United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest

Service

Intermountain

Region

Ogden, 

Utah

How to

Know

Near

Your

Camp

WILDFLOWERS

22.11.400.02/99

revised/reprint 2004

ONLY

Y U

can pre vent for est fi res!

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Now Appearing on the 

Public Lands Near You!

The National Forests, Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and Grasslands, and millions of acres of public 

lands, are truly America’s wildflower gardens. 

The annual “Celebrating Wildflowers–National 

Wildflower Week” kicks off the third week of May. 

Throughout the year, many programs are available 

which feature the important role that over 630 

million acres of public land play in providing diverse 

habitats for much of America’s flora. To find out 

about “Celebrating Wildflowers” events on the 

Nation’s public lands, call the

CELEBRATING WILDFLOWERS HOTLINE

1-800-354-4595 (April – August)

Wildflower 

Conservation and 

Etiquette

❀ Take a hike and stop to smell the fragrant wild 

roses.

❀ Take only photographs and memories when you 

leave.

❀ Please, don't pick the flowers. Let others enjoy 

them too!

❀ Tread Lightly! and stay on the trail.

❀ Don't be afraid to ask for information on 

wildflowers.

❀ Get involved! Explore volunteer opportunities 

on your public lands.

 1 
OPPOSITE

COMPOUND LEAF

and LEAFLET

PALMATE LEAF

ALTERNATE

LEAF ARRANGEMENT

WHORLED

How to Know 

Wildflowers Near 

Your Camp

This booklet has been prepared to help you identify the more common wildflowers near 

your camp found throughout the Intermountain 

Region of the U.S. Forest Service. Camp sites in 

a National Forest are chosen partly because of 

the beautiful flowers, grass, shrubs and trees 

surrounding them. These plants and trees are 

useful as well as beautiful and are extremely 

important in sustaining healthy ecosystems. They 

provide food and protective cover for animals and 

furnish seeds for birds to eat. Flowers and other 

plants also enrich the soil and hold it in place.

Get to know the plants described in this booklet and 

others you may find around your camp. You may 

not find all the plants identified in this guide, but 

you will find many of them. Most important, enjoy 

yourself whenever you visit a National Forest.

 2   3 
Individual Flower 

Shapes

An important variation in the design of flowers is the form of the petals. Most flowers resemble 

a star-shape. All the petals of a “regular flower” 

have the same shape, size and relative position 

around the center. The sepals have the same 

arrangement. Such blossoms are called “regular 

flowers”.

Flowers that vary from this regular pattern are 

called “irregular flowers”. Examples of irregular 

flowers are peas and beans. Petals of an irregular 

flower are never all alike in size and shape. 

Plants that last for two or more years are known as 

“perennial”.

A plant that completes its life cycle in one year and 

must reproduce from seed is an “annual”. 

PISTIL

STAMEN

PETAL

SEPAL

PARTS OF A FLOWER

Example of a REGULAR flower

Example of an IRREGULAR flower

A Little About 

Plant Families 

Not all plant families can be described in this booklet. Those included are to help you 

recognize different members of a plant family more 

common to the Intermountain Region. Wildflowers 

belong to different plant families and have relatives 

just as people do. Members of each plant family are 

alike; yet each differs from the other in some way.

One of the largest plant families is the 

“Composites” and consists of 21,000 species 

of herbs, shrubs, climbers, and a few trees. The 

dictionary says that composite means something 

made up of distinct parts. In the flower world a 

composite is actually made up of many complete, 

individual flowers. The many small flowers are held 

together in a single head and look like one single 

flower. Examples of composites which you may 

know very well are the dandelion, the daisy, and the 

aster.

Three “composites” you may find around your 

camp are the Arrowleaf Balsamroot, the Heartleaf 

Arnica, and the Mules-Ears (also known as 

Wyethia).

DISK FLOWER RAY FLOWER

 4   5 
ARROWLEAF BALSAMROOT - This 

plant forms large clumps of arrow-shaped leaves. 

The flowers are on long, thick, woolly-haired stalks 

which have only one or two small, 

narrow leaves about half-way up 

the stem. The flowers, 2 to 

3 inches across, are bright 

yellow. They appear 

early in spring and 

reach the 

peak of 

their 

flowering 

season midMay.

