Yosemite Wildflowers

Nude Buckwheat

2009-09-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Nude Buckwheat
Eriogonum nudum

Buckwheat Family
Roadsides and open forests with well drained sandy soil

12 to 36 inches high

Hwy 140

Whitewhorl Lupine

2009-08-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

Whitewhorl Lupine
Lupinus densiflorus

Pea Family
Pea shaped flowers are whorled around the stem forming a spike.
1 to 3 feet tall and found on grassy hillsides at lower elevations.

April to June

Highway 140

Fireweed

2009-08-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

Fireweed
Epilobium angustifolium

Evening Primrose Family

McGurk Meadow
July 2009

2-6 feet tall
Fringe of the meadow
June to September

Pacific Dogwood

2009-08-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

Curry Village
May 11, 2009

Pacific Dogwood
Cornus nuttallii

Dogwood Family
Early spring blooming

Red Clover

2009-08-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

Red Clover
Trifolium pratense

Pea Family
Pea like flowers, reddish purple, 6 to 12 inches high
Meadows edge

April to July

July 2009
McGurk Meadow

Silver Bush Lupine #2

2009-08-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

Silver Bush Lupine

Highway 140
April 2009

See my other entry

Blue Dicks or Wild Hyacinth

2009-08-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

Blue Dicks
Dichelostemma capitatum

March to May
Lily Family

Highway 140
April 2009

Silver Bush Lupine

2009-08-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

Silver Bush Lupine
Lupinus albifrons

Pea Family

0- 6500 feet.

Crane Flat, July 2oo8
Meadow

California Corn Lily

2009-08-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

McGurk Meadow
July 2009

Corn Lily
-Veratrum calirornicum

Lily Family

June to July
6000-10,000 feet

Conditions must be just right for this plant to bloom.
3 to 6 feet tall

Shooting Star

2009-08-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Shooting Star
Dodecatheon jeffreyi

Primrose family

The petals are usually royal pink with bright yellow at the base with a maroon band circling the protruding stamen.
6 to 2- inch stems, long spatula shaped leaves, basal.

Wet areas from the fotthills to the subalpine.

May to July.

7/21/08 Lukens Lake

Common Monkey Flower

2009-08-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

Common Monkey Flower
Mimulus guttatus

Figwort family

They are two-lipped five petaled blossom of tubular shape.

June to September.

7/24/08 Westfalls Meadow

Pinedrops

2009-08-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Pinedrops
Pterospora andromedea

Wintergreen family

Non-chlorophyll bearing member of the wintergreen and orchid families. The roots of the plant are intricately associated with a fungi. The fungi break down organic material in the forest soil into compounds which the plant then can absorb as food.

From 1 to 3 feet tall.
June to August.

Merced Grove, Crane Flat 7/21/08

Bush Cinquefoil

2009-08-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

Bush cinquefoil
Potentilla fruticosa

Rose family

Moist, rocky areas-subalpine region.

June to July

7/23/08 Lukens Lake

Arrowleaf Groundsel

2009-08-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

Arrowleaf Groundsel
Senecio triangularis

Sunflower Family
Grows alongside streambanks or seeps. Its leaves are distinctly arrow-shaped, lon and triangular. Tall stems are average of 36 inches.

June to September

7/23/08 Lukens Lake

Bigelow's Sneezeweed

2009-08-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

7/23/08 Crane Flat
Helenium bigelovii

Sunflower Family

The name seems to come from the early settlers' use of powdered, dried flowers to induce sneezing to help clear head colds.

Moist meadow areas, 3000-8000 feet.
June to August.

Larkspur

2009-06-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

Larkspur
Delphinium nuttallianum

Buttercup Family

April to July.

Grows on meadow edges and trailsides.

"delphinium" means dolphin-the buds are shaped like dophins.

7/24/08 Westfalls Meadow

Rydberg's Meadow Penstemon

2009-06-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

Rydberg's Meadow Penstemon
Penstemon rydbergii

Figwort Family

7/23/08 White Wolf

Self Heal

2009-06-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Self Heal
Prunella vulgaris

Mint Family
May to August
Below 3000 feet.

The blue, five-petaled, two-lipped flowers are grouped on a terminal spike, clustered together with brown bracts.

Used for sore throats and the common cold.

Crane Flat, July 22, 2008

Nude Buckwheat

2009-06-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Nude Buckwheat
Eriogonum nudum

Buckwheat Family

May to December

3/4 inch white or pink clusters of tiny flowers at the tips.
7/23/08 Lukens Lake

Monkshood

2009-06-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

Monkshood
Aconitum columbianum

Buttercup Family.

June to August.

Elevation: Wet meadows above 6,000 feet.

It resembles larkspur.

7/24/08 Hike to Westfalls Meadow

Crimson Columbine

2009-06-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

Crimson Columbine
Aquilegia formosa

Buttercup Family

April to August.

Elevation: 4,000 to 8,000.

"Aquila" means eagle and "formosa" means beautiful.

7/24/08 Westfalls Meadow

Western Bistort

2009-06-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Western Bistort
Polygonum bistortoides

Buckwheat Family.

The bistort blossom is actually a cone-shaped cluster of tiny flowers up to 2 inches long.

June to August.

7/23/08 Lukens Lake

Mountain Lungwort

2009-06-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

Mountain Lungwort
Mertensia ciliata var. stomatechoides

Forget-Me-Not Family

June to August, 4,000 to 6,000 feet.

Lukens Lake, July 21, 2008

Often called the Mountain Bluebell.

California Goldenrod

2009-06-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

California Goldenrod
Solidago californica

7/21/08 Lukens Lake

Flowers are small but organized, resembling a single, radially symmetrical flower cupped by a ring of green bracts.

