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Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains
The distribution of vegetation in the Rocky Mountains correlates directly to elevational changes, which influence the temperature and availability of moisture. Different plant communities characterize each zone (such as foothill, montane, subalpine, and alpine) from the base of a mountain to the top, and each zone may contain several types of plant communities. More than 5,000 plant species occur in the Rocky Mountains. The wildflowers begin to bloom in early spring, as soon as the snow starts to melt. The peak bloom season is mid-summer. This collection highlights some of the most common wildflowers found in the Rocky Mountains.Printer Friendly: Species List | List with Images | List with QR Tags to Mobile
| scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |
| Aquilegia caerulea | Colorado blue columbine Rocky Mountain columbine | |
| Arnica cordifolia | Heart-leaf leopardbane Heartleaf arnica | |
| Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf balsamroot Arrow-leaf balsamroot | |
| Cardamine cordifolia | Heartleaf bittercress | |
| Caltha leptosepala | Elkslip White marsh marigold White marsh-marigold | |
| Calochortus nuttallii | Sego lily Mariposa lily Sego-lily | |
| Castilleja rhexiifolia | Splitleaf Indian paintbrush Rosy indian-paintbrush | |
| Campanula rotundifolia | Bluebell bellflower Bluebell-of-Scotland Harebell | |
| Chamerion angustifolium | Fireweed Willow herb | |
| Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda | Shrubby cinquefoil Golden-hardhack | |
| Delphinium barbeyi | Subalpine larkspur | |
| Dodecatheon pulchellum | Darkthroat shooting star Few-flower shooting star Western shooting star | |
| Erysimum capitatum | Prairie rocket Sand-dune wallflower Sanddune wallflower Western wallflower | |
| Gaillardia aristata | Common gaillardia Great blanketflower Blanketflower Brown-eyed susan | |
| Gentiana calycosa | Rainier pleated gentian | |
| Ipomopsis aggregata | Scarlet gilia Scarlet standing-cypress Skyrocket Skunkflower | |
| Lewisia rediviva | Bitter root Oregon bitter-root | |
| Linum lewisii | Wild blue flax Prairie flax Lewis flax | |
| Lupinus sericeus | Silky lupine | |
| Mertensia ciliata | Mountain bluebells Tall fringe bluebells Tall fringed bluebells | |
| Mimulus lewisii | Great purple monkey-flower Lewis monkey-flower Purple monkeyflower | |
| Monarda fistulosa | Wild bergamot Beebalm | |
| Orthocarpus luteus | Yellow owl's-clover | |
| Penstemon angustifolius | Broad-beard beardtongue Broadbeard beardtongue Whorled penstemon | |
| Pedicularis groenlandica | Elephanthead lousewort | |
| Phyllodoce empetriformis | Pink mountain heath Pink mountain heather | |
| Phlox pulvinata | Cushion phlox | |
| Phacelia sericea | Purplefringe Silky phacelia | |
| Primula parryi | Parry's primrose | |
| Pulsatilla patens | Eastern pasqueflower American Pasqueflower | |
| Ranunculus eschscholtzii | Eschscholtz's buttercup Subalpine Buttercup | |
| Scabrethia scabra ssp. scabra | Badlands mule-ears | |
| Sedum lanceolatum | Lanceleaf Stonecrop Spearleaf stonecrop | |
| Symphyotrichum spathulatum var. spathulatum | Western mountain aster | |
| Tetraneuris grandiflora | Alpine sunflower Graylocks four-nerve daisy Old-man-of-the-mountain Rydbergia | |
| scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |
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4801 La Crosse Avenue, Austin, Texas 78739 | 512.232.0100