HEARTLEAF ARNICA - Arnicas are 

perennial plants. The Heartleaf Arnica has broad, 

heart-shaped, 

opposite leaves 

and rather large, 

yellow, daisy-like 

flowers. The outside 

(ray) flowers are 

petal-like, 7 to 13 in 

number, and about 1 

inch long. There are 

many disk flowers, 

small, yellow, tubular 

and perfect. The 

plant has a strong 

odor when the leaves 

are crushed.

MULES-EARS (Wyethia) - This 

flower is also known as “Green Dock”. It is a 

coarse perennial plant, 1 to 2 feet high, with a 

thick, woody tap root. The leaves, shaped like 

the ears of a mule, are dark green, smooth, 

stiff and leathery, and are often covered with 

a sticky substance. The outside (ray) flowers 

of the head are bright yellow, petal-like, 1 to 

1-1/2 inches long, 10 to 15 in each head. The 

small inner (disk) flowers of the head are 

numerous, bright yellow and tubular.

 6   7 
The Lily Family

Lilies are “regular flowers” which have 3 sepals, 3 

petals, 6 stamens, and usually 1 pistil, which may 

be divided into 3 parts at the top. In some plants 

of the lily family, the 3 sepals are often colored 

and may be mistaken for petals. This can give the 

appearance of a flower with 6 petals and no sepals. 

Members of the lily family have leaves with parallel 

veins.

In the Intermountain area, members of the Iris 

family are the plants most likely to be confused 

with lilies. Remember that lilies have 6 stamens 

while the Iris has 3.

Two lilies that may be found around your camp are 

the Sego Lily and the Wild Onion.

SEGO LILY - This name was adopted from 

the American Indians, of which the bulb was a 

favorite food. The bulb also furnished food for early 

day pioneers. The Sego Lily is Utah’s State Flower. 

The plant’s tulipshaped flowers are 

white, tinged with 

lilac, purple or blue. 

They may be single 

on the stem, or in 

a cluster of 2 to 5. 

The onion-like leaves 

usually occur singly 

at the base. Slender, 

erect stems, which 

usually grow to 17 

inches high, may 

have 1 or 2 leaves.

WILD ONION - These perennial plants 

grow from bulbs and can usually be identified 

by their odor alone. White, rose, or purplish 

flowers are arranged in a cluster at the end 

of a leafless stalk. These flowers have 3 

sepals, 6 stamens, and 3 petals that look alike 

and are sometimes slightly united. Leaves 

growing around the base of the plant are 

round, or flattened and resemble the garden 

onion. Throughout the 

Intermountain Region 

these plants bloom 

early in the spring 

and usually dry up 

by mid-summer.

 8   9 
The Rose Family

All members of the rose family are “regular 

flowers” with alternate leaves, 5 sepals, 5 petals 

(red, white, yellow; seldom blue), and numerous 

stamens and pistils, each with one to several seeds.

Apples, peaches, pears, apricots, strawberries, 

cherries and plums are common members of the 

Rose Family. Two plants in this family that you may 

find near your camp are the Wild Rose and the Wild 

Strawberry.

WILD ROSE - The wild rose is a thorny 

shrub, 2 to 3 feet high, with showy pink or rosecolored 

flowers, 

usually 

several in 

a cluster. 

The 

flowers 

have 5 

heartshaped 

petals, 

about 1/2 inch 

long. Alternate leaves are 

divided into 5 to 7 leaflets 

with saw-toothed edges. 

The smooth berries are 

globe-shaped, about 3/8 

inch in diameter, and are 

crowned by five long taperpointed sepals. Rose “hips” are full of Vitamin C 

and a nutritious syrup is still made from them.

WILD STRAWBERRY - These plants are 

low perennial herbs with underground root stocks. 

They have runners like the garden strawberry, 

which root at the tip and produce new plants. Each 

plant has a 

cluster of 

leaves at the 

base. The 

leaf is made 

up of three 

leaflets, 

usually 

toothed. 

The flowers 

are white in 

flat-topped 

clusters 

on leafless 

stems. The 

fruit is of fair 

size and has a 

very good flavor.

 10   11 
The Pea Family

If you know what the garden sweet pea looks like, it 

will be easier for you to recognize the plants in the 

Pea Family. Each plant carries pods, with irregular 

flowers, and each has a very characteristic form. 

