Native Plants

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Besseya alpina

Besseya alpina (A. Gray) Rydb.

Alpine Besseya

Scrophulariaceae (Figwort Family)

Synonym(s): Synthyris alpina

USDA Symbol: BEAL

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

A small pale plant, woolly in younger parts, bearing pale bluish-violet flowers in dense spikes with conspicuous bracts.

The several Besseya species have corollas varying from violet to yellow or white, or lacking entirely. The genus name honors the great American botanist Charles E. Bessey (1845-1915).

From the Image Gallery

No images of this plant

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 8 inches tall.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Blue , Purple , Violet
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep

Distribution

USA: CO , NM , UT , WY
Native Distribution: Wyoming south to Utah and New Mexico.
Native Habitat: High cold meadows and tundra.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:			FACW			FACW				FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 74 - Southwest Colorado Wildflowers (2020) Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

From the Archive

Wildflower Newsletter 1990 VOL. 7, NO.1 - Congress Eyes Larger Issue, Research Update, Director's Report, Carlton B. Lees ...

Additional resources

USDA: Find Besseya alpina in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Besseya alpina in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Besseya alpina

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-05-17
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back