Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains' Spring Wildflowers
See Native Wildflowers near US 16 from Buffalo, Wyoming to Ten Sleep
Feb 14, 2009
Of all the routes through Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park, perhaps the drive along US 16 from Buffalo, Wyoming to Ten Sleep provides the greatest opportunity for viewing mountain wildflowers. Late spring travelers will delight in the veritable explosion of spring wildflower colors and types encountered while traveling through the Big Horn Mountains over Powder River Pass and through Ten Sleep Canyon. Learn to recognize five native wildflowers commonly seen in this area.
A Tiny Harbinger of Spring Wildflowers to Come: The Shooting Star
One of the earliest spring wildflowers, the shooting star usually wows the first-time viewer with its intensity and interesting shape. While this rather small and delicate mountain wildflower comes in several colors, in the Big Horn Mountains, it is usually an eye-catching hot pink. This brightness stands out vividly against the band of yellow inside the pink. The shooting star is easily identified due not only to its color, but also, to its “inside-out” appearance.
The Quintessential Wyoming Wildflower: Wyoming Paintbrush
Wyoming’s state flower is the Wyoming paintbrush. This spring wildflower is easily recognized due to its distinctive shape and its bright scarlet hue. People are often surprised to learn that the flower itself isn’t red; it’s the leaf bracts surrounding the flower that give this plant its color. The flower is an unremarkable yellowish green. The Wyoming paintbrush is a somewhat parasitic plant that often mooches from the roots of sagebrush, another ubiquitous Wyoming plant.
Mountain Wildflowers Everywhere: Lupine
Driving from Buffalo, Wyoming to Ten Sleep through the Big Horn Mountains in late spring, a traveler can’t miss seeing lupine. This prolific native wildflower bursts forth in a beautiful indigo splendor, peppering the hillsides with its sublime color. Unfortunately for the cattle and sheep that graze throughout much of the Bighorn National Forest, this plentiful plant is often packed with poison, making it a genuine hazard, particularly if ingested in large quantities.
All Along US 16: Arrow-Leaved Balsamroot
With its yellow, daisy-like blooms bursting from the center of its giant arrow-shaped leaves, arrow-leaved balsamroot serves as the perfect complement to lupine’s more muted purplish blue. These two flowers bloom simultaneously along US 16 from Buffalo, Wyoming to Ten Sleep, making for a striking contrast pleasing to the eye. Thankfully, the profusion of pullouts along US 16 makes it easy enough for the wowed traveler to stop and snap a few photos safely.
Heart-Leaved Arnica: A Native Wildflower with a Tradition of Healing
Not to be confused with arrow-leaved balsamroot, the smaller and more solitary heart-leaved arnica has been used as a healing agent in topical applications for centuries, but ingesting the plant is poisonous. Some hiking in Wyoming might be required for a view. This pretty Big Horn Mountains spring wildflower can be found along trails in the Bighorn National Forest, many of which can be accessed off of US 16 from Buffalo, Wyoming to Ten Sleep.
See the Spring Wildflowers of Wyoming’s Big Horn Mountains
Journeying to Yellowstone National Park along US 16 from Buffalo, Wyoming to Ten Sleep offers the traveler the added bonus of viewing the abundance of spring wildflowers in Wyoming’s Big Horn Mountains. The five flowers described above are some of the more commonly seen and easily recognized native Wyoming wildflowers. Most can be seen from pullouts along US 16, but greater views of mountain wildflowers can be found by exploring the Bighorn National Forest’s many opportunities for hiking in Wyoming.
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