Rex Trulove
This small, delicate plant is Western Springbeauty (Claytonia lanceolata). Although the flowers and plants aren’t very large, it is easy to see how they get their common name. This plant is edible and the roots are good raw or cooked. The plants are quite high in vitamins A and C.
These are only nine of the wildflowers of Montana that bloom in April. These are also only the native ones. There are a lot more April-blooming wildflowers in Montana, including a substantial number that were introduced and at times are invasive.
So simple and pretty. So they are early bloomers!
Yes, they are. A lot of people around here hoe them up routinely, not knowing that they are both edible and beautiful.