Plant of the Week
Leonard's Penstemon (Penstemon leonardii var. leonardii).
Thousands of wildflowers grow on our national forests and grasslands, in many shapes, sizes, and colors. A field of wildflowers or colorful plants upon a lush forest floor is a beautiful sight, but so is a single flower or scattered plants growing upon what at first glance may appear to be a dry and desolate landscape.
Each week Celebrating Wildflowers features a different wildflower found on our national forests and grasslands. Enjoy them here as well as throughout Celebrating Wildflowers.
The Plant of the Week descriptions are organized alphabetically by genus and species:
Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Sweet Flag (Acorus americanus)
Threadleaf giant hyssop (Agastache rupestris)
Parry’s Agave (Agave parryi)
Smallflower Century Plant (Agave parviflora)
Orange Mountain Dandelion (Agoseris aurantiaca)
Brandegee’s Onion (Allium brandegeei)
Sugarstick (Allotropa virgata)
Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
Colorado Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea)
Red or Eastern Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Southwestern prickly poppy (Argemone pliecantha)
Jack-in-The-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
Northern Wormwood (Artemisia campestris ssp. borealis)
White Sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana)
Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
Goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus)
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)
Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens)
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Wheel Milkweed (Asclepias uncialis)
Redring Milkweed (Asclepias variegata)
Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora)
American Hart's Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum)
Alpine Milkvetch (Astragalus alpinus)
Scarlet Milkvetch (Astragalus coccineus)
Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)
Fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens)
Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata)
Lyreleaf Greeneyes (Berlandiera lyrata)
Watershield (Brasenia schreberi)
Smooth Rockcress (Boechera laevigata)
Bryoandersonia Moss (Bryoandersonia illecebra)
Pirate Bush (Buckleya distichophylla)
Bug-on-a-stick moss (Buxbaumia viridis)
Red Maids (Calandrinia ciliata)
White Mariposa Lily (Calochortus eurycarpus)
Umpqua mariposa lily (Calochortus umpquaensis)
Butterfly Mariposa Lily (Calochortus venustus)
White Marsh Marigold (Caltha leptosepala)
Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus)
Common Camas (Camassia quamash)
Wild Hyacinths (Camassia scillioides)
Tansyleaf Suncup (Camissonia tanacetifolia)
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
Heartleaf Bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia)
Plantain-leaf sedge (Carex plantaginea)
Native Sedge (Carex vernacula)
Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
Christ’s Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja christii)
Pale painted cup (Castilleja septentrionalis)
Field Chickweed (Cerastium arvense)
Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius)
Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis)
Soap Plant (Chlorogalum pomeridianum)
Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata)
Pitcher’s Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri)
Tweedy's lewisia (Cistanthe tweedyi)
Small Spreading Pogonia (Cleistes bifaria)
Purple clematis (Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis)
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleome serrulata)
Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii)
Bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis)
Birdbill Dayflower (Commelina dianthifolia)
American Cancer-root (Conopholis americana)
Golden Tickseed (Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt.)
Dwarf Dogwood (Cornus canadensis)
Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)
Plateau Yellow Miner’s Candle (Cryptantha flava)
Pink lady's slipper (Cypripedium acaule)
Clustered Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium fasciculatum)
Mountain Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium montanum)
Showy Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium reginae)
Sacred thorn-apple (Datura wrightii)
Nuttall’s larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum)
Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
Frigid Shooting Star (Dodecatheon austrofrigidum)
Appalachian Threadwort (Drepanolejeunea appalachiana)
English sundew (Drosera anglica)
Spoon-leaved Sundew (Drosera intermedia)
Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala)
Kingcup Cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus)
Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa)
Featherleaf Fleabane (Erigeron pinnatisectus)
Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon sp.)
Crisp-leaf wild buckwheat (Eriogonum corymbosum)
Tufted Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum ovalifolium)
Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum)
Elegant Fawnlily (Erythronium elegans)
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Spinystar (Escobaria vivipara)
Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa)
Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)
Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus sp.)
Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
California Flannelbush (Fremontodendron californicum)
Chocolate lily (Fritillaria camschatcensis)
Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata)
Showy Orchid (Galearis spectabilis)
Creeping Snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula)
Mendocino gentian (Gentiana setigera)
Meadow Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis thermalis)
Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
White Crane's Bill (Geranium richardsonii)
Mountain avens (Geum peckii)
Old Man’s Whiskers (Geum triflorum)
Curlycup Gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa)
Big-leaf witch-hazel (Hamamelis ovalis)
American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana L.)
