Sunday, July 3, 2011

The Yellow Wildflowers



Two popular wildflowers that produce a yellow bloom are the Balsamroot (Arrowleaf) and the Glacier Lily.

Balsamroot (lower photo) can be found cascading across mountain pastures throughout the Uinta Mountains. It is large flower with bright, yellow petals that immediately signal its membership in the sunflower family. It has a deep root that was a food source for Native Americans.

The Glacier Lily (upper photo)is one of the first dashes of color in the mountains in spring and early summer. It gradually appears as the snow melts. Since it is plentiful, many people have referred to it by such names as adders tongue, fawn lily, and trout lily. All names speak to Glacier Lily’s timing for blooming which is early in the spring as the fawns are born and trout are plentiful in cool fresh water streams and rivers.

1 comment:

  1. I love the yellow flowers found in the Uintas... we saw fields of them this past weekend! I never knew they were called Balsamroots. My father-in-law calls them the "corn flake flowers" because during hunting season they sound like corn flakes when you step on them ;)

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