowers, in the wilds of the Wind River Canyon, is strenuous on the body and the mind.  You see, wildflowers have a very short lifespan here in the canyon; they can and do disappear in a moments time.  Wildflowers have an expiration date, just like that carton of milk in your fridge.  If you want to visit a particular wildflower with that big camera, you cannot put it off till next week because "my back hurts."  It could have vanished, and you'll wait a year for the next opportunity!

     While I was "up the mountain" again for the millionth time this Spring, I spotted a wildflower I'd never seen in my all my time living in this magical canyon.  They were like strange, red hairy things on funny, weird stems; with bizarre leaves.  I swear the first thing I thought was, "These things look like Flowers from Mars."  There were only a half dozen, more or less, in an area that was only a few feet square.  I crawled around in the damp dirt happily shooting away, documenting these "weird looking flowers."  There were none to be found anywhere I climbed or hiked; these were the only ones I'd ever seen!

     Checking with my downloaded books on wildflowers from the Kindle Store, I found out these Flowers from Mars had a name; they actually have several names.  They are known as Prairie Smoke, or my more favorite name, Old Man's Whiskers.  Each botanical name refers to the way the Flowers from Mars looks as it morphs over its lifespan.  The scientific Latin name Geum triflorum (Rose family) references the three, hairy globes that usually grow on a stem.  As these strange things mature they turn over and explode in a grey, hairy mass; hence the name.  Native-Americans used them to treat tuberculosis.  

     The next day was cloudy and we had some rain, the following day I was going up just to see my Flowers from Mars; and they were gone!  Not a stem or leaf existed of Prairie Smoke now, they'd seemed to have vanished.  I couldn't believe it, where did they go?  Did the aliens come back for them? very funny.  As a boy I fell in love with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fascinating detective, but it doesn't take Sherlock to figure out somebody ate them!  No deer tracks close by, and that leaves only the hundreds of Voles that make their home in this wildflower heaven; and that seemed to be the logical answer.  The Voles overturn the soil, this northwest facing mountainside is the perfect spot for wildflowers to propagate en mass; and they do.  But I don't know if I'd eat one of these.    Prairie Smoke, Old Man's Wiskers - Wind River CanyonWyoming Wildflowers, Old Man's Wiskers Photographed in The Wind River Canyon.      Another of the strange flowers in Wyoming are the Paintbrush, which believe it or not the genus Castilleja (Indian Paintbrush) contains about 200 species.  But that's not the weird part, the State Flower of Wyoming, the Narrow Leaf Indian Paintbrush and all Indian Paintbrush wildflowers, are parasites.  Let that sink in a moment....these celebrated flowers are parasites and need the sage's roots to gain nourishment.  As I tried to explain to an uniformed old woman recently, it's not illegal to grow them; it's just impossible!  You can not grow them in your garden; I learned this from a Professor @ UW ages ago; he thought this was very funny.  

     I was asked about yellow Indian Paintbrush flowers recently, and as luck sometimes presents itself, last Wednesday a varietal (Early Indian Paintbrush - Castilleja angustifolia) was blooming early in a very small difficult to reach spot.  The flower tops of the Indian Paintbrush can be eaten in a salad, but the greenery and roots are poisoned with selenium; the plant absorbs it from the soil.                                           Yellow Early Paintbrush - Wind River CanyonWyoming Yellow Paintbrush Wildflowers Photographed in The Wind River Canyon.      So there you have it, two of the strange wildflowers of the Wild West; the first two members of my new list----Flowers from Mars!

Blog, Photography, Digital Darkroom and Website by Michael John Balog - Wind River Canyon   HogbatsPhotography.com

Thank You for Your Time

I hope you learned a little something.