Wildflowers

Colorado Columbine

NPS Photo

An appreciation for wildflowers can carry with it an awareness and understanding for the seasons, insect and bird life, habitat, and other related factors. The lists that follow give the more commonly observed wildflowers, colors, scientific names, habitat and seasonal variables, and other helpful information.

Sources include William A. Weber/s “Rocky Mountain Flora,” 5^th edition, 1976, Colorado Associated University Press, Boulder, Colorado, and W.A. Weber and Ruth Ashton Nelson, “Plants of Rocky Mountain National Park,” 1970, Rocky Mountain Nature Association.

 

The key to the habitat symbols:
M=montane S=subalpine A-alpine
d-dry w-wet

The lists are grouped by color category:

Yellow	Blue
Pink	Green
Red	Purple
Orange	White

Since there are over 900 different plant species found in Rocky Mountain National Park, there are often one or more other plant species closely related to the one(s) listed.

 

Yellow Saxifrage

NPS Photo

 

Color	Habitat	Season	Common Name	Shrub	Scientific Name	Family
Yellow	M-d	Early	Creeping hollygrape		Mahonia repens	Barberry
Yellow	M-d		Sulfur flower		Eriogonum umbellatum	Buckwheet
Yellow	A-w		Snow buttercup		Ranunculus adoneus	Buttercup
Yellow	S-w		Globeflower		Trollius laxus	Buttercup
Yellow	M/S		Heartleaf arnica		Arnica cordifolia	Composite
Yellow	M-d		Mountain gumweed		Grindelia subalpine	Composite
Yellow	M-d		Dwarf sunflower		Helianthus pumilus	Composite
Yellow	A		Rydbergia		Hymenoxys grandiflora	Composite
Yellow	M		Black-eyed susan		Rudbeckia hirta	Composite
Yellow	S-w		Arrowleaf ragwort		Senecio triangularis	Composite
Yellow	M		Goldenrod		Solidago sparsiflora	Composite
Yellow	M		Salsify		Tragopogon dubius	Composite
Yellow	S/A		Western yellow paintbrush		Castilleja occidentalis	Figwort
Yellow	M/S-w		Yellow monkeyflower		Mimulus guttatus	Figwort
Yellow	M/S		Twinberry	Shrub	Lonicera involucrate	Honeysuckle
Yellow	A		Golden draba		Draba aurea	Mustard
Yellow	M	Early	Western wallflower		Erysimum asperum	Mustard
Yellow	M/S	Early	Whiskbroom parsley		Harbouria trachypleura	Parsley
Yellow	M/S		Golden banner		Thermopsis divaricarpa	Pea
Yellow	A		Alpine avens		Acomastylis rossil ssp. turbinate	Rose
Yellow	M/S/A		Shrubby cinquefoil	Shrub	Pentaphylloides floribunda	Rose
Yellow	M/S		Silvery cinquefoil		Pontentilla hippiana	Rose
Yellow	M-d	Early	Betterbrush or Anelope brush	Shrub	Purshia tridentate	Rose
Yellow	M/S/A-d		Yellow stonecrop		Sedum lanceolatum	Stonecrop
Yellow	M/S-w		Yellow pondlily		Nuphar luteum ssp. polysepalum	waterlily

Return to color table.

 

Moss Campion

NPS Photo

 

Color	Habitat	Season	Common Name	Shrub	Scientific Name	Family
Pink	M-d	Early	Mountain ball cactus		Pediocactus simpsonii	Cactus
Pink	M/S		Fireweed		Chamerion angustifolium	Evening-primrose
Pink	M/S/A-w		Elephantella		Pedicularis groenlandica	Figwort
Pink	M-d		Wild geranium		Geranium caespitosum	Geranium
Pink	S		Broom huckleberry		Vaccinium scoparium	Heath
Pink	M/S	Early	Kinnikinnic	Shrub	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ssp. Adenotricha	Heath
Pink	M		Snowberry	Shrub	Symphoricarpos oreophilus	Honeysuckle
Pink	M/S		Nodding onion		Allium cernuum	Onion
Pink	M/S	Early	Fairyslipper		Calypso bulbosa	Orchid
Pink	M		Limber vetch		Astragalus flexuosus	Pea
Pink	M/S		Colorado loco		Oxytropis lambertii	Pea
Pink	M		Alpine clover		Trifolium dasyphyllum	Pea
Pink	A		Moss campion		Silene acaulis ssp. Subacaulescens	Pink
Pink	A	Early	Fairy primrose		Primula angustifolia	Primrose
Pink	S/A-w		Parry primrose		Primula parryi	Primrose
Pink	M/S		Wild rose	Shrub	Rosa woodsii	Rose
Pink	S/A-w	Early	Queens crown		Clementsia rhodantha	Stonecrop

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Kings Crown

NPS Photo

 

