Idaho Mountain Flowers
By Brad Parkinson
1. Lewis Monkeyflower
Lewis Monkey Flower
• Found along streams or high mountain
wetlands in very moist situations
• Named by Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis
and Clark expedition
• Named Monkey Flower because of the
resemblance of the face of a monkey.
2. Wild Strawberry
Wild Strawberry
• Low, perennial herbs, spreading by means
of runners
• Found in moist soil of woods, open
meadows, and along streams.
• 5 petaled leaves with three coarsly toothed
leaves
• Important food source for ruffed grouse,
robins, bear, and other fruit eaters.
3. Blue Bell
Blue Bell
• Generally found in a sub alpine very moist
environment. May entirely fill high
mountain meadows.
• Leaves have a bluish hue
• Elk love to bed down in these rather tall
flowers with newborn calves
• Picas and Marmots harvest the plants and
store them for food during the long winters
4. Chokecherry
Chokecherry
• Although this is a small tree or a tall shrub,
it has large racemes of many small white
flowers during May and June with dark
purple red berries following in late August.
• Found along streams and on moist hillside
• Fruit is edible for birds but with humans
will cause a choking sensation
• Fruit makes great syrup and jams when
plenty of sugar is added
5. Silky Phacelia
Silky Phacelia
• Characterized by long stamens that give
the plant a hazy cottony appearance.
• Found in dry to moist soil of open areas
along roads, on hillsides and mt. ridges
from 6000 ft to treeline
• Elk, deer, mountain goat, and grizzly graze
them
• Beautiful purple color
6. Blue Flax
Blue Flax
• Sky-blue saucer-shaped flax flowers on
slender stems that continually sway in the
breeze.
• Flax is used in some cultures to make
rope. Flax fibers are found in these stems
• The covering around mummies are made
of Blue Flax fibers
• Found in dry fields, ridges etc. from low
valleys to about 8000 ft in altitude
7. Fireweed
Fireweed
• A serious invader plant that springs up
after forest fires or other disturbances
• Bright pink to lilac-purple blossoms almost
1 inch across with a four petaled flower.
• Flowers on the bottom of the stem bloom
first and them over several weeks they
bloom going to the top.
8. Showy Phlox
Showy or Snow Phlox
• Found in dry to medium moist ridges and
hill sides
• Found from mid to high altitude
• Many different types of Phlox are found
• Low growing mat like flowers
• Flower from May through July and later in
high elevations (above 8000 ft)
9. Scarlet Gilia
Scarlet or Skyrocket Gilia
• Other name is skunk or polecat plant
because of its skunk like odor
• Brilliant red coloring generally but may be
pinkish, orange or even white according to
soil.
• 1-3 feet high flowers are ¾-1 ½ inches
long.
• Found on dry hillsides, valleys, and ridges
10. Springbeauty
Springbeauty
• One of the first flowers to appear in the
spring. Each flower has 2 sepals, 5 petals,
and a 2-cleft style
• The corms fleshy taproots, stem and
leaves are edible. Radish like flavor.
• Grows in moist soil at both low and high
elevation. Look for them at the edges of
snowfields
11. Shooting Star
Shooting Star
• Flowers are terminal umbels that hang
downward.
• Found in moist to wet soil in open places
of plains, hills, and mt. sides.
• Is edible and was use somewhat by
Indians in the pre-meal salads. Ha ha.
12. Monks Hood
Monks Hood
• Appears to look like a monk with the hood up
• Slender plant that grows 2-5 feet tall in dark very
moist areas of a forest.
• All parts of this plant are seriously poisonous
containing the alkaloids aconitine and aconine.
Roots and seeds are especially poisonous. Do
not even get them on you skin. Aconite is a drug
used as a heart or nerve sedative
13. Buttercup
Buttercup
• Different varieties found at elevations of
cold desert, sub alpine and alpine.
• Used by picas, and marmots for food at
high elevations
• Very shiny five petaled flower.
• A ground hugging plant, small
14. Bane Berry
Baneberry
• A perennial herb with small white flowers
forming dense racemes.
• Flowers are replaced by a very shiny red
or white berry that resemble china ware
• Found in shaded very wet areas near
water
• Mildly poisonous acting upon the heart.
