
aMontanaView
I am selling at Artisans on Second, 175 S Second St, Hamilton, MT 59840 - 406.961.9600 Visit Facebook aMontanaView on Facebook
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About me: I live south of Missoula, Montana on the west side of the Bitterroot valley. Many of my photos are taken here in western Montana, but also around the world. I love being outdoors. I hike, bike, fish, hunt, ski and ALWAYS take photos.
I use a Canon 7D and 5D Mark III (with a few lenses and tripods) and shoot in RAW. I process my photos into JPG with Adobe Lightroom with as few adjustments as possible.
Indian Blanket Flower (Firewheel) Gaillardia pulchella
Gaillardia pulchella (Asteraceae) The common name of this annual is Indian Blanketflower, Firewheel, or Sundance. It has volunteered near a mountain road I use to access one of my hikes. As I took a short cut through a meadow/field, I saw one other site with this flower - also in full sun. It really stands out because it is the only flower on this hike that has bright orange or maroon in it.
The branching stem is hairy and upright, growing to about 1 1/2 or 2 feet tall. The 1-2 inch long leaves are alternate and mostly basal (low on the stem) with edges smooth to coarsely toothed or lobed. The pinwheel, daisy-like flower clusters are 1-2 inches in diameter and vividly colored with red, orange and yellow. The central disc florets of the flowerhead tend to be more red-violet, with the outer ray florets being yellow.
A hardy, drought tolerant annual native to the central United States. It seems to thrive in hot, dry sites. One of my sources says it is an excellent cut flower with a vase life from six to ten days. I haven't picked it because I enjoy it so much in the wild and there are only a few at this site. Maybe I will order seeds and give it a try at home.
For more photos, see my SmugMug Indian Blanketflower/Firewheel slideshow.
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