Mountain Flowers

West Coast Mountain Flowers Alpine Speedwell Bear Grass Bracted Lousewort Cliff Larkspur Cream Stonecrop Elephant's Head Lousewort Green-banded Mariposa Lily Jacob's Ladder Jeffrey's Shooting Star Mountain Owl's Clover Orange Agoseris Pacific Coralroot Queen's Cup Lily Scarlet Gilia Subalpine Spirea Western Conflower Western Monkshood White Bog Orchid Valerian Sulphur Buckwheat Yarrow Cone Peak Meadows Mountain Pictures Flower Power

Mid-summer along the West Coast means the mountain areas, especially mountain meadows, are abloom with a rainbow of flower colors.

Often the flowers are distinctive species, related to similar valley species that grow in the spring. Jeffrey's Shooting Star, for example, is one of a dozen or so West Coast shooting stars. However, it is only one of a few commonly found shooting stars growing in mountain meadows.

Like their valley counterparts, mountain habitats can range from open meadow to woodland, with either featuring dry to wet climates.

All the flowers species listed in the box share a mountain habitat, some even have mountain sounding names. Most are easily found in either wet or dry mountain meadows.

Sometimes the name alpine flowers can be attached to the species, however, the term alpine flowers is usually reserved to those species that live at or above the tree line.

The list of flowers in the box on the right represents a small samle of native West Coast mountain flowers. Left out are the species that bloom in the valleys during the spring and then begin their bloomtime in the mountains as the weather warms. Western Columbine and various trillium species are two examples of flowering plants found in different altitutes.

© 2008 Patricia A. Michaels