Calypso Chapter serves Southwest Montana including the greater Anaconda – Dillon – Butte – Deerlodge – Whitehall areas.
For information, contact:
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Field trips and events for Calypso Chapter
Calypso hold its Annual Potluck and Planning Meeting on a Sunday in December at the Grange Hall in Divide. This is our chapter’s only regular meeting except for the spring-summer-fall field events.
A Native Plants Workshop, including Landscaping, Dyeing and Planting for Dye Colors – in Divide, MT, from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, April 27, 2024
Convening at the Grange in Divide, the morning will start with dyeing a scarf (participants will purchase; cost TBD) with local native plants, emphasizing simple design techniques. While the scarves are simmering in the dye pots, there will be a presentation on Landscaping with Native Plants. After lunch, we will plant native seeds for participants to start indoors for you to take home and transplant later outdoors (seeds and planting materials provided). Limit 20. For details and to register contact Catherine Cain at 406-498-6198; nativeplants@montana.com.
Edible Wild Plant Exploration – in Pony, MT, on Sat & Sun, June 22 & 23, 2024
Walk with expert Tomas Elpel through meadows and woodlands, learning to identify edible and medicinal plants and the techniques and essential guidelines for ethical foraging. Tom is offering this two-day class to MNPS members at a discount ($100/person) until May 1st. Starting May 1, registration will be open to all until full. Limit 20. Visit Tom’s website for further information and to register for this incredible weekend: Class_Schedule/Foraging. Email Tom at greenuniversityllc@gmail.com.
Information on scenic/botanically interesting drives in Southwest Montana
Vipond Park driving loop
Click here for the Vipond Park plant list.
There are several special interest and plant areas on this loop. One can approach Vipond Park from the north turning at the Wise River exit and turning south on the Quartz Hill road just past Dewey. From the south, one can go to Melrose, across the tracks and river and head up Trapper Creek road. Going from this approach, one will first pass the old town of Glendale, but not much is left. The next stop is the charcoal kilns, which are being restored. Next, head up the switchbacks to Vipond Park. Look for Penstemon lemhiensis on the road cuts on the switchbacks. There is a good viewpoint to the top of the switchback to observe the glacial terrain of Canyon Creek.
Once on top, you are in Vipond Park. Pending time of year, one can observe fields of camas, Camassia quamash, along with numerous wet forbs, Claytonia lanceolata, Pedicularis groenlandica and more.
Coming down from Vipond Park, look for pygmy bitterroots and fields of pasque flowers. There are abundant Calypso orchids blooming about 3.4 miles from the end of Quartz Hill road. Coming from the top, start looking in the Douglas-fir zone, just after the subalpine-fir zone. Look off the road by the rotten logs — they are in clumps of 30 to 40 plants. Mid to late June is ideal. In lower elevations there is plenty to see: townsendia, bluebells, penstemons, phlox, erigerons, senecios and more. Glacier lilies are the early bloomers.
Flora changes from week to week. For the best road information, obtain a Forest Service travel plan map and contact the Forest Service office in Dillon at 406-683-3900 or in Wise River at 406-832-3178.
Gravelly Mountain tour
Click here for the Gravelly Mountain Tour plant list.
This area is south of Ennis. Several loops can be made to access the subalpine meadows. High elevations and open meadows dominate the area. July through August are the best flora viewing months. Fields of Polygonum bistortoides, Hymenoxys grandiflora and Wyethia are abundant. Rare pink Agoseris lackschewitzii and Thalictrum alpinum can be found. In early- to mid-July, the Forest Service leads a public tour of the area. To obtain a Forest map and more information, contact the Madison Ranger District Office at 406-682-4253.