One fine day here in Wyoming a botany intern lead a range intern and a wildlife intern (that’s me!) off into the wild to collect bitterroot seeds. Thankfully, Chris (the botany intern) had planned ahead on this day. Knowing full well that his help was well intentioned but not your typical over-the-top plant loving SOS interns, some much-needed precautions were taken.

First, we were given a rundown of collection protocol so that we didn’t damage the population. I did not realize how many seeds we would need to collect!! This little info session also made me realize how long it had been since I’d had to count past 100…by ones. He finally told us what we were collecting…you guessed it Lewisia rediviva or more commonly known as Bitterroot. Coli (the range intern) and I were so excited! It is one of the most spectacularly colored wildflowers in our office!

Bitterroot Flowers

Bitterroot Flowers

Anticipating a field covered in lovely flowers imagine my slightly let down expression when we were faced with this.

Collection Site

But, all was not lost! The most spectacularly colored flower transformed into a capsule that almost resembled a magnolia blossom (one of my favorite flowers).

Capsule in Life Position

Coli and I were delighted that we were still going to collect something beautiful! The three of us descended upon the hillside and it was not long before all of our bags began to fill with the lovely little pink & cream capsules scarcely bigger than the tip of your thumb.

Collected Capsules

After the collection was done we came back and poured out our bags into a box to let the seeds dry before they continue on their journey. At the end of the day I reflected on my experience and as much fun as this day was, I think I was placed in the right department. Plants are amazing but to me they just aren’t as much fun to search for as the wild creatures of Wyoming.

Collected Capsules