Special Collections
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 |
Phyllodoce empetriformis | Pink Mountain Heath Pink Mountain Heather | |
Phlox pulvinata | Cushion Phlox | |
Phacelia sericea | Silky Phacelia Purple Fringe | |
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 | Spearleaf Stonecrop Lanceleaf Stonecrop | |
Symphyotrichum spathulatum var. spathulatum | Western Mountain Aster | |
Tetraneuris grandiflora | Graylocks Four-nerve Daisy Old-man-of-the-mountain Alpine Sunflower Rydbergia Bitterweed | |
scientific name | common name(s) | image gallery |