More Yellowstone wildflowers

A whole new palette of Yellowstone wildflowers, July 13, 2014

If you read my recent blog post about early summer wildflowers in Yellowstone National Park, you may remember that one of the things I find fascinating about alpine wildflowers is how quickly they change as the summer progresses.

On my most recent trip—just a week after that first blog post—I saw a whole new set of wildflowers, with some of the varieties I saw the week before already fading; some, like Prairie Smoke, completely spent. The Coville columbines were out in full force over Dunraven Pass. They are smaller than the blue columbine some might know as the state flower of Colorado, and quite delicate—they are sweet little flowers.

Below I share some new photographs of Yellowstone wildflowers from this latest trip into the park. You’ll notice there are a few I don’t know the name of for sure, so if any readers do, please comment below and let me know!

When you visit the Center’s Draper Natural History Museum, be sure to notice the flowers incorporated into the dioramas throughout the museum’s Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem environments interpreted here. They may be subtle touches, but they help make the whole experience along with the other sights and sounds you find in the museum.

By the way, not as interested in wildflowers as I am? No problem! Click here to visit our full listing of blogs, with just about any topic about the American West you could ask for.