We returned to Selah Butte to check on the bitterroot bloom. Sadly we found that the plants that had opened since our trip on 6-7 had dry looking flowers and we found no new blooms. The blooms we saw on 6-7 were mostly under sagebrush. I am trying to research why the plants are not blooming.
Type of Hike
Day hikeTrail Conditions
Trail in good conditionRoad
Road rough but passableBugs
No bugsSnow
Snow free
Comments
I e-mailed a botanist at the Burke Museum with pictures of the dead looking blooms on some of the bitterroot. Today I received the following explanation from him! "The "different" blossoms you see are actually the fruiting stage of the plant. Your first two photos show plants past flower; in these photos the "petals" are actually the sepals which persist after the petals have withered and fallen. In most plants I see that are past flower the sepals appear closed (these may be the ones you thought had not yet bloomed), but your photos show them opened back up, possibly in response to the fruit becoming mature and ready to release its seeds. The open "flower" in your second photo shows a pinkish, unopened capsule in the center. Your first photo shows a cluster of shiny black seeds in the center; in this flower the capsule has split open and the top of the capsule has fallen off, revealing the seeds."
Posted by:
Bob and Barb on Jun 20, 2017 11:22 AM