Wildflowers

There are thousands of different species of wildflowers in the Rocky Mountains that have various adaptations for living anywhere from a high alpine environment to a low elevation riparian zone.

  • Take a hike around Big Sky, and you are likely to find wildflowers just about anywhere you look!
  • If you are above tree line, look for Alpine Rock Jasmine or Alpine Forget-Me-Not.
  • While in moist areas around streams, look for Tall Bluebells.
  • Lupine and Indian paintbrush can be spotted along trails and roadsides.

Overview

Wildflowers (grow naturally in the wild without cultivation) are herbaceous, non-woody plants that provide food and shelter to many creatures great and small. Indian paintbrush, Forget-Me-Not, varieties of Asters, and Lupine are just few of many species of flowers that bloom from April to September. The blooms of flowers are so perfectly timed that birds and insects are never without food during a summer.

Bitterroot is the Montana state flower. Also referred to as the “resurrection flower,” bitterroot flowers can live up to a year with no water! Once the flower blooms (May to June), the leaves die off leaving the flower look as if it grew right out of the soil.

The bright red, modified leaves (called bracts) of the Indian paintbrush are commonly mistaken for the flower. They almost completely conceal the inconspicuous yellow flower tucked away at the base of each bract. Also known as prairie-fire, these flowers grow on mountainsides and in open meadows. Native Americans used these hardy plants for paintbrushes. Hence, the name Indian paintbrush.

Interesting Facts

  • A flower often looks completely different from an insect’s point of view. Many petals have ultraviolet or infrared patterns invisible to the human eye, but which act as guides or landing patterns that direct insects to the plant’s nectar.
  • Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) of bee colonies is leaving the future of many wildflowers uncertain. It is estimated that 1 in 3 bee colonies have disappeared in just the past 3 years. Scientists have made great progress in identifying the causes of the disappearance of bees, but there are many miles to go before a cure or fix is found.

Best Places for Viewing Wildflowers

Buy a flower guide! Even if you are just visiting the area, guidebooks are fun to have as a memory from your trip. Because wildflowers grow almost everywhere in Big Sky and there are so many different species, you will have your own reference book to help you become a wildflower expert in no time.

Respecting Plant Life

  • Follow Leave No Trace Ethics: travel on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, and leave what you find.
  • Plants are remarkable species that can grow in harsh environments. If you are in high alpine zones, you are amongst plants that can take up to 50 years to mature. One step, and you can damage or kill those plants!
  • Every year over 5 billion tons of topsoil is lost because of erosion. Every plant no matter how tiny serves the purpose of anchoring the soil.

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