In a spring trip to explore Elephant Hill Provincial Park (link to Parks info) a previous article on this site (link) explained access to these barren hills near Ashcroft.   The big surprise for me was a hillside of bitterroot in bloom, an uncommon site in the Interior.

In the scrub brush

Bitterroot (lewisia redviva) is a member of the purslane family, a perennial that only grows up from 1 cm to 3 cm tall.  The spectacular “water lily” flowers only open in the sun.   The flowers emerge from infertile soil on woody stems before any leaves appear.   Regional native peoples valued the roots of the plant and saved it for the winter months, mixing it with roe and berries.   Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) catalogued the plant, naming it for its bitter taste and revival (uproot and replant) characteristics.

Pinks and whites

More frequently seen in the southern Okanagan, the blooming flowers were spotted on a southwest-facing slope of the flanks of the Elephant Hills in the third week of May.

The ragged hills above the Bonaparte River	Emerging and in bloom
Bitterrroot	Water lilies of the high desert
Elephant Hill	The view east