Alaska Wildflowers
There are over 1500 species of wildflowers in the state of Alaska. This collection only covers a small fraction of them but will grow over time. I’m working on photographing key identifying features on as many as I can over our short summers. This Alaska Wildflower Guide contains valuable information about each plant as well as references and links for further reading. Each post contains information on taxonomy, identification, plant uses and edibility, and each plant’s distribution and native habitat. The accompanying photo galleries may also be useful for wildflower identification and contain over 500 photos to date.
Prickly saxifrage is a loosely mat-forming perennial herb with small white flowers that have yellow spots on the petals. It grows in...
The capitate lousewort is a small herbaceous plant with a creamy yellow flowering head. It grows in arctic and alpine tundra.
White arctic mountain heather is a mat-forming perennial sub-shrub. The flowers are small, white, and bell-shaped. It typically grows in alpine ridges...
Meadow bistort is a pink-flowering perennial herb native to Alaska and northern Canada. The plant is edible, mostly the root and leaves.
Lapland rosebay is a mat-forming evergreen shrub with scaly bark and pink to purple bell-shaped flowers. It grows in rocky, alpine terrain...
Snow cinquefoil is a yellow-flowering plant that grows in rocky soils. It has deeply toothed leaves ternately divided (three leaflets) and 5...
Purple bittercress (or purple cress) is a small perennial herb with densely packed, 4-petaled purple flowers, mostly found in Alaska and the...
Oeder's lousewort (Pedicularis oederi) is a yellow-flowering plant, often with a crimson-tipped hood on the top petal. It grows in taiga and...
The fewflower fumewort is a blue or purple flowering plant with a cluster of showy, tubular flowers. It's found across Asia, Alaska,...
Alaska boykinia (Boykinia richardsonii), also known as Richardson's brookfoam is a showy, white flowering plant with large basal leaves, often found in...
The alpine forget-me-not is a tiny, true-blue flowering plant found in alpine environments. It has five fused petals with a bulging yellow...
Elegant Indian paintbrush (Castilleja elegans) is a whorled, often pink flowering plant that can be found in Alaska and parts of Canada.
Little weaselsnout is a purple-flowering perennial herb that grows from a rhizome. The inflorescence is a terminal spike with purple or dark...
Lehmann's rockjasmine, more commonly known as sweetflower rockjasmine, is a small, white or pink flowering plant with fused petals and a white...
The cuckoo flower is a pink flowering plant, often found in wet soils near ponds or streams.
The largeleaf avens (Geum macrophyllum var. perincisum) is a yellow-flowering plant that can grow to be about 0.75 meters (2.5 feet) tall.
Yellow thimbleweed, also known as yellow anemone is a yellow flowering plant that grows from horizontal rhizomes. The plant is poisonous and...
The dwarf marsh violet is a small, purple flowering, hermaphroditic plant that grows to be about 10 cm (4 inches) in height.
Arctic blackberry, commonly called nagoonberry or arctic rasberry produces an edible fruit that can be eaten raw or cooked. It's flower has...
The fruit from the cloudberry plant has numerous uses as a food. It has a circumboreal distribution across Canada, Alaska, and Eurasia....
Grass of Parnassus is a white-flowering, single stem plant often growing in marshy or boggy areas (often called bog star). It has...
The alpine azalea is a mat-forming evergreen shrub found in subarctic, circumpolar regions in North America. Flowers are 5-petaled, pink, with 5...
Snow arnica, also commonly known as frigid arnica is a yellow flowering plant common in open and alpine areas in Alaska and...
The water arum, or wild calla, is semi-aquatic plant typically with a large white bract and large leaves. It is mostly poisonous...
The nakedstem wallflower or parry's wallflower is native to Alaska and Northern Canada, and Asia. It has a raceme of violet, showy...
The western columbine is a plant with a showy red and yellow flower found in moist soils in the western United States...
Northern Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium boreale) is a small perennial herb with purple or blue flowers and hairy pinnate leaves. It is somewhat...
The largeflowered wintergreen (Pyrola grandiflora) is an evergreen perennial with circumboreal distribution. It has a long stem with a raceme of 4-12...
Arctic sweet coltsfoot is a white-flowering plant with many flowering heads. It is found in northern latitudes in North America, Europe, and...
The woolly geranium (or northern geranium, cranesbill) is a tall purple-flowered perennial native to Alaska, parts of Canada, and Asia. Photos and...
