Arrowleaf Balsamroot - Balsamorhiza sagittata

 This bright yellow flower with wide, arrow-shaped leaves is Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), a member of the Sunflower Family (Asteraceae). It grows below 10,000 feet on open, dry slopes and flats and blooms from May to July.

For more information on arrowleaf balsamroot, click here.

Steptoe Valley Beardtongue - Penstemon immanifestus

 This beautiful pinkish penstemon is Steptoe Valley Beardtongue (Penstemon immanifestus), part of the Figwort Family (Scrophulariaceae). It grows from 5,000 to 6,000 feet on sandy soils, and I found it near EskDale, Utah. It is only found in Utah and Nevada. It grows about one-foot tall, and flowers are over an inch long. Stems are glabrous (smooth), and the staminode (yellow part in flower above) is bearded (hairy).

Because of it's limited distribution, I couldn't find much info about it. Here's a link to the USDA Plants Database.

Spring Wildflowers in Pole Canyon

Hi! After a year's hiatus, I'm back!

This has been a great spring for wildflowers. Even though we had a rather dry winter, April was fairly wet, and I've been seeing a lot. This year I've been focusing on photographing the flowers in a particular area and then posting them all together. This helps people who are hiking in that area see them all together. It's also helped me to find a few more plants I need to key out and include on this blog.

To see the spring wildflowers along Pole Canyon trail in Great Basin National Park, click here.