YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

I am a former college biology teacher who loves almost every organism on this planet (I’m not crazy about fire ants or mosquitoes, but the rest have their place in my world). In there rush to see geysers and bears I think a lot of Yellowstone visitors overlook some of the most beautiful flowering plants in North America, many of which are blooming now.

I am from southeast Texas where the growing season is almost a year long. Our spring starts in February and winter, if we have one, doesn’t really get going until December. So when we come to Yellowstone it is amazing to us how fast things happen. One day there is snow on a patch of ground and a few days later glacier lilies are blooming where the snow just melted. But you better look fast because they don’t last long. Another thing that is neat about Yellowstone is the variety of altitudes throughout the park. Because of that variation you can find lupines blooming in one spot one week and then get another dose of them 2 weeks later at a higher elevation. That variation in altitude also adds to the diversity of plants in the park.

The following are some of my favorites that are blooming now. (Please note these flowers are not to scale. Pasque flower is the largest and steershead is the smallest.)

Glacier Lily – Glacier lilies are one of the first plants to flower as soon as the snow melts. They are common on the South Entrance Road, and along the Norris to Mammoth Road, where they are currently being killed at a rapid rate where the road is being widened. The will be blooming on the south side of Mt. Washburn soon, but there is still a lot of snow up there.

Pasque flower – I am taking a little liberty here. Pasque flower just finished blooming but it is one of my favorites. The easiest place I know to find it is along the first part of the road to Petrified Tree.

Subalpine Clematis – This is a fairly common flower especially along the road from Mammoth to Tower. If you stop in any of the pullouts in woodsy areas along that road now you should find them.

Calypso Orchid – This diminutive flower is about an inch wide and an inch tall. Its stem is only a couple of inches tall. It blooms along the trail from the Slough Creek Campground that follows along the creek going upstream. It can also be found sporadically in the wooded areas along the Mammoth to Tower road and the upper part of the Northeast Entrance Road from the Trout Lake Parking area to the Northeast Entrance.

Steershead – Look at it and you know why it is called steershead. It is in the bleeding heart family. There isn’t a dud in that entire family if you ask me. They are all beautiful. This is the smallest of all of the flowers mentioned here and the hardest to find. I’ll bet you could ask 10 rangers in the park where to find steershead and they couldn’t answer that question unless you can find one over 55 who has been working in the park at least 20 years. It took us about 20 years to find our first steershead. First think small, really small, about the size of a quarter. The best place to find them is on the south side of Dunraven Pass. Just below the rest room below the pass is a good spot after the snow has recently melted. But any pullout where the snow has just melted is good if there is a gravely slope. They are always on gravely slopes and are never in really wet areas. Look on slopes with very sparse vegetation and again think small. The hardest part is finding the first one. Once you find it you will find 20 more. I would love to hear from anyone who finds them.

Good Luck and Happy Flower Hunting

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