Montana Native Plant Society’s Annual Meeting Offers a Glimpse into Southeast Montana’s Flora

Painted Milkvetch. Photo credit Matthew Stewart On Friday, June 20th, around one hundred and fifty people descended upon a camp outside of the small town of Ekalaka, Montana. Solstice Sojourns, they called it. We all had a common interest: Plants. The Montana Native Plant Society’s annual meeting had commenced. Interest ranged from the casual wildflower enthusiast all the way on up to serious botanists. Friday evening featured a speaker that gave a talk about his work with the Forest Service. He spoke about surveying Carter County, trying to get a better inventory of the species that made their home there. Through his efforts, species previously unknown in Montana had been discovered. Populations of plants that had not been seen in over a hundred years were also found by him, thanks to his tireless work to document the species in extreme southeastern Montana. He also talked a bit about various reclamation and restoration projects down there. He talked about how they went about purchasing the land, the tools and techniques needed to shape the landscape to make it more natural, and the research that went into the native species that occurred there to restore these areas to healthy, native ecosystems. On Saturday, a host of field trips were offered, affording people the ability to explore a very diverse range of habitats. Forested slopes, wetlands, pristine prairies, and badlands were among the ecosystems people got to see. We observed everything from the downright common to the critically imperiled. The star plant of the meeting was Painted Milkvetch. This particular species is rare in the state, only found in our easternmost tier of counties. It is short, spindly, and easily overlooked when in flower, but the fruit is unmistakable. Large, inflated pods splashed with red and white, give rise to its name. The flowers are small, off-white, and resemble your typical pea flower, as it belongs in the Pea Family. It grows in mostly open, sandy sites such as sandhills and around sandstone outcroppings, habitats that are not overly common in Montana. On Sunday, we all gave our hugs, wished each other well, and said our goodbyes until we meet again next year, for the next gathering of native plant enthusiasts. Painted Milkvetch. Photo credit Matthew Stewart