Last weekend I went on two all day field trips that were part of Idaho Native Plant Society‘s annual meeting. The second field trip was in a location with a climate considerably warmer and drier than the first field trip. The flora was much more familiar to me since it was similar to what I generally see in southern Idaho. We visited two sites: Mud Springs Ridge and Cow Creek Saddle. Both are high on a mountain ridge (around 5300 feet in elevation) flanked by the Salmon River canyon on the east and the Snake River canyon on the west. The tiny town of Lucile, Idaho was just below us to the east, and if we would have continued down the other side of the mountain, we would have arrived at Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. These sites are high elevation grasslands, and there was a huge diversity of grasses and forbs to explore.

Taking decent photos of the plants was a challenge as the sun was shining brightly and there was a constant breeze. Photographs don’t quite cut it anyway. The views were incredible. Standing on a ridge top peering across a meadow full of wildflowers with more mountains in the distance. Mass amounts of lupines and paintbrushes mixed with grasses and other plants being tossed about in the breeze. Little rock gardens randomly dispersed across the hillsides. You kind of had to be there.

A view across the meadow at Mud Springs Ridge

Fellow botany geeks searching for Silene spaldingii (Spalding’s catchfly) – a rare, imperiled plant species

Gnarly, old Cercocapus ledifolius (curl-leaf mountain mahogany) growing out of a rock outcrop

Cercocarpus ledifolius (curl-leaf mountain mahogany)

Orthocarpus tenuifolius (thin-leaved owl’s clover)

Castilleja hispida (harsh paintbrush)

Castilleja cusickii (Cusick’s paintbrush)

Lewisia columbiana var. wallowensis (Wallowa lewisia)

Lewisia columbiana var. wallowensis (Wallowa lewisia)

Erigeron davisii (Davis’ fleabane)

On Cow Creek Saddle looking towards Salmon River canyon

On Cow Creek Saddle looking towards Snake River canyon

The field trips were incredible, and the annual meeting in general was a lot of fun. If you have a native plant society in your neck of the woods and you are not already a member, I highly recommend checking it out. Now, where to next?