Mountain death camas is a lily-like white flowering plant in moist grasslands. The whole plant is very toxic to humans and livestock.
Mountain harebell is a small, flowering alpine plant typically 5-15 cm (2-6 in) tall. The flower is a solitary violet upright bell...
The arctic daisy (Chrysanthemum arcticum) is a 10-45 cm (4-18 in) tall perennial herb with white ray florets and yellow disk florets.
Bitter fleabane or blue fleabane is a flowering herbaceous plant with many small, purple flowers. It goes to seed like a dandelion...
Arctic willow is a creeping dwarf shrub with catkins that are absent of sepals or petals. It is distributed throughout the arctic,...
Common yarrow is a tall, weedy plant with a dense cluster of small, white flowers at the head. It may have antioxidant...
Shrubby cinquefoil is a shrubby plant growing about 1 m tall. The shrub is densely leafed with many small, buttercup-shaped, yellow flowers.
The western arctic shootingstar (sometimes frigid shootingstar) has a magenta or pink flower, shaped like a dart. Identification info and story around...
Alpine sweetvetch, often known as wild potato or eskimo potato is a perennial herb with many small pink flowers on a raceme....
Dwarf dogwood is a flowering subshrub with 4 white or cream-colored bracts instead of petals and a small white or purple inflorescence....
The arctic lupine is a purple-flowering, herbaceous plant with a raceme of pea-like flowers. It contains a neurotoxin, sparteine, thought to deter...
Norwegian cinquefoil is a widely distributed annual or perennial in the Rose family with ternate, serrated leaves and small yellow flowers.
Twinflower is a creeping subshrub with a two nodding, bell-like flowers on a Y-stem. It was named after the "father of modern...
Monkshood is a highly toxic plant with purple flowers, resembling larkspur with a purple hood over the top of the flower.
The tall bluebell is a plant named after the shape and color of the flower produced. The flowers form from pink buds...
Siberian aster is a purple, daisy-like flower found across the circumboreal subarctic including Alaska. The flower is composed of light 12-50 light...
The flowering head of Capitate valerian is typically 2-3 cm wide. The budding inflorescence is purple, and the flowers on the blooming...
Small blacktip ragwort grows 5-60 cm (2-24 inches) tall with long basal leaves and yellow, ray-like or daisy-like flowers. It grows in...
Spring Beauty is a small plant with delicate magenta or white, 5-petaled flowers 15-20 mm in diameter. It is edible cooked or...
Mountain avens are an 8-petaled white flower frequently found in alpine environments distributed across the arctic and northwestern United States and Canada.
Identification and information of the Rooted poppy, Alaska poppy, and some similar species and subspecies found around Alaska. Photos of Papaver radicatum.
Arctic sandwort is a mat-forming plant with small, white, 5-petaled flowers. It grows in rocky or gravelly alpine environments and is native...
Rhododendron tomentosum is a low to medium-sized evergreen shrub. Each plant has several white-flowered inflorescences. Precautions should be taken if using as...
The flower of the wild iris is deep violet to blue 6-10 cm (2.5-4 inches) across with 2 sets of three petals....
Labrador lousewort is a 5-15 inch partially parasitic plant with an inflorescence of yellow flowers. Native to Alaska, Canada and Greenland it...
Purple mountain saxifrage is a low-growing, small, matted plant with dark green rounded and scaly leaves earning it the name French Knot....
The Narcissus-flowered anemone typically has 4-10 white sepals and somewhat hairy, basal leaves. It grows up to 60 cm (23 inches) tall...
The Arctic primrose tends to live in very wet soil and stream beds. It grows to be about 10-12 cm tall. It...
Northern Kittentails is a small, purple flower about 2-3 cm in diameter. They mostly grow individually in rocky, alpine areas, or in...
Fireweed's common name comes from the fact that it can revegetate quickly after forest fires. Each flower is symmetrical about the vertical...
The larkspur is a tall, single stem flowering plant that grows 3-6 ft (0.9-1.8 m) in height with spurred, purple flowers. Toxic...
Moss campion is a cushion-like plant with 6-12mm (1/4-1/2 in) diameter, pink or whitish-pink 5-petal flowers, and 10 stamens.
Most species of Alaska cotton are between 30-60 cm (12-24 in) tall with a drooping head of cotton that is whitish in...
One of the early blooming wildflowers in Alaska, this pinkish flower is frequently seen in late May or early June in the...