early spring

Showing 13–24 of 33 results

  • Erysimum capitatum / western wallflower

    • yellow (usually) 4-petaled flowers at top of stem
    • inflorescence may be as big as a baseball, and round
    • mostly basal rosette of leaves
    • cauline leaves narrow with small teeth
    • siliques horizontal to nearly vertical; relatively long
    • variety of habitats, but not wetlands

  • Erythronium grandiflorum / glacier lily

    • striking, yellow, six tepals - recurved and nodding
    • large, yellow or red anthers, a single pistil
    • two large green basal leaves
    • early spring

  • Festuca idahoensis / Idaho fescue

    • a bunchgrass growing in very dense clumps
    • over-winters green; an early green grass in spring
    • green to blue-green to silvery green leaves
    • individual flowers in clusters of hairy spikelets on branched panicles; very dark purple or green
    • seeds have large spines (awns) at the tips

  • Geum triflorum / prairie smoke

    • among the earliest bloomers in the spring
    • clusters of nodding reddish, pink, maroon or purple flowers
    • flowers in groups of 3
    • distinctive fruit - like silvery-pink or mauve "troll dolls"
    • in large populations, fruiting plants look (sort of)  like smoke

  • Koeleria macrantha / Prairie Junegrass

    • short, tuft-forming bunchgrass
    • leaves short and basal with raised veins
    • grows in early spring; flowers in June/July
    • spike-like cylindrical inflorescence, 2-5" long, tan or purple
    • scattered distributions, esp. in rocky or sandy forests or plains

  • Lithospermum ruderale / Columbia puccoon

    • small, pale yellow flowers in early spring
    • flowers in dense clusters, nestled among the leaves
    • 1–3 in. long, linear leaves, notably crowded on upper part of stems
    • in dry areas, especially with sagebrush

  • Maianthemum racemosum / Solomon’s plume

    • "feathery" inflorescence - panicle
    • 6 white tepals on teeny flowers
    • long-blooming in late spring, sometimes into summer
    • green berries --> red as they ripen
    • alternate, clasping leaves on erect stems

  • Mertensia oblongifolia / sagebrush bluebell

    • bright blue-to-purplish flowers, hanging and downward facing
    • narrow tube that flares abruptly to bell
    • blooms in very early spring, soon after snow-melt
    • usually associated with sagebrush

  • Paxistima myrsinites / Oregon boxwood

    • low shrub
    • small, opposite leaves; lightly toothed, leathery, oval
    • very early spring flowering
    • teeny flowers with 4 red petals, 4 yellow stamens; in clusters
    • usually on open, dry, sunny sites or open forests

  • Pedicularis groenlandica / elephant head

    • flowers range from pink to purple or white
    • flowers each have a long, pointed, upward curving beak like an elephant's trunk and lateral lobes that look like elephant's ears
    • sharply-toothed fernlike leaves
    • wet environments in late June, early July

  • Phleum pratense / timothy

    • tight, cylindrical flower head
    • probably the most recognizable grass in the Valley
    • pink stamens with prodigious pollen production in summer
    • bulb at base of stem; brown leaf sheath bases

  • Physaria spp / twinpods

    • yet another very small yellow crucifer/brassica
    • densely hairy leaves, tapering to a petiole
    • bloom in early spring on minimal soil in rocky places
    • fruit characteristics TBPL

Showing 13–24 of 33 results