Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Clematis occidentalis

This photo of wild Blue Clematis was taken on 21 June 2015, along the trail to Crandell Lake, in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. This is a native, perennial, woody vine that climbs or creeps along the ground. There are no petals, but there are four blue/purple sepals to each solitary flower. I was so lucky to be invited to join friends Sandy and Heide on a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, from 19-21 (inclusive) June 2015. We met up with other members of the Alberta Native Plant Council for their annual Botany Alberta weekend. Most people who attended stayed at the Crooked Creek Campground, a 5.6 km drive east of the Waterton Park Gate on Highway 5, but my friends and I stayed at the Crandell Mountain Lodge on the edge of Waterton town. The ANPC people had a list of species that they hoped to find, and they were very successful. Our stay down south overlapped the annual Waterton Wildflower Festival, but we came across very few people on our various drives and hikes. Needless to say, I was extremely fortunate to spend three days with people who are very knowledgeable about plants (and other things). This meant that I got to see many wildflower species, including several that were new to me, such as the gorgeous Mariposa Lily. It was one of the flowers that was on my Wish List - and there were hundreds of them to be seen! I had also never seen the spectacular Bear Grass and I was so thrilled that there were still several plants in bloom. Absolutely made my day! Our two main hikes of the weekend were the Bertha Lake Trail as far as the Bertha Falls (on 20 June), and the Crandell Lake Trail (on 21 June). Makes me smile when a described "short, easy hike" in a book or on the Internet turns into a full day of exploration along the trail, taking hours to reach the destination, though returning to the cars in a much shorter time. Our walks/hikes are very slow-paced with endless stops to look at/for plants and to take photos. This makes it possible for me to go along. The wind made photographing plants a real challenge, including the beautiful Mariposa Lilies in the meadow along the Hay Barn road. Though I took plenty of photos, I wasn't sure that I would end up with any that were sharp enough. Trying to catch a quick shot when a flower is blowing in and out of the viewfinder is not easy! Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to get down and take macro shots (my lens needs to be about 4" away from the subject), so my photos have to be telemacro. I've been trying to find a list of plant species in Waterton Park, but have so far been out of luck. I do have the book, "Wildflowers of Waterton Park" by Jacinthe Lavoie and Ian Wilson, which has an Index of Plant names, but I was hoping to find a list that I could print out.

Macro shot of a beautiful, wild Purple/Blue Clematis flower. I always think of the purple parts as being the petals, but in fact the white, central parts are the petals and the purple parts are the sepals. Photographed during a three-hour walk on the upper plateau at Edworthy Park, on May 23rd. This spring, I have taken practically no wildflower photos, which is so unusual for me. Birds and animals have taken up so much of my time, that flowers seem to have been dropped lower on my priority list - not complaining, though! We have such a very short growing season here in Alberta - all the wildflowers are gone before you know it, and you are left taking macros of seeds and seedpods instead, ha. There is only a certain window of opportunity for many of the birds, too.

There seems to have been quite a lot of wild Blue Clematis (Clematis occidentalis, Clematis columbiana) this spring, twining up twigs and branches or growing closer to the ground in the forest and woodlands. Such a gorgeous blue. This flower was growing in the West Bragg Creek Environmental Studies area on 20th June. This is a native, perennial, woody vine that climbs or creeps along the ground. There are no petals, but there are four blue/purple sepals to each solitary flower. Flowers May-July. Just got home from a day of botanizing south of the city, near Black Diamond, at the Three Point Creek Natural Area. We even had Great Horned Owls flying nearby when we were there - gosh, there are owls everywhere, LOL! A fairly hot day - too hot for me, but at least there was no rain, so we were really lucky. On the way home, we called in at a Bakery and coffee shop in Black Diamond - the coffee tasted SO good! Ralph, if you happen to get on to Flickr and see this - thanks again so much for driving today - much appreciated!

We saw quite a few clusters of this pretty, native wildflower, Purple Clematis (Clematis occidentalis, also known as Blue Clematis), when we were doing the annual May Species Count in Fish Creek Park on 29th May. Unfortunately it was snowing and raining, so not ideal weather for taking photos : ) talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/?s=1109