high elevation plant community
Plants living at 4,000 to 8,000 feet are subject to wind and cool temperatures, intense sun and short seasons. This community of plants typically flowers as soon as snow melts off and produces seed within several weeks maximizing warmer temperatures. Many high elevation species prefer rocky soils and good drainage.
(click for more information on each species)
Wildflowers:
arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata)
bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva)
creeping Oregon grape (Mahonia repens)
cutleaf daisy (Erigeron compositus)
fuzzy-tongue penstemon (Penstemon eriantherus)
Indian paintbrush (Castilleja miniata)
pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens)
pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
prairie smoke (Geum triflorum)
pretty shooting star (Dodecatheon pulchellum)
showy fleabane (Erigeron speciosus)
silky lupine (Lupinus sericeus)
silky phacelia (Phacelia sericea)
silvery lupine (silvery lupine)
sticky geranium (Geranium viscossisimum)
wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Grasses:
Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis)
pine grass (Calamagrostis rubescens)
prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha)
rough fescue (Festuca campestris)
Rocky Mountain maple (Acer glabrum)
blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulea)
common huckleberry (Vaccinium globulare)
mockorange (Philadelphus lewisii)
ninebark (Physocarpus malvaceous)