The rootstock is a violent purgative, irritant
and emetic. They don’t hurt most birds
15. Columbine
Columbine
• Colorado state flower
• These showy flowers may vary from blue,
yellow, white, to cream colored
• Leaves resemble the meadowrue
• Found in moist soils from 6-12000 ft of
altitude. Generally on a hillside
• An important forage food for livestock and
wild grazers.
16. Meadowrue
Meadowrue
• Very small inconspicuous plant
• Leaves are basal, leathery, pale green in
color divided into leaflets with rounded
lobes
• Found under trees in moist areas, give a
very beautiful soft appearance to the
under story of the forest.
• Learn them, you will like them.
17. Sugar Bowl
Sugarbowl (clematis)
• Also called vase bowl, or Old Mans
Whiskers
• Nodding, dull purple, sugarbowl-shaped
flower about 1 inch long
• 1-2 feet tall
• Found in moist open areas of plain hills or
woods to about 8000 feet.
18. Clematis
Clematis (vine)
• Also called Virgin’s Bower
• A slender, semi woody climbing vine that
may grow to 10-12 feet long
• Found in dry to moist soil of woods and
thickets, from valleys to 8500 feet
• Vines depend on trees for support and
climb to the sun. Indians and western
settlers chewed the seed for colds and
sore throats
19. Larkspur
Larkspur
• Actually there are several Larkspurs found.
Some are found in desert or meadow situations
low to 6000 ft, and in the mountains you will find
a tall plant with pale to dark blue flowers. The
key is the spur or spike on the back of the
flower.
• Generally found in fairly dry conditions
• Poisonous to cattle early in spring, with an
alkaloid and lose poison after blooming. Sheep
are not affected and are used to eradicate the
plant.
20. Wild Rose
Wild Rose
• A spiny multi stemmed plant, 2-4 ft tall
• Five petal flower
• Flower matures into red berries called rose
hips. This fruit is consumed by birds and
browsers. Also is full of Vitamin C and is
used to make Vitamin C pills.
• Generally found in moist shaded and
unshaded soils.
21. Prairie Smoke
Prairie Smoke
• A low growing nodding, vase-like shape,
with 5 petals and recurved bracteoles.
Found in moist meadows
• Another name is Old Man’s Whiskers
• Usually three flowers to a stem
• The fruiting seed bearing stage has a
feathery appearance.
22. Serviceberry
Serviceberry
• Small tree or multi stemmed bush
• Early white-flowering bush, 5 petal flowers
growing in small racemes.
• Found on moist to dry areas on hillsides
and also on mountainsides, very common
• Berries are dark purple to blackish, very
sweet, edible, seedy.
23. Shrubby Cinquefoil
Shrubby Cinquefoil
• A much-branched shrub 1-5 feet tall with
bright yellow flowers with 5 petals
• Cinquefoil mean five petals
• Found extensively through the valley near
Driggs, Tetonia, and Victor, Idaho in the
pasture lands
• Browsed heavily by big game when other
more preferred plants are in short supply
24. Indian Paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush
• Wyoming state flower, $25 fine for picking
• The red coloration are the bracts and
upper leaves of the plant. Flowers are not
attractive
• Found in dry to moist soils from valleys to
9000 ft elevation
• Semi-parasitic leaves photosynthesize but
the roots touch other roots taking nutrients
25. Yellow Monkeyflower
Yellow Monkeyflower
• Also called wild lettuce and was consumed
by Indians and early settlers alike
• Found along streams from low to alpine
areas
• Look at the flower and imagine a monkey
face. Small plants growing right in the
streams
26. Forget Me Not
Forget me Not
• Two varieties,
• 1. Many Stemmed Stickseed is found in
the forest and is very annoying because it
has barbed stickers that get into your
clothing. These may get three feet tall
• 2. Alpine Forget Me Not is a dwarf cushion
plant bearing a mass of pretty blue or
white flowers, Pika food, 9-12000 ft
elevation
27. Buckwheat Types
Buckwheat
• Several species that are somewhat similar
in appearance. Found in open areas of
lower valley to 9000 ft.
