A closer look at a Rocky Mountain iris
In the last post you saw a large colony of Rocky Mountain irises (Iris missouriensis) in northern New Mexico. The first time I encountered the species was on June 30th, when I found a smaller and less dense group of these irises in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The one shown here was in the process of opening.
Ā© 2017 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
It is very eye-catching.
Gallivanta
July 16, 2017 at 5:21 AM
And from my point of view it was I-catching.
Steve Schwartzman
July 16, 2017 at 5:37 AM
That flower there kinda looks like Swan š beautiful
glowofmind
July 16, 2017 at 6:40 AM
Now let’s imagine a real swan that’s colored and patterned like this flower, and gliding along the water.
Steve Schwartzman
July 16, 2017 at 6:47 AM
That would be some sight for the sore eyes š
glowofmind
July 16, 2017 at 6:49 AM
Better a sight for sore eyes than an eyesore.
Steve Schwartzman
July 16, 2017 at 9:54 AM
The little dents in the sheath and in the nearest petal remind me of the crumpled-up nature of an emerging butterfly.
shoreacres
July 16, 2017 at 8:36 AM
I can see the emerging-butterfly-ness.
Steve Schwartzman
July 16, 2017 at 9:54 AM
Beautiful shot!
montucky
July 16, 2017 at 8:36 PM
I see that this species is native in Montana but the USDA map doesn’t provide a breakdown by county. Have you found it near you?
Steve Schwartzman
July 16, 2017 at 10:10 PM
[…] via A closer look at a Rocky Mountain iris ā Portraits of Wildflowers […]
A closer look at a Rocky Mountain iris ā Portraits of Wildflowers – Site Title
July 17, 2017 at 3:41 AM
Nice! Lovely shot!
Reed Andariese
July 17, 2017 at 9:53 AM
This proved more appealing than the pictures I was able to get of a fully opened iris. In those photographs the background was too cluttered.
Steve Schwartzman
July 17, 2017 at 10:04 AM