March Wildflowers

Hood's Phlox

Yellow Bell

Sagebrush buttercups

In a parallel to the Coronavirus pandemic, our March weather has been wildly unpredictable here in Idaho. We have had some beautiful sunny days which seem like signals of spring, but we've also had cooler weather and hard rainstorms. Despite the uncertain weather, I've found a few early spring wildflowers:

1. Yellow Bell, Fritillaria pudica. Bloom season: March-June. Found in open areas, in valleys, and montane forests.

2. Hood's Phlox, Phlox hoodii. Bloom season: April-June (apparently I saw an early-blooming plant!). This flower forms compact mats and grows in dry and often rocky places. Native Americans used the plant as a laxative, to relieve chest pains, and extracted a yellow dye from it.

3. Sagebrush Buttercup, Ranunculus glaberrimus. Bloom season: March-May (can be found in March in lower elevations and until May in the mountains). This is a spring gem of the Treasure Valley and prefers moist soils of sagebrush areas. Buttercups are poisonous and the sap is caustic to skin.

The next two flowers that I will be looking for this time of year are Cusick's primrose and Aase's onion.

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