Pale Pink Wild Rose with Ochre Centre, near Regina

Petals of soft white and pale pink frame the deep ochre centre of this Prickly Rose.

Prickly Rose.   © SB

I'm intrigued by how different the earlier close-up looked, as if it were a different flower, a tactile, creepy crawly thing... not even a different kind of rose... not at all a zoomed-in version of this Prickly Rose. (Which of course, it was.)

Prairie Wildflower: Prickly Rose, or Wild Rose

Location: Near Regina, Saskatchewan,  Canada.  (At Condie Nature Refuge) 

Photo Date: July 31, 2013.  

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Deep in a Prickly Rose, Yellow and Gold

Deep in the heart of a wild, prickly rose, a new flower of yellow and gold.

Look closely and find the intimate curves of a new yellow and gold flower © SB

The photograph of the full Prickly Rose flower will follow shortly...

Prairie Wildflower: Prickly Rose, or Wild Rose

Location: Near Regina, Saskatchewan,  Canada.  (At Condie Nature Refuge) 

Photo Date: July 31, 2013.  

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Flodman's Thistle, up-close and very pink

Almost a perfect semi-sphere of bright pink and delicate white, the flower of Flodman's Thistle is surprisingly lovely. Once you get past the rough leaves and prickles, that is.

These large thistles are common through the prairies in Saskatchewan. Look close, and see their tiny white stars.

Summer glory of a Flodman's Thistle flower. © SB 

Prairie Wildflower: Flodman's Thistle

Location: Near Regina, Saskatchewan,  Canada.  

Photo Date: August 2, 2013.  

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Meadow Blazingstar: Clusters of Pink Wildflower Stars

Today, a picture of Meadow Blazingstar, a prairie wildflower I found growing at Condie Nature Refuge, near Regina, Saskatchewan. Its deep pinkish purple colour is similar to Dotted Blazingstar, but the flowers are fewer per stalk — and much more dramatic.

Meadow Blazingstar.   © SB

Prairie Wildflower: Meadow Blazingstar (Liatris ligulistylis)

Location: Near Regina, Saskatchewan,  Canada.  

Photo Date: August 2, 2013.  

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Silverleaf Psoralea: Blue Flowers on Silver Stalks

Tiny deep blue Silverleaf Psoralea flowers are among the most dramatic prairie wildflowers, especially when plants are massed together in a silver haze.

Beautifully, amazingly, the flowers really are blue. Well, with a purplish tinge, perhaps, but primarily a lovely deep, dark blue. Silverleaf Psoralea flowers are also less than one eighth of an inch long, so the silver leaves are the best guide to locating this native plant.

Blue, blue, blue: Silverleaf Psoralea flowers. © SB 

Silverleaf Psoralea plant. © SB 

Prairie Wildflower: Silverleaf Psoralea   
Photo Location: Condie Nature Refuge (near Regina), Saskatchewan

Photo Date: July 31, 2013

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Purple Prairie Clover: Crimson and Yellow Florets

Close-up of Purple Prairie Clover flowers
at the Condie Nature Refuge, near Regina, SK    © SB

After their yellow seasonal start, prairie wildflowers are moving into bright waves of pinks and purples.

Examples include the Purple Prairie Clover that's now in bloom, along with Dotted Blazingstars, Asters and Fleabane.

Prairie Clover is a sprawling, semi-prostrate plant that shoots out red-stalked flower spikes close to the ground.

Vance/Jowsey says the flowers are most often seen at the base of the spike, with a bare spot above. Purple Prairie Clover flowers are numerous and densely packed, with dark rose and purple shades; they grow on hillsides, road edges and uncultivated land.

(And, like many wildflowers, Purple Prairie Clover flowers are small... The spikes average about half an inch to one inch, with the individual flowers less than one eighth of an inch long.)

Purple Prairie Clover flower stalk
at the Condie Nature Refuge, near Regina, SK    © SB

Prairie Wildflower: Purple Prairie Clover   
Photo Location: Condie Nature Refuge (near Regina), Saskatchewan

Photo Date: July 31, 2013

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