highly visible

Showing 1–12 of 67 results

  • Abies lasiocarpa / subalpine fir

    • narrow, tall, sharply tipped trees
    • cones purple and erect; disintegrate in the fall
    • needles flattened, soft and blunt tipped, brushed upward
    • needles sessile - no petioles or pegs
    • leaf (needle) scars round

  • Aconitum columbianum / monkshood

    • brilliant blue/purple - ish; mixed colors or white
    • petal-like sepals form the hood
    • palmate, deeply-lobed & toothed leaves

  • Arnica cordifolia / heartleaf arnica

    • yellow, daisy-like flowers; 1-2 per shoot
    • opposite, heart shaped leaves; long petioles; 2-4 pair per stem
    • large clonal colonies with many flowering and non-flowering shoots
    • the dominant ground cover  in moderate shade in many forests

  • Artemisia tridentata / mountain big sagebrush

    • medium-sized grey-green shrub
    • highly aromatic
    • tall, spikey inflorescences with many clusters of invisible flowers
    • limited to drier habitats (not the Valley basin)

  • Balsamorhiza macrophylla / cutleaf balsamroot

    • large, yellow, sunflower-like blossom
    • large, dissected/lobed/compound-looking leaves
    • up to 40" tall
    • roadsides or hillsides with arrowleaf balsamroot and Wyethia

  • Balsamorhiza sagittata / arrowleaf balsamroot

    • large, bright yellow, sunflower-like blossoms in early spring
    • very large, more or less triangular basal leaves
    • leaves appear silvery, or grey-green due to leaf hairs
    • on open, fairly dry hillsides and ridges, often with sagebrush

  • Calochortus nuttallii / sego lily

    • 3 large white petals
    • purple spots that border yellow glands
    • tangle of hairs (a "beard") at the base of the petals
    • but... very variable arrangement of spots, hairs etc.
    • rocky, exposed sites

  • Carduus nutans / musk thistle

    • quite large, very purple flower heads
    • spiny everything... leaves, stems, bracts
    • biennial - large rosette of nasty leaves in first year
    • dandelion-like fruit that flies away like the down of a thistle
    • disturbed lands... pastures, wastelands, roadsides, construction sites

  • Castilleja covilleana / Rocky Mountain paintbrush

    • clearly, one of the "Indian paintbrushes"
    • early bloomer in the spring, even when quite short
    • bright red, orange (sometimes yellow) bracts
    • bracts and leaves have 3-7 deep lobes with long, soft hairs
    • often grows in clusters

  • Castilleja linariifolia / Wyoming Indian paintbrush

    • generally taller than most paintbrushes (up to 3 feet)
    • very thin leaves, seldom lobed, seldom hairy
    • red inflorescence bracts, may be lobed
    • flowers extend well beyond bracts
    • calyx is red and shorter than the corolla which is greenish yellow
    • rocky areas with sagebrush and conifer forests

  • Castilleja miniata / scarlet paintbrush

    • bright red, or orange or sometimes yellow bracts that are mistaken for flowers
    • looks like a red feather duster, but only a few inches long
    • generally low, and along streams or roadsides on hills where there is moisture
    • leaves ovoid with prominent veins, no petioles

  • Castilleja spp. / paintbrushes

    • vibrant, red (or yellow) inflorescence (bracts)
    • widespread, but confusing... five or more species in the area

Showing 1–12 of 67 results