Sunflower Family

July to October

Sierra Arnica

2009-06-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Sierra Arnica
Arnica nevadensis

Sunflower Family
Yosemite Valley, July 22, 2008

July to August.

Along streambanks and moist seeps at higher elevations. We found this growing below Yosemite Falls along the creek.

Cow Parsnip-Heracleum lanatum

2009-06-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Cow Parsnip
Heracleum lanatum

Carrot Family.

Yosemite Valley, near the Yosemite Lodge
July 22, 2008

Named after Hercules. This plant can grow up to 12 feet tall and the flowers can be 12 inches wide, consisting of 15 to 30 smaller umbels.

Wet meadows up to 8,000 feet.

April to August.

Arrowleaf Groundsel

2009-06-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Arrowleaf Groundsel
Senecio triangularis

Sunflower Family

This flower grows along streambanks or seeps. The tall stems are about 36 inches tall with an arrangement of small yellow flowers on top.

Crane Flat, July 21, 2008

Mariposa Lily

2009-06-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

Mariposa Lily
Calochortus leichtlinii

Lily Family

"Mariposa" means butterfly in Spanish.

Three petals, three sepaled, predominantly white, with a dark red-purple spot. Dry forests and hillsides.

June to August
7/21/08 Olmstead Point and Westfalls Meadow

Locoweed or Rattleweed

2009-06-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

Locoweed or Rattleweed
Astrgalus bolanderi

Pea Family

When the soil contains the chemical selenium, it causes horses that eat it to "go crazy". When the pea pods dry and they move in the breeze, they have a rattling sound.

July to August

7/24/08 Hike to Westfalls Meadow

Checkermallow or Checkerbloom

2009-06-05T22:25:00.001-07:00

Waxy checkermallow or checkerbloom
Sidalcea glaucescens

Mallow Family

Elevation: 3,000 to 11,o0o feet

Dry open meadows and grassland areas.

May to June

Crane Flat 7/21/09

Black-eyed Susan

2009-06-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Black-eyed Susans
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulchemima

Sunflower Family

July through August

Cousin to the coneflower. Individual yellow ray flowers meeting at a dark brown or black center, which is actually many individual disk flowers. Found throughout the meadows of Yosemite Valley.

7/21/08 Stoneman's Meadow

Coneflowers-Rudbeckia Californica

2009-06-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

Coneflower
Rudbeckia californica

Sunflower Family

In the center is a multitude of brown disk flowers standing 1 to 2 inches high in a distinct cone shape.

June to August

Crane Flat 7/21/08 These flowers are found in abundance in this area in mid-July.

Sticky Cinquefoil

2009-06-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sticky Cinquefoil
Potentilla glanulosa

May to August

Elevations: below 10,ooo feet

Leaves are divided and multi-lobed with toothed fringes and a sticky stem.

Rose Family

7/21/09 Lukens Lake

Yosemite Asters

2009-06-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Yosemite Aster
Aster occidentalis var. yosemitanus

A variety common to drying meadow fringes and forest floors.

Elevation: 4,000 to 7,000 feet

The blossoms have 20-35 purple ray flowers around yellow disk flowers. The 12 to 24 inch stem is multi-branched near the top, each branch having a blossom at its tip.

Sunflower Family

aster means "star", occidentalis means "western", and yosemitanus means "of Yosemite".

7/21/08 White Wolf

Mountain Jewel Flower (Shieldleaf)

2009-06-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Mountain Jewel Flower
Streptanthus tortuosus

Elevation: 6,234 and 11,483

7/21/08 Lukens Lake parking area

Mustard Family
April to July

Alpine Monkeyflower

2009-06-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Alpine Monkey Flower
Mimulus tilingii

Monkey flowers are distinguished by their easily recognizable shape. The Monkey Flower will bloom as long as the ground is moist.

June to September

Figwort family

7/21/08 Lukens Lake

Indian Paintbrush

2008-09-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

Indian Paintbrush
Castilleja miniata

Figwort family
All red blossoms are up to 2 inches long. The leaves are smooth and lancelike. 1 to 3 foot tall stems. The pollinator is the hummingbird.

We found this paintbrush on the hike to Lukens Lake along an especially marshy section of the trail. It was mixed with lots of other wildflowers like lupine.

July 2008
Yosemite National Park

Pussypaws

2008-08-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Pussypaws
Calyptridium umbellatum

Purslane Family
The pink clusters of flowers resemble the upturned paw of a cat. Th 2 to 10 inch stems radiate from a rosette of bright green leaves. The flowering heads stand up during the day and return to the ground at night. Flowers from May to August. The seeds are favorite of chipmunks.

Tioga Pass Road, Yosemite National Park
July 2008

Updated to show how the flowers and plant look on September 20, 2008
Hiking to Taft Point off Glacier Point Road
Flowers were yellowish gold in color

Showy Milkweed

2008-08-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

Showy Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa

Milkweed family

Flowers from May to August and is a favorite of the Monarch butterfly. The buds form a sphere of many pointed, small, pink flowers.

Stoneman Meadow, Yosemite National Park
July 2008

Updated on September 20, 2008 to show the pods and seeds from the Showy milkweed.

Photos taken across near the Yosemite Lodge

Little Elephant's Head

2008-08-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

Little Elephant's Head
Pedicularis attolens

Figwort Family

Pink elephant's head shaped flowers...perfect pink elephant's head with large floppy ears and up-turned trunk.

Higher elevations to 12,000 feet

Lukens Lake, Yosemite National Park
July 2008

July 2009 Lukens Lake

Small Leopard Lily

2008-08-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

Lilium parvum
Lily Family

Along streambanks and moist bogs, primarily from 6,000 to 9,000 feet. June to July.

These photos were taken at Crane Flat campground in a marshy meadow behind our campsite.
July 2008

Gorgeous color.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom