Wildflower Understory
Summertime means trails that wind into forested hillsides and lush meadows filled with subtle wildflower scents. With an array of yellow sunflowers and pink stickygeraniums, this aspen grove is carpeted with color.

Jones Columbine
Look for this rare species of columbine on mountain passes above 8000 feet. It grows in limestone scree slopes and is only about 2 inches high. Discovering these exquisite flowers at such high elevations is a rewarding experience for the adventuresome.

Strawberry Cactus
Vivid magenta flowers of the spiny strawberry hedgehog cactus are a delightful surprise to discover in the desert. They grow close to the ground along washes and rocky hillsides. When this brightly colored cactus is in bloom, it is a reminder that the desert is not a barren waste, but a land awakened from dormancy.

Glacier Lily
Often found growing among spring beauty, this exquisite nodding flower emerges just after snow melts in mountain meadows. The Glacier Lily is also called avalanche lily or dogtooth violet. Dogtooth violets are a favorite food of bears, deer, elk, bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

Wild Rose
Fresh from a spring shower, this wild rose still has a few raindrops on its petals. Wild roses usually grow in clusters where soils are moist and often form thickets. An easily recognized flowering shrub, wild roses produce fruit known as rosehips. Those berry-like pods provide food for wildlife throughout the winter.

Wild Hyacinth
A delicate, trumpet-shaped flower, wild hyacinth artistically blooms atop a tall, leafless stem. The flower is approximately an inch long and its stem reaches heights of 1-3 feet. Flourishing in large patches among grasses, wild hyacinth accents meadows and open wooded areas with colorful, bluish hues.

Red Monkeyflowers
Profuse blooms of red monkeyflowers are often discovered in moist areas, especially near alpine streams above 7,000 feet. Scientifically named Lewis Monkeyflowers, these dark pink trumpet-shaped flowers were named for Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Within the flower's funnel-like opening are two distinctly marked bright yellow patches.

Sky Pilot & Alpine Avens
Alpine tundra plants survive sand-wiched in rock crevices with their roots attached to soil bits. A small funnel-shaped purple flower, sky pilot prefers elevations above 9,000 feet. Its leaf, when crushed, has a skunk-like scent. On ridges above 10,000 feet, alpine avens are found growing in dense clumps with 1-4 little yellow flowers on a stem.

Mountain Lady's Slipper
This member of the Orchid Family is rare and in many areas threatened with extinction. Mountain lady's slipper has a strongly pouched lower petal, which gives the appearance of a lady's slipper. Its long, elegantly curved sepals add mystique to this flower. Look for it in shaded, wooded areas.

Sunflowers
These bright yellow flowers can be seen carpeting dry open fields and foothills. Their flowerheads follow the sun each day facing eastward in the morning and westward by sunset. Their Spanish name means "looks at the sun."

Blanketflower
Blanketflowers can be discovered on sunny, well-drained slopes. An intricately designed composite, blanketflowers produce showy yellow rayflowers encircling purplish-brown diskflowers. Also know as brown-eyed Susan, this plant can easily be distinguished by its long, lance-shaped leaves that are sometimes toothed

Saguaro Blossoms
Like trumpets of the desert, the delicate creamy white blossoms atop saguaro cactus are unmistakably attractive. One saguaro produces an average of 300 flowers that are arranged in tightly formed clusters during a season. Arizona's state flower, the saguaro blossoms usually open during evening hours and provide nectar for bats and moths.

Indian Paintbrush
Brilliant red Indian paintbrush conspicuously colors western hillsides in spring. Resembling a ragged crimson paintbrush, this flower cluster grows singularly on a stalk that also contains re-tipped bracts. Partially a parasitic plant, paintbrush establishes a root system by connecting to roots of other plants. It is often difficult to grow from seed.