Sagebrush is one of the shrubs heavily browsed by mule deer.
STEMLESS TOWNSENDIA, locally called Easter-daisy, is another early bloomer—most abundant in May. The inch-wide flower heads are pale pink or white with yellow centers and are clustered on the crowns of the plant. It is one of the composite family and is easily recognized by the general similarity of the flower heads to those of the larger, taller oxeye-daisy. The arnicas have several representatives in the park region. An early-blooming variety is HEARTLEAF ARNICA which is common in the moist fields and open ponderosa pine forests in May and June. It has large, yellow composite blossoms, from 2 to 3 inches across; the heart-shaped leaves are best developed at the base of the stem. ROCKY MOUNTAIN IRIS is common in meadows of this zone, with its light-blue flower adding color to the “parks” of the region, where moist conditions permit its growth. SPREADING THERMOPSIS, or “golden banner,” carpets the open areas with yellow during June and July. This common plant is a pea, as its flowers suggest, and as the long, flat seed pods prove. The flowers appear in clusters along the top of the stem. PLAINS ERYSIMUM, better known locally as “western wallflower,” is also yellow, common, and conspicuous during June and early July. Sometimes mistaken for golden banner by visitors who drive rapidly past the meadows, it has quite a different flower pattern, being a mustard with spikes of many small, 4-petaled flowers.
Spreading pasqueflower heralds the arrival of spring.
As summer advances, other flowers become abundant. Penstemons present their showy purple spikes of flowers during July. Most abundant and conspicuous is ONESIDE PENSTEMON, usually a foot or more in height, which often colors the meadows blue. All penstemons are easily recognized by their lobed, generally bell-shaped flowers. The common name beardtongue is applied to certain species which have a flattened and bearded sterile stamen on the inside of the flower tube. This fifth sterile stamen, whether smooth or bearded, is the source of the generic name Penstemon. LAMBERT CRAZYWEED, also known as “Colorado locoweed,” is abundant through July. It can be recognized by its spike of reddish-purple blossoms and the narrow, pinnately compound leaves. Curiously enough, locoweed blooms twice during the summer, the August period of blossoming being less noticeable. FREMONT GERANIUM, or wild pink geranium, is a lovely plant of the open pine forests, with typical 5-petaled pink geranium blossoms. COMMON PERENNIAL GAILLARDIA is a showy composite. The flower heads are 2 to 3 inches across, with deep-maroon to brownish centers and bright-yellow rays, often with dark bases. The tips of these ray flowers have three distinct indentations, serving to help distinguish this plant from BLACK-EYED-SUSAN, which is also common in the mountain meadows.
Gaillardia is one of the showiest composites.
FIREWEED, as its name suggests, commonly blooms on areas devastated by forest fire or other destructive agencies. Its silky seeds are easily carried by the wind to these areas, where it becomes dominant. It blooms from early July into September, and the deep-pink, 4-petaled flowers are borne in long, graceful spikes. It is a common roadside plant. MINER’S CANDLE is a hairy-stemmed plant with innumerable close-set clusters of small, white flowers throughout its stout, straight stem. It also is common along roadsides.
Autumn flowers become increasingly abundant in late summer. Conspicuous are the shrubby composites, including groundsels, sunflowers, and purple asters. While the peak of the flower display comes during July for this lower zone, many attractive wildflowers can be seen until mid-September.