These sunny days make it feel like spring is just around the corner…it’s also Plant a Flower Day! To celebrate, enjoy these pictures and fun facts “cultivated” by our very own Morgan Graham, GIS & Wildlife Specialist for Teton Conservation District:
Bonneville shooting star: Bumblebees hang upside down on stalk and vibrate their wings at a frequency that releases pollen on their belly.
Harebell/bluebell bellflower/witch's thimble: The name alludes to the folk beliefs that this flower grew in places frequented by hares or that witches used juices squeezed from the flower to transform themselves into hares. The Haida people of the Pacific Northwest called them "blue rain flowers" and it was thought that picking them would cause it to rain.
Yellow fritillary: Bears and rodents eat the bulbs, that taste like potato when fresh and rice when cooked.
Silky phacelia: Deters herbivores by synthesizing cyanide from amino acids. Also keeps the graze away by hyperaccumulating gold. Plants found in vicinity of gold mines have 10 - 100x the gold concentration as the surrounding soil!
Orange agoseris aka mountain dandelion: Fun to say, reminds @morganser of Animal from muppets. Probably other fun facts about this flower too, but that one is pretty fun.
Northwestern Indian Paintbrush/Showy Northwestern Indian Paintbrush/Desert Paintbrush: Attracts pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies. Various parts of the plant were historically used for stomach pains, sore eyes, and to regulate menstruation.
Arctic Gentian: King Gentius, ruler of Illyria (modern day SE Europe) valued this species for its ability to cure malaria in his troops.