Nugget 4: More Wildflowers

Alpine environments have some of the same wildflowers as the lower subalpine or montane areas, yet many flowers grow only at higher elevations. A particularly great road for finding the small, brilliant flowers unique to the high mountains is the Beartooth Highway between Red Lodge and Cooke City, Montana. Here (at right) is a meadow at about 9000 feet (2750 m) elevation along the Beartooth Scenic Byway.

This member of the rose family (above) grows in both very high and not-so-high places. Called the potentilla or cinquefoil, it is distinguished by its five petals and leaves with five to nine teeth, from which comes the name, since "cinque" means five in French. The long narrow leaves in the foreground of this picture belong to another plant.

(Right) The picture was taken along the Beartooth Highway, and the flower shows the typical growth of alpine plants--hugging the ground to stay out of wind and cold as best they can.

Steve Gryc, a composer who has recorded Yellowstone geyser sounds, has identified this mystery flower for us. It's a bluebell, either Mertensia alpina, which grows at timberline or above, or Mertensia oblongifolia, which grows in the valleys and foothills.

CREDITS: All photos on this page are by Bruno Giletti.

 You'll find a guide to some common wildflowers of Yellowstone's central plateaus, arranged by color, on pages 331–33 of the third edition.

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