• Soil differences seem to choose different
buckwheat's.
• Preferred forage for sheep in mountains
and low country.
28. Prickly Pear Cactus
Prickly Pear Cactus
• Large waxy blossoms, succulent, fleshystemmed perennials, without leaves.
• Very thorny. Generally found in alkaline
desert soil. Especially cold deserts.
• Flowering in May, June, and early July
• Adapted to withstand drought conditions
• Very edible, not are found to be poisonous
29. Elderberry
Elderberry
• A large shrub confused with Mountain Ash
because of compound pinnate leaves
• Has flat-topped flower cluster and blue
berries.
• Found in moist we soil along streams, in
woods and open areas from valleys to
9000 ft.
• Berries are used both by birds and man in
syrups and Elderberry Wine.
30. Elk Thistle
Elk Thistle
• Evert’s Thistle named after Truman Evert
who survived on thistle for a month in the
1800’s while lost in Yellowstone area
• Seen standing in mountain meadows with
its thick, leafy, unbranched, succulent
stems.
• Found in wet soil to about 8000 ft
• Inner stem is edible although not nutritious
31. Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Arrowleaf Balsamroot
• May be seen on dry hillsides such as the
Juniper Hills by the sand hills north of
Rexburg in the spring.
• Has large arrow shaped leaves, kind of
hairy
• Indians ate the young tender sprout, large
roots, and seeds either raw or cooked.
They have a balsam flavor.
32. Heartleaf Arnica
Heartleaf Arnica
• A single stem plant with a head of yellow
flowers about 2 in. across about 8-24 with
lower leaves in a heart shape
• Found along trails in moist soils
• An official drug plant; all parts of the plant
given orally or intravenously causes a rise
in body temperature.
• Applied externally as a salve to cuts fights
infection.
33. Mules Ear
Mules Ear
• Composite flower
• Resembles sunflowers and Arrowleaf
Balsamroot
• The yellow version of White Wyethia
• Leaves are glossy whereas Arrowleaf
Balsamroot are hairy and dull
• Moderately dry soils, is considered a pest
plant to cattlemen, not palatable to cattle
34. White Wyethia (white mulesear)
White Wyethia
• Found in meadows of mountain valleys,
many times in conjunction with blue camas
• These are the white version of Mules Ear.
• Flowers tend to follow the sun as the earth
turns.
35. Salsify
Salsify
• Appear as ripened dandelion except that they
are on long stems and have green bracts that
are longer than the flower petals.
• Seed stocks look like gigantic dandelion seed
with umbrella like heads
• Invaders found in roughed up areas like
roadsides and trails sides
• Taproots are edible, this is an introduced
species to America by European settlers.
36. Yarrow
Yarrow
• An umbel like plant with white flower on
the end of a 1-three foot plant
• Fern like small leaves
• Found in moderately moist soil but not
shade or wet meadows
• As a medicine it may serve as a stimulant,
some people think that it may kill pains
such as toothache by applying to the gums
37. Stonecrop
Stonecrop
• 4-8 inch multicolored flowers
• Flowers are found on rocky outcrops high
in the mountains on windswept areas.
• Waxy covings on leaves allow them to
withstand drought.
• Flowers are able to lay dormant during
times of drought or stress.
38. Green Gentian or Monument
Plant
Green Gentian
• First year growth is a cluster of longstalked, strap like leaves.
• The flowering stage of the plant may
happen during the second-fourth year of
its life and then it will die
• The flowering stage is a very tall elongated
plant with cluster of white to purple flowers
• May be confused with woolly mullein
39. Sticky Geranium
Sticky Geranium
• Probably the most common flower you will
see along the trails in our mountains to
about 8ooo ft.
• Leaves are geranium shaped
• Plants are 1-2 ft tall
• Flowers are pink
• A related white species is the Richardson
geranium
• Is a good browse food for bear and deer
40. Globemallow
Globemallow
• Five pedaled bright orange flowers
• Leaves resemble the gooseberry leaves
• Generally found at lower elevations and in
cold deserts. Like dry conditions
• Leaves have a light green hue such as the
color of sagebrush leaves
41. Elephanthead
Elephanthead
• A dense spike of reddish-purple to pink
flowers shaped like an elephant head
• Found in wet soil of bogs, meadows, and
along streams and lakeshores, may be
growing right in the water.
