In
July of 1806, Meriwether Lewis crossed the Continental Divide near what is now
the small town of Lincoln, Montana. There, on a hillside less than 10 miles
from my house, he stopped long enough to collect a blanketflower. That pressed
plant eventually became the type specimen for Gaillardia aristata, the
scientific reference for the species. It also goes by the name firewheel.
Today,
blanketflowers still bloom amid the grass in open spaces around my cabin. They
also flourish in the gravelly ground just outside the bay window at my house.
Proud
natives, these.
On
his exploratory trek through what is now Montana, Meriwether Lewis had been
charged with taking note of all new flora and fauna encountered along the way.
Clearly, our showy, mid-season gaillardia screamed for his attention.
Today,
the same flowers call for the attention of roving bumblebees outside my prairie
home. And it seems fitting that, to test the camera on the new smartphone I
brought into service just yesterday, I chose to photograph our showy native
flower.
Not
bad for a simple plant growing in gravel.
—Mitchell Hegman
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