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    I find it hard to resist grabbing the image of a lovely wildflower that I might come across during my meanderings, even though I know, often, that I have several, even dozens, of photos of the same flower at home on my computer's hard drive. In recent years, I’ve taken the time to identify and learn more about the many flower species that make the Kootenays their home, and I've been working my way through the thousands of images I've accumulated over the decades.

    According to the guidebook Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia and the Inland Northwest, by Parish, Coupe and Lloyd, there are well over two hundred wildflower species in our region, although not all occur in the West Kootenays specifically. I don’t have photographs of every species, but I do have many, and I thought I would share them on this site. The galleries of flower pictures are organized by colour: white, yellow, blue, pink, purple and red (includes orange), to make it easier for anyone using the galleries for identification.

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Disclaimer: I am a strictly amateur naturalist, and don't always get it right. If you think I've misidentified a plant, please let me know. I'd appreciate it!