Yellowstone Flora

Yellowstone is home to over 1,700 species of native vascular plants and over 170 species of exotic (non-native) plants.

Capture the color, brilliance, hue, shape, and texture of Yellowstone on canvas, film, and in person. Experience Yellowstone in bloom! In looking for wildflowers, keep in mind that elevation, relative temperatures, soil types, and precipitation patterns all play a role in what you find blooming in various areas at different times of the year. In addition, far-reaching events such as wildland fires can cause spectacular blooms of species that thrive on the conditions these events create. All of these variables add up to one universal fact—wildflowers are where you find them!

Remember that many of Yellowstone’s wildflowers are also very important parts of animal diets. The bulbs of spring beauty and glacier lily, for example, are vital spring foods of the grizzly bear. Wild strawberries are collected by ground squirrels and chipmunks; the seeds of most wildflowers are used by birds and insects. Even the beautiful and delicate petals of many
flowers are used by animals. Porcupines may sometimes be seen munching flower petals. Bees and other insects collect nectar and pollen.

Exotic plants —escaped domestics and “weeds”—can be found in Yellowstone. Look for them in disturbed sites such as roadsides where they have little initial competition. Dalmation toadflax, yellow sweetclover, ox-eye daisy, and other exotic plants compete unnaturally with native plants. For this reason, and for the continued integrity of our ecosystem, these exotics are controlled by
pulling and/or spraying.

Wildflowers: Where and When They Bloom in Yellowstone

Flowers	Location	Blooming Period

White Flowers
Marsh marigold	Wet meadows, parkwide & Beartooth Mtn	May–July
Northern bedstraw	Northern range	July–August
White geranium	Moist areas, parkwide	July–August
Phlox	Parkwide	May–July
Wild strawberry	Parkwide	May–July
Yampa	Meadows,parkwide	July–August
Cow parsnip	Wet areas, parkwide	July–August
Evening primrose	Gardiner/Mammoth areas	May–June
Ladies tresses	Thermal areas, meadows	July–August
Woodland star	Meadows, parkwide	May–June
Yarrow	parkwide	June–September
Pussytoes	parkwide	June–July
Spring beauty	parkwide	April–June
Bistort	Meadows, parkwide & Beartooth Mtn	June–August

Yellow Flowers
Arnica	parkwide	June–August
Groundsel	parkwide	June–September
Yellow bell	Hayden Valley, Dunraven Pass	May–June
Glacier lily	Lake area, Dunraven Pass	May–June
Cinquefoil	parkwide	June–August
Stonecrop	Barren areas, parkwide	June–August
Yellow monkeyflower	Thermal areas, bogs, creeks	May–August
Rabbitbrush	Northern range	August–Sep
Balsamroot	Northern range	June–July
Prickly pear cactus	Gardiner/Mammoth area	Late June
Yellow pond lily	Ponds, slow streams, parkwide	July–August
Sulfur buckwheat	Parkwide	June–August
Globeflower	Wet areas, Beartooth Mtns	May–June
Helianthella	Dunraven Pass	July–August
Yellow violet	Moist meadows, parkwide	May–June

Red–Pink Flowers
Shooting star	Meadows, parkwide	May–June
Prairie smoke	Meadows, parkwide	June–July
Coralroot	Forest floor, parkwide	June–July
Bitterroot	Northern range	May–June
Elephant head	Moist meadows, parkwide	June–July
Twinflower	Moist forests	June–July
Paintbrush	parkwide	June–August
Wild rose	Northern range	June–July
Sticky geranium	Northern range, meadows, parkwide	June–August
Fireweed	parkwide	July–August
Lewis monkeyflower	Dunraven Pass	July–August

Blue–Purple Flowers
Fringed gentian	Geyser basins & meadows, parkwide	May–August
Harebell	parkwide	July–August
Wild flax	Dry meadows, parkwide	June–August
Penstemon	Meadows, parkwide	June–August
Lupine	parkwide	June–August
Forget-me-not	Northern range	June–July
Phacelia	Northern range, Dunraven Pass	May–July
Stickseed	Northern range	June–July
Bluebells	Meadows & along streams	May–July
Clematis	Mammoth/Tower area	May–June
Larkspur	Meadows, parkwide	May–August
Monkshood	Moist areas, parkwide	June–August
Wild iris	Northern range	June
Pasqueflower	Northern range	May–June
Aster/fleabane	Parkwide	May–September