• Flowers bloom early in the summer in low
areas and may be found in alpine bogs
late in the summer. They are beautiful
42. Penstemon
Penstemon
• The stems of this perennial plant are
clumped together, are 4-20 in tall and
topped with dense whorled clusters of
small bluish-purple blossoms. Found in
solid of meadows, open timbers slopes
and mt. ridges from foothills to timberline.
• Several different species of Penstemon
are common in the mountains. We use
this as a representative species.
43. Cow Parsnip
Cow Parsnip
• A course, hairy, perennial herb, 3-8 ft tall
with large compound leaves and
numerous white flowers. Umbels
• Found in rich, damp soils especially along
streams.
• Readily eaten by cows, sheep, and big
game. Sweet succulent young stems can
be peeled and eaten raw or cooked.
• Juice and hairs can cause blisters on man
44. Yellow Violet
Yellow Violet
• Basically the same as the purple violet but
YELLOW.
45. Nodding Onion
Nodding Onion
• Also called Wild Onion, Leek, or Garlic
• Grows 6-18 inches tall from elongated
bulbs
• Confused with Wild Hyacinth but Onions
have pink not blue flowers
• Found in dry to moist areas, most areas
where sunlight abounds. Many species
• Bulbs are eaten as flavor and filler. (good)
46. Sego Lilly
Sego Lilly
• White tulip like flower with a triangular cupshaped appearance.
• Found in dry well-drained planis and
hillsides and low elevations
• State flower of Utah
• Bulbous root the size of a walnut is sweet
and nutritious. Used by Indians and early
settlers. Utah Pioneers were saved by this
bulb from starvation.
47. Camas
Camas
• Bright blue flowers that form a showy
spike like racemes. 3 sepals, and 3 petals
and 6 stamens. 1-2 ft tall and grass like
leaves
• An edible ovate bulb found 8-12 inches
underground. A major source of food for
the Indians when boiled has a potato
flavor
• Found in moist meadows and wetlands.
48. Twisted Stalk
Twisted Stalk
• The small whitish flowers are born in the
leaf axils on very slender stalks that have
a kink in them, 2-4 ft tall.
• Found in very moist shady soil.
• Berries were eaten by Indians and are
utilized by ruffed grouse.
• Berries have an orange red color
49. Harebell
Harebell
• The flowers are violet-blue, bell-shaped,
about ¾ in. broad, hang downward from
slender, perennial stems 8-10 in. long
• Found from dry to moist open hillsides,
prairies, and valleys.
• Also called the Scotch Bluebell as it is
found in Scotland.
50. Wall Flower
Wall Flower
• Bright yellow flowers, sometimes tinged
with orange, occur in a dense raceme.
Narrow linear leaves. Plant is about 1-3ft
tall.
• Found on open, dry flats and hillsides
• Belongs to the mustard family with and
acrid odor.
51. Yampa
Yampa
• The root is about 6 inches deep and is
edible, tastes like a carrot.
• The picture shown is of a very large
Yampa, but must are just one or two
umbels and is about 18-24 inches tall
• Generally found in meadows or openings
in the forest in fairly dry areas.
• Important food source to early people
52. Engelmann Aster
Engelmann Aster
• A most common flower, 2-6 ft. tall, with
large ragged heads composed of
diskflowers surrounded by 9-15 white or
slightly pinkish rayflowers up to 1 inch long
• Most to wet soil, usually in a wooded area
with openings
• Leaves may be edible when boiled.
53.Woolly Mullein
Woolly Mullein
• A serious invader after a disturbance in a
dry area. Found along most roadsides
• Called pioneer toilet paper as the soft
hairy leaves were used for this purpose
and actually reduce hemorrhoid pain
• 2-6 feet tall
• Seeds are used by many birds
54. Dogtooth Violet
Dogtooth Violet
• Also called the glacier lily
• Appears in early spring as snow banks
melt
• Berries are edible and sweet, but be
careful because this plant closely
resembles other poisonous berries