Hairy Sunflower (Helianthus hirsutus)
Ashy Sunflower (Helianthus mollis)
Showy Goldeneye (Heliomeris multiflora)
Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis)
Hairy-Fruited Hibiscus (Hibiscus lasiocarpos)
American Featherfoil (Hottonia inflata)
Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)
Ballhead Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum capitatum)
Common duckweed (Lemna minor)
Star Lily (Leucocrinum montanum)
Pygmy Bitterroot (Lewisia pygmaea)
Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva)
Sacajawea's bitterroot (Lewisia sacajaweana)
Savanna blazing star (Liatris scariosa var. nieuwlandii)
Western Lily (Lilium occidentale)
Washington lily (Lilium washingtonianum)
Bog Spicebush (Lindera subcoriaceae)
Twinflower (Linnaea borealis)
Lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Nineleaf Biscuitroot (Lomatium triternatum)
Twinberry Honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata)
Partridge-foot (Luetkea pectinata)
Sundial or Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis)
Sabin's Lupine (Lupinus sabinianus)
Baldwyn's Milkvine (Matelea baldwyniana)
Stream bogmoss (Mayaca fluviatilis)
Plains Blackfoot (Melampodium leucanthum)
Smoothstem blazingstar (Mentzelia laevicaulis)
Short-styled Bluebell (Mertensia brevistyla)
Lewis’s Monkeyflower (Mimulus lewisii)
Twinflower Sandwort (Minuartia obtusiloba)
Macfarlane's four-o-clock (Mirabilis macfarlanei)
Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens)
Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma)
Wood Nymph (Moneses uniflora)
Ghost Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)
Tufted evening-primrose (Oenothera caespitosa)
Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus)
Prickly Pear (Opuntia basilaris)
Great Plains Prickly Pear (Opuntia polyacantha)
One-flowered Cancer Root (Orobanche uniflora)
Redwood Sorrel (Oxalis oregana)
Pale Poppy (Papaver alboroseum)
Silverling (Paronychia argyrocoma)
Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius)
Mountain-lover (Paxistima myrsinites)
Lemonscent (Pectis angustifolia)
Wood Betony (Pedicularis canadensis)
Leafy lousewort (Pedicularis racemosa)
Simpson's Hedgehog Cactus (Pediocactus simpsonii)
Large Beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus)
Leonard's Penstemon (Penstemon leonardii var. leonardii).
Payette Beardtongue (Penstemon payettensis)
Bridges’ Penstemon (Penstemon rostriflorus)
Rydberg’s penstemon (Penstemon rydbergii)
Littlecup Penstemon (Penstemon sepalulus)
Sweet coltsfoot (Petasites sagitattus)
Rock Spiraea (Petrophytum caespitosum)
Silky Phacelia (Phacelia sericea)
Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)
White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata)
Yellow Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integra)
White Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integrilabia)
James' galleta (Pleuraphis jamesii)
Redwhisker clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra)
Rocky Mountain Jacob's-ladder (Polemonium confertum)
Appalachian Jacob's ladder (Polemonium vanbruntiae)
Sticky Polemonium (Polemonium viscosum)
Gaywings (Polygala paucifolia Willd.)
Water Smartweed (Polygonum amphibium)
Black Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa)
Alpine Rattlesnake Root (Prenanthes boottii)
Islay (Prunus ilicifolia)
Woodland Pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea)
Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata)
Smooth azalea (Rhododendron arborescens)
Rhodora (Rhododendron canadense)
Lapland Rosebay (Rhododendron lapponicum)
Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale)
Red-flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
New Mexico locust (Robinia neomexicana)
Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)
Prairie Rose (Rosa setigera)
Delicious Raspberry (Rubus deliciosus)
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
American Burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis)
Snow Plant (Sarcodes sanguinea)
Yellow Pitcherplant (Sarracenia flava)
Purple Pitcherplant (Sarracenia purpurea)
White mountain-saxifrage (Saxifraga paniculata)
Mimbres figwort (Scrophularia macrantha)
Cockerell’s Stonecrop (Sedum cockerellii)
Moss Campion (Silene acaulis)
Scarlet Catchfly (Silene subciliata)
Fire Pink (Silene virginica)
Hairy Leafcup (Smallanthus uvedalius)
Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima)
Ouachita Goldenrod (Solidago ouachitensis)
Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica)
Silky Camellia (Stewartia malacodendron)
Twisted Stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius)
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)
Mountain Kittentails (Synthyris missurica)
Goat's Rue (Tephrosia virginiana)
Crane-fly Orchid (Tipularia discolor)
Starflower (Trientalis borealis)
Dwarf Clover (Trifolium nanum)
Catesby’s Trillium (Trillium catesbaei)
Little Sweet Betsy (Trillium cuneatum)
Red Trillium (Trillium erectum)
Nodding Wakerobin (Trillium flexipes)
Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum)
Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale)
Salmon Mountain wake robin (Trillium ovatum var. oettingeri)
Western White Trillium (Trillium ovatum var. ovatum)
Persistent Trillium (Trillium persistens)
Texas Trillium (Trillium pusillum var. texanum)
Relict Trillium (Trillium reliquum)
Toadshade (Trillium sessile)
Sweet white trillium (Trillium simile)
Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum)
Vasey's Trillium (Trillium vaseyi)
Three Birds Orchid (Triphora trianthophora)
Ithuriel's Spear (Triteleia laxa)
American globeflower (Trollius laxus)
Dwarf Bilberry (Vaccinium cespitosum)
Nuttall's Violet (Viola nuttallii)
Giant Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea)
Birdfoot Violet (Viola pedata)
Arizona Grape (Vitis arizonica)
