WILDFLOWERS
Welcome to the Wildflower page!
Here we highlight wildflowers that are native to Uinta County, Wyoming and the adjacent Uinta Mountains. It is our goal to provide pictures and information about the native species to enhance your outdoor experiences in the vast open areas of Southwest Wyoming.
Browse through the photos and information.
Let us know if you have any questions.
If there is a plant you are interested in that is not shown here, please send a photo to klott.uccd@gmail.com.
New plants will be added weekly throughout the 2020 summer. Check back often or visit our social media pages to stay up to date with our
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Today's Spotlight Plant
Scarlet gilia
Scarlet gilia is a widespread and common wildflower in the Western U.S. This plant is characterized by its trumpet-like flowers, bright green foliage and finely dissected leaves which are identifiable even before flowering. Scarlet gilia grows in sagebrush and pine communities in well drained soils along hillsides, roadsides and trails at low to high elevations. This plant is a very drought tolerant but prefers full sun as it is not shade tolerant.
Scarlet gilia can be found blooming late spring into the fall. Flowers can range from pale pink to salmon to scarlet (very rarely yellow). The base of the flower petals are fused together and form an elongated tube most commonly, but not exclusively, pollinated by hummingbirds and long-tongued moths. It is said that hummingbirds prefer the brighter colored flowers that usually appear early in the flowering season, and the moths are attracted to the lighter colored flowers which often appear later in the season, either on the same or different plants.
This plant was first collected for a scientific specimen by Lewis and Clark in Idaho. It has been moved through several genre since it was first classified by Frederick Pursh in 1814, landing at one point in the genus Gilia. The common name Scarlet gilia has stuck with the plant even after its move to the genus Ipomopsis. The word ‘aggregat’ in Latin means assembled or brought together in flocks, most likely in reference to the cluster of flowers atop the plant. The common name Skunk flower refers to the pungent skunk-like smell the leaves give off when picked or crushed. Individual flowers do not have the skunk-like odor but do have a droplet of nectar at the base of the tube which is often sucked out after the flower is picked, hence the common name Honeysuckle.
Scientific name: Ipomopsis aggregata (Pursh) V. Grant
Common names: Scarlet gilia, Scarlet trumpet, Skyrocket, Honeysuckle, Skunk flower
Wildflowers
Below are the wildflowers we have spotlighted thus far
on the 2020 Virtual Plant Tour.
Click on the name or image for more information about each plant.
Resources
Plants Chest
Available for check-out.
Measure, identify, collect and press as you learn about the plants in Southwest Wyoming.
This kit includes a number of learning guides, books, activity ideas, measurement instruments, tree cookies, a plant press and field equipment for hands-on and outdoor learning.
We are also available to teach lessons about plants!
Contact us for more information:
307-787-3070
204 East Sage St
Lyman Wy
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Wildflower Resources
Are you looking for native plants to grow in your gardens?
Plants With Altitude, Regionally Native Plants for Wyoming Gardens is a 2014 publication by the University of Wyoming Extension, Barnyards & Backyards, Laramie Garden Club and Biodiversity Institute. This 66 page, spirally bound book is a great resource about native plants, where to get them and how to best grow them in your garden.
We also have free copies at our office if you prefer print.
Stop in at 204 East Sage in Lyman, Monday-Thursday 8-4.
Other resources in conjunction with this plant guide can be found at wyomingnativegardens.org
The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.
Search by common name to find pictures and information on plant location and status.
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Check out this recorded Zoom meeting about native Wyoming Wildflowers hosted by the Universtity of Wyoming Extnetion and Barnyards & Backyards.
Rangeland Plants - Wyoming Tough
"This guidebook is meant to help the more-than-casual observer of nature identify the most important and common plant species on Wyoming’s rangelands. We have included many of the grasses, grass-likes, forbs, and woody plants vital to both wildlife and domestic livestock. Unfortunately, some areas of Wyoming’s rangeland are dominated by the non-native, invasive cheatgrass, and we have included it and a few other undesirable plant species." - UWyo Extension
Plants Poisonous to Livestock in the Western States
The USDA Poisonous Plant Research Lab in Logan Utah, staffs a wide variety of scientists who study plants that are poisonous to livestock throughout the world. This publication was printed for livestock owners and others interested in plants that are poisonous to livestock in the Western U.S.
Agricultural Information Bulletin Number 415. 107 pages. Revised in 2011. Published by the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
Click the pictures to view a PDF copy.