Each flower is composed of an upper petal called 

the banner which is usually large, 2 equal side 

petals called wings and 2 equal lower petals called 

“keel petals”. The keel petals enclose the 10 

stamens and 1 pistil.

LUPINE - From the scientific name Lupinus 

or wolfish, these plants were believed to destroy 

the soil. We now know that 

many members of this 

family actually enhance soil 

fertility through nitrogen 

fixation. Lupines are called 

“bluebonnets” in Texas.

Lupines have alternative, 

compound leaves, 

divided into 

5 to 15 

finger-like 

leaflets. 

The blue, 

pink, 

white or 

yellow 

flowers 

grow in a 

cluster and are 

similar to the garden sweet pea in shape. 

The seed pods are smaller than the garden pea, are 

flattened, and contain 2 to 12 seeds. All parts of 

lupines are toxic and should not be eaten.

The Mint Family

HORSEMINT - There are over 5,000 

species of mints worldwide and include many 

cultivated varieties such as lavender, rosemary, 

basil, spearmint and peppermint. Like all other 

members of the mint family, the stems of this plant 

are square in cross-section. Leaves grow opposite 

each other on the stem. The flowers, formed 

like tubes, have two lips. Horsemint has roughly 

triangular leaves with coarsely-toothed edges, and 

has a minty odor. The small, white or pink flowers 

occur in a dense cluster.

 12   13 
The following flowers are presented as individual 

plants, not as members of any plant families 

previously described. Do not attempt to eat any 

plants without identification by a professional 

botanist.

NOTE: The carrot family includes many edible 

members and also some of the most poisonous 

plants known to man, especially the Water Hemlock 

and Poison Hemlock, which killed the Greek 

Philosopher, Socrates. Do not pick or eat any plant 

resembling a carrot in the wild.

WILD CARROT - Wild carrots are smooth, 

dark green perennials, with hollow, slender stems 

that vary in size. Their leaves are usually large, 

dark green in color, and finely divided–similar to 

the leaves on ferns or garden carrots. The flowers 

are small, white or pinkish, and occur in clusters, 2 

to 5 inches in diameter.

SWEET ANISE - This plant is also a 

member of the Carrot Family. It is an erect, smooth 

perennial plant with a hollow stem that can grow 

up to 4 feet 

high. The 

compound 

leaves are 

slightly 

hairy, 

thin 

leaflets 

with saw-toothed 

edges, and vary in 

size to 4 inches 

long and 1 inch 

wide. This plant 

has a licorice odor when 

crushed. The flowers are 

very small, white or yellowish in color, and 

are formed in uneven clusters. Club-shaped seeds 

easily stick to clothing.

LARKSPUR - American Indians extracted 

a blue dye from these flowers. Early settlers also 

used this plant dye to make 

ink. The dark blue or 

purplish flowers have 5 

sepals that look like 

petals. The 4 petals 

come in pairs–the 

upper pair is white or 

yellowish veined with 

blue. They are prolonged 

backward into the spur that 

looks like a dunce cap. 

The lower pair is usually 

blue with a tuff of hair 

near the middle. The 

leaves are alternate, 

deeply divided or feathery. Larkspurs are highly 

toxic to both animals and humans. 

 14   15 
INDIAN PAINTBRUSH - The State 

Flower of Wyoming. This plant is semi-parasitic on 

the roots of other plants, 

especially sagebrush.

The yellow, orange, 

pink, rose, or dark red 

flowers, clustered at 

the end of the stems, 

are different than most 

flowers, especially as 

to their coloring. The 

colored parts are the 

bracts and sepals 

while what is the petal 

in most flowers has a light 

greenish yellow tube-like part 

that encloses the stamens and 

pistil.

WILD GERANIUM - Northern Indian 

tribes used the powdered root of this plant when 

they were wounded to help the blood coagulate. It 

was effective due to the tannin content in the roots.

This plant has 

opposite 

leaves 

palmatelylobed, 

occurring mostly 

at the base. 

Their showy 

flowers are 

pink, rose, 

purple or 

white. They have 5 

sepals, 5 petals and 

10 stamens.

Sometimes the geranium is called “storksbill,” 

because the odd shape of the seed-carrying 

arrangement of the pistil resembles the bill of a 

stork. When seeds are ripe, they break loose at the 

bottom and curl upward on a thin filament.

