Can anyone identify this for me?
The flowers are about half an inch across.(I had my camera on super macro to show the leaf structure) Suggestions have been: Corn Sperry and thyroptomenes maisonneuve?
But can not find pictures of either?

sorry ca not tell from the picture

It is likely Nuttall's Linanthus -or Leptosiphon nuttallii ssp? pubescens ??
or possibly another subspecies of that.
The pictures give a bushier plant---and this is skimpy.
Could be skimpy because growing in shade.
There are subspecies which are native into Montana so I am hoping it survives the winter.
I am also saving seeds because it is considered vulnerable in Montana.

Linanthus grandiflora is likely the right name. Also called Mountain Phlox.

I am bumping this thread up as I don't want the wrong ID to go in database.
I think that it is Mountain Phlox Linanthus Grandiflora ???

Looks like it. The name is now Leptosiphon grandiflorus. So did it winter over for you? If it did, it would suggest it's a different species, as Leptosiphon grandiflorus is an annual. I'm growing a couple of Leptosiphon species, so if it is a perennial species, it might be hardy - who knows?

The plant was an annual.
Now they have changed the name ?
I want the correct name and photo to go into the database.

Leptosiphon grandiflorus is a synonym.

Question please; Is the status of a plant as an 'annual' or a 'perennial' determined only by whether it survived the winter? In my garden I have had many so-called perennials which did not find my garden a suitable place and did not come back a second year.

According to our ATP database Linanthus grandiflorus is the synonym and Leptosiphon grandiflorus is the accepted botanical name, if this is the correct identification for the plant in question.

Greene
on perennial vs annual
The status of a plant , has to do with its natural life cycle , not necessarily if it survives a specific winter zone.
but it can become confusing and to a lot of people it is an annual if it dies over winter and has to be replanted again in the spring.
When I lived in Michigan we called roses annuals , because most had to be replanted yearly

I had asked my question after growitall said: "Looks like it. The name is now Leptosiphon grandiflorus. So did it winter over for you? If it did, it would suggest it's a different species, as Leptosiphon grandiflorus is an annual. I'm growing a couple of Leptosiphon species, so if it is a perennial species, it might be hardy - who knows?"...and Caroline responded that it did not survive.

Yes, I know the difference myself between an annual and a perennial. We can call a plant by any type of name but if it's natural life cycle is perennial, then that's what it is. We could say 'tender perennial' or 'perennial grown as an annual in certain zones'.

It seems we are trying to ID this particular plant based on the fact that it did not survive past the first season. If something lives 2 years or more, yes it could be a perennial, but it doesn't necessarily follow that if something dies after the first season it is automatically an annual.

greene said:Question please; Is the status of a plant as an 'annual' or a 'perennial' determined only by whether it survived the winter? In my garden I have had many so-called perennials which did not find my garden a suitable place and did not come back a second year.

No, of course not.
As Gardengus said, "The status of a plant , has to do with its natural life cycle , not necessarily if it survives a specific winter zone".

Greene, all I was saying was that annuals run the course of their life cycle in a season - that's the definition. Caroline's plant looks like Leptosiphon grandiflorus, which is, categorically, an annual. If Caroline's plant wintered over in zone 3 - that is, demonstrated that it was not an annual - then it would have to be a different species, evidently a perennial or biennial one. (There are perennial Leptosiphon species that are hardy in zone 3. I'm growing a couple of them.)

I'm not saying that if it did not return the next year, then it MUST be an annual, because that would be an entirely illogical conclusion, as you've pointed out.

I am saying the converse - if it DID come back the following year (not from seed, but from a hardy root), then it could NOT be a species that is, categorically, annual.

Caroline confirmed that the plant acted like it could be an annual, which means that, yes, it could well be Leptosiphon grandiflorus... though it doesn't have to be.

greene said:Question please; Is the status of a plant as an 'annual' or a 'perennial' determined only by whether it survived the winter? In my garden I have had many so-called perennials which did not find my garden a suitable place and did not come back a second year.

No, the ability of a plant to survive winter in a given location is irrelevant in determining its life cycle. The term is often misused by gardeners, but the technical definition of annual is a plant that is monocarpic (dies after setting seed) and is capable of completing its life cycle within a single year or growing season. The fact that they often die with the onset of freezing temperatures is, to a large extent, incidental. Actually, if you pay close enough attention, you'll notice that many of them die well before winter. Depends on the species, of course.