Color	Habitat	Season	Common Name	Shrub	Scientific Name	Family
Red	M	Early	Narrow-leaved paintbrush		Castilleja linariaefolia	Figwort
Red	A-w		Kings crown		Rhociola integrifolia	Stonecrop

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False Dandelion

NPS Photo

 

Color	Habitat	Season	Common Name	Shrub	Scientific Name	Family
Orange	M/S		False dandelion		Agoseris aurantiaca	Composite

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Tall Chiming Bells

NPS Photo

 

Color	Habitat	Season	Common Name	Shrub	Scientific Name	Family
Blue	A	Early	Alpine forget-me-not		Eritrichum aretioides	Borage
Blue-Purple	M/S-w		Tall chiming bells		Mertensia ciliate	Borage
Blue	S	Late	Fringed gentian		Gentianopsis thermalis	Gentian
Blue or White	A		Tufted phlox		Phlox sibirica ssp. Pulvinata	Phlox
Blue	S		Jacobs ladder		Polemonium delicatum	Phylox

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Alpine Sorrel

NPS Photo

 

Color	Habitat	Season	Common Name	Shrub	Scientific Name	Family
Green	A		Alpine sorrel		Oxyria digyna	Buckwheat
Green	M/S		Meadow-rue		Thalictrum fendleri	Buttercup

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Purple Fringe

NPS Photo

 

Color	Habitat	Season	Common Name	Shrub	Scientific Name	Family
Purple	M/S		Mountain harebell		Campanula rotundifolia	Bellflower
Purple-White	M/S-w		Monkshood		Aconitum columbianum	Buttercup
Purple	M/S		Colorado columbine		Aquilegia caerulea	Buttercup
Purple	S-w		Subalpine larkspur		Delphinium barbeyi	Buttercup
Purple	M	Early	American pasqueflower		Pulsatilla patens ssp. Multifida	Buttercup
Purple	M	Late	Tansy aster		Machaeranthera pattersonii	Composite
Purple	M/S		Aspen daisy		Erigeron speciosus var. macranthus	Composite
Purple	M		Tall one-sided penstemon		Penstemon virgatus ssp. Asa-grayi	Figwort
Purple	M/S	Early	Wild iris		Iris missouriensis	Iris
Purple	M		Horsemint		Monarda fistulosa var. menthaefolia	Mint
Purple	M/S		Silvery lupine		Lupines argenteus	Pea
Purple	A		Sky pilot		Polemonium viscosum	Phylox
Purple	M/S-w		Shooting star		Dodecatheon pulchellum	Primrose
Purple	M/S/A		Purple fringe		Phacelia sericea	Waterleaf

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Marsh Marigold

NPS Photo

 

Color	Habitat	Season	Common Name	Shrub	Scientific Name	Family
White	M		Miners candle		Cryptantha virgata	Borage
White	A		American bistort		Bistorta bistortoides	Buckwheat
White	S/A-w		Marsh-marigold		Caltha leptosepala	Buttercup
White	M/S/A		Yarrow		Achillea lanulosa	Composite
White	M/S		Pearly everlasting		Anaphalis margaritacea	Composite
White	M/S-d		Rocky Mountain pussytoes		Antennaria rosea	Composite
White	M-d		Big sagebrush	Shrub	Artemisia tridentate ssp vaseyana	Composite
White	M/S	Late	Smooth white aster		Aster porter	Composite
White	M	Early	Easter daisy		Townsendia exscapa	Composite
White	S		Parrots-beak		Pedicularis racemosa	Figwort
White	A	Late	Arctic gentian		Gentianodes algida	Gentian
White	M	Early	Wax currant	Shrub	Ribes cereum	Gooseberry
White	M/S		Red elderberry	Shrub	sambucus racemosa ssp. pubens	Honeysuckle
White	M	Early	Waxflower	Shrub	Jamesia Americana	Hydrangea
White	M		Mariposa lily		Calochortus gunnisonii	Lily
White	A	Early	Alp lily		Lloydia serotina	Lily
White	M/S	Early	False solomonseal		Smilacina stellata	Lily
White	M/S		Bedstraw		Gallium boreale spp. septentrionale	Madder
White	M/S-w		Brook-cress		Cardamine cordifolia	Mustard
White	M/S		Spotted coral root		Corallorhiza maculate	Orchid
White	M/S-w		Cow parsnip		Heracleum spondylium ssp. montanum	Parsley
White	M/A		Fendler sandwort		Arenaria fendleri	Pink
White	M/S/A		Field mouse-ear		Cerastium arvense	Pink
White	A		Alpine sandwort		Minuartia obtusiloba	Pink
White	M/S		Wild strawberry		Fragaria ovalis	Rose
White	M	Early	Chokecherry	Shrub	Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa	Rose
White	M	Early	Boulder raspberry	Shrub	Rubus deliciosus	Rose
White	M/S/A		Dotted saxifrage		Saxifrage bronchialis ssp. austromontana	Saxifrage

Return to color table.