COLUMBINE - The scientific name, 

Aquilegia, is from Latin for eagle; the spurs 

suggest an eagle’s claw. The blue columbine 

was voted the State Flower of Colorado in 1911 

by its schoolchildren and accepted by the State 

legislature.

Columbines are among the most beautiful native 

western flowers. They 

are showy, nodding, 

and have a single 

flower to a stem. 

The flower’s 5 

petals extend 

backward 

to form the 

spurs. The 

5 sepals are 

usually as 

long as the 

spurs.

 16   17 
PENSTEMON - There are about 

250 different species of 

penstemon in North 

America. The name 

means 5 stamens. 

These perennial 

plants have 

opposite leaves. 

The showy flowers 

can be found in 

blue, purple, red, 

pink or white, with 

blends of these 

colors and slightly 

resemble garden 

snapdragons. They 

occur in long colorful clusters near the top of an 

erect stem which grows up to 24 inches high.

YARROW - With the Latin name, Achillea 

millefolium, this plant was named after the Greek 

Warrior Achilles and was used to treat battle 

wounds, and relieve rashes and itching.

This perennial plant is 

widely distributed 

and abundant 

throughout the 

West. The small, 

white, round-topped 

flower clusters, are 

made up of many 

individual flowers. 

The stems, which 

grow up to 3 feet high, 

are covered with white, 

woolly hairs. The leaves 

are narrow, lance-shaped 

in outline, much divided 

like a fern.

Noxious Weeds

Many people are not aware that noxious weeds are one of the greatest threats to wildland 

ecosystems in the United States. These aggressive 

non-native plants originally arrived from other 

countries and are now rapidly expanding and 

causing permanent damage to our native plant 

communities. For example: Yellow starthistle 

spread from one to 10 million acres between the 

years of 1980-1995; Spotted knapweed was first 

identified in the 1920's in Montana – it now covers 

5 million acres in that State alone; the Medusahead 

grass was first found in Utah 5 years ago and its 

spread has been exploding ever since. The Forest 

Service is working with local and other federal 

agencies to aggressively control noxious weeds on 

public lands. 

What can you do? 

(1) Learn to recognize weeds in your local area, 

(2) Don't pick flowers or transport wild flowers 

you can't identify, 

(3) Don't camp or drive through weed-infested 

areas, 

(4) Always use certified weed-free hay, straw, or 

mulch, and 

(5) Report weed infestations to your local county 

or local Agriculture Extension Service.

Following are some weeds you might encounter 

near your campground:

 18   19 
PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE - is an 

introduced European perennial ornamental 

species that escapes into aquatic sites such as 

streambanks and shorelines of lakes, ponds, and 

ditches. It is a member of the Loosestrife Family. 

The plants grow 6 to 8 

feet tall, have simple, 

opposite leaves and 

rose-pink flowers 

arranged on a long 

vertical raceme. If 

left unchecked, a 

wetland will eventually 

become a monoculture 

of Loosestrife and 

severely threaten 

waterfowl habitat and 

impede water flow in 

irrigation ditches.

YELLOW STARTHISTLE - is an 

annual plant with a dandelion-head of yellow 

flowers subtended by sharp spines. It is a member 

of the Sunflower Family and is closely related to 

knapweeds and other purple thistles. Generally 

associated with dry, open fields, 

Yellow Starthistle 

can produce up to 

150,000 seeds per 

plant that persist in the 

soil up to 10 years. It is 

poisonous to horses 

causing permanent 

brain damage and 

death. It infests 

millions of acres throughout 

the West. It has been 

invading Idaho lands at the 

astounding rate of about 

6,000 acres per year since 1981.

LEAFY SPURGE - is a long-lived perennial 

up to 3 feet tall that reproduces by vigorous 

rootstalks and seed. It is native to Eurasia and was 

brought into the U.S. in 1827 as a seed impurity. 

It is a member of the Spurge Family and produces 

an irritating milky sap in all parts of the plant. 

The flowers are produced in clusters on ends of 

branches with each cluster being subtended by 

several broadly-rounded, yellowish-green leaves. 

Leafy Spurge is a common invader of grain fields, 

pastures, and roadsides. In 1990, annual losses 

in rangeland productivity were estimated to have 

reached $92 million dollars in the U.S. alone.

 20   21 