Lewis' Monkeyflower Mimulus lewisii Hot pink blossoms with bright yellow centers, monkeyflowers are found in moist areas, and are especially lush at the banks of creeks and streams. The specimen collected in 1805 by Meriwether Lewis (hence the "lewisii" in the scientific name) has since been lost to science. The "Mimulus" of the name is Latin for "comic" and refers to the laughing face one can imagine in the shape formed by the petals--two in the upper lobe and three in the lower with the open "mouth" at the center. It's a small leap from seeing a comical laughing face to seeing a monkey. Although less common, yellow monkeyflowers can also be found in Yellowstone.
Indian Paintbrush Castilleja In Yellowstone National Park, the East Entrance road is an especially good place to find Indian Paintbrush. There are several varieties, and colors range from pink, red, and orange, to the yellow of a variety aptly named Sulphur Paintbrush. Hybridization in the Central Rocky Mountains results in intermediate species that can be difficult to distinguish exactly. Paintbrush is are partially parasitic, attaching to the roots of a host plant through a short side branch of root. This allows the plant to gain some of its nutrients and water from the host. Paintbrush brooms a bit later than some of Yellowstone's flowers, in July and August.
Richardson's Geranium Geranium richardsonii Richardson's, or white, geranium looks very similar to the more often seen Sticky Geranium (at right), except that the five petals of the flower are white instead of pink. It still has pale pink veining in the petals. Pink stamens protrude prominently from the flower's center. The leaf shape of these wild geranium plants are recognizable to anyone who grows domestic geraniums as house plants. This variety is named for Sir John Richardson (1787 - 1842), an English surgeon and naturalist who wrote Fauna Boreali-Americana. Medicinal herbs, geraniums have been used to treat inflammation in minor wounds, diarrhea, dysentery, and ulcers.
Indian Pond Lily Nuphar polysepalum These strikingly bright yellow lilies have large, broadly heart-shaped leaves. The petals of the three to five inch diameter cup-shaped flowers are quite thick with many reddish-purple stamens surrounding the large central stigma. The flowers float on the water's surface, or extend just above it on stalks attached to thick stems that grow from the mud on the bottom of the pond. These aquatic plants were named in 1860 by Ferdinand V. Hayden. The Klamath Indians used the seeds as a staple food, roasted and ground into meal. The roots of the plant are edible, although generally only in an emergency, as the flavor is disagreeable.
Elephant's Head Pedicularis groenlandica This is a whimsically-named flower, with each individual pink flower of the many that grow on a long, vertical stalk resembling a tiny elephant's head complete with ears and curved-up trunks. The vertical flower stalks bow slightly at the top. The structure of these flowers facilitates pollination (by bees) while lessening the chance of hybridization with other species. Elephant's Heads grow in wet meadows and along cold streams and lake shores of montane forests and subalpine forests. The leaves of the plant are fern-like. These plants, along with other species of Pedicularis, are used by herbalists as sedative herbs.
Silvery Lupine Lupinus argenteus The lupine plant has abundant purple flowers with a hint of white. The blossoms grow in elongated clusters on multiple stalks on each plant. Lupine is a member of the legume (pea or bean) family. The leaves are palmate, fanning out from a center point. The scientific name for lupine is derived from the Latin word lupis, which means wolf. Meriwether Lewis collected a silvery lupine specimen on July 7, 1806, in what is now Montana. Although the purple blossoms shown here are the color commonly seen in the Greater Yellowstone area and the Rocky Mountains, we have once seen them in a pretty shade of soft pink.
Yellow Columbine Aquilegia flavescens The Latin word columbinus means "dove." Some see the Backward facing spurs of the blossom as the heads of doves and the petals as their wings. With just a little imagination, one can see the columbine as five doves taking flight. The spurs on other varieties taper to the point, without the almost hook-like barb at the tip. This variety is a pale shade of yellow and is smaller than the better-known Blue Columbine (the state flower of Colorado). Yellow Columbine appears to be delicate, with the flower dangling from the stem. The one shown here was found in a moist pocket at the side of the road on the way from Dunraven Pass to Tower Falls.
Sticky Geranium Geranium viscosissimum If you touch the underside of the petals near the base of the flower of a Sticky Geranium, you will realize that the plant is aptly named. This is due to a sticky, aromatic substance exuded by glandular hairs. "Geranium" is from the Greek word for crane, referring to the cranelike style or beak of the flowers pods. In fact another name for the genus is "Crane's bill." Usually a fairly bright pink, you might see the color of wild geraniums ranging from bright to very pale pink, and to the white of the Richardson's geranium. This is evidence that the geranium also often hybridizes in the wild, making a strict distinction between varieties difficult.
Mountain Bluebell Mertensia ciiata Blue with tinges of pink, the flowers of the Mountain Bluebell consist of clusters of elongated bells that hang delicately from their stems. The plants are generally found in moist areas such as the banks of streams. The bluebell plant relatively large and lush with several leafy stems. The leaves are arrow-shaped. The Mountain Bluebell is a member of the Forget-Me-Not family. Mertensias are also known as "lungworts," after a European species that looks similar except for having spotted leaves. Lungworts are so-called because they were once believed to be a remedy for lung disease.
Fringed Gentian Gentian detonsa Gentian is a wide-ranging species with many forms. In fact, some sources call the gentian found in Yellowstone National Park G. thermalis because of the thermal areas they favor. They are fairly low to the ground with few leaves. The flowers do indeed have fringed edges on their petals. Some gentians are deep purple throughout the whole flower, but these generally have quite a bit of white with just the petal tips colored lavender to light purple. To get a sense of just how varied are the appearances of flowers in the gentian family, you only need to look up Green Gentian, which is a large plant, and Prairie Gentian, with more open flowers.