13 Wildflowers in Montana (with Photos)

With a fascinating variety of ecosystems spanning the vast state of Montana, it’s no surprise that the Treasure State offers a vast array of colorful, unique wildflowers. Environmental conditions ranging from woodland, alpine, steppe/shrubland, grassland, and wetland ecosystems support the widespread flourishing of wildflowers in Montana from April to early October.

The diversity of Montana’s topography and ecosystems also provides the type of climate flexibility that encourages wildflower growth even in the most isolated badlands and mountain ranges existing in western Montana.

13 Types of Wildflowers in Montana

The official wildflower of Montana is Bitterroot. The first bitterroot plant collected for cataloging and research was taken from Montana in 1806 by Meriwether Lewis as part of the famous Lewis & Clark expedition. The area where the plant was taken from is called Bitterroot Valley today.

This wildflower grows well in sagebrush habitats, as well as oak woodland and pine forests. Interestingly the leaves and rose-colored flowers tend to appear separately. Flowers spring up after the leaves have withered away, giving the appearance of a lone flower blooming straight out of the dirt.

Native American tribes often gathered this plant for trade or food. The root has a bitter taste (hence the name) and was often mixed with berries or meat to make the flavor more palatable. 

1. Spreading Globeflower

Scientific name: Trollius laxus

Commonly seen by hikers in the mountain ranges of central and western Montana, the spreading globeflower is recognized by its lobed leaves, cream-colored or yellowish-green petals, and the ability to thrive in transitional zones between ecosystems. The spreading globeflower can reach a height of 20 inches in favorable conditions.

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2. Beargrass

Scientific name: Xerophyllum tenax

The Beargrass isn’t grass but does belong to a member of the grass family. Native to Montana, beargrass does resemble grass due to its blade-like leaves sprouting near the bottom of the stem.

Growing four to five feet in height, this wildflower bears delicate but densely packed clusters of blooms at the top of the stem when mature. Beargrass gets its name from the fact that bears build their dens using the leaves. However, bears do not eat beargrass. Wild goats, deer, elk, and sheep eat beargrass.

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3. Alaskan Rein Orchid

Scientific name: Piperia unalascensis

A little-known detail about wildflowers in Montana is that orchids grow wild in spring and summer. If you plan to take a hiking trip to northwestern and Western Montana, it’s likely you will come across the Alaskan rein orchid.

Reaching up to 28 inches tall, this beauty sprouts small, yellowish, or greenish blossoms along the stem that, naturally, resemble tiny orchids. Look for the Alaskan rein orchard in shady or dry areas. These wildflowers are also considered nocturnal since they discharge a musky, semi-sweet fragrance only after dark.

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4. Mountain Sandwort

Scientific name: Arenaria montana

The mountain sandwort grows six inches vertically but over a foot horizontally. This creeping, ground-hugging wildflower develops showy, five-pointed white flowers. The leaves are hairy but the hairs will not irritate your skin.

Look for mountain sandwort blooming in late April to early May, where sandy loam or well-drained soils cover the ground. The mountain sandwort has an unusually shallow root system that makes it resistant to minor droughts.

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5. Trapper’s Tea

Scientific name: Rhododendron neoglandulosum (previously Ledum glandulosum)

An evergreen shrub reaching between 15 and 30 inches tall, trapper’s tea blossoms with white flowers comprised of five, rounded, broad petals. Its leaves are egg-shaped, dark to lighter green in color, and about one inch long.

The underside of the leaves is more gray than green and covered in short hairs. Fruits develop from aging flowers but are not consumed by animals.

Although trapper’s tea leaves, stems, and fruits contain small amounts of a toxin called ledol, Native Americans used to steep this wildflower’s dried or fresh leaves to make a fragrant tea. Trapper’s tea is found in moist, wooded, or open areas in western and central Montana.

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6. Prairie Crocus

Scientific name: Pulsatilla nuttalliana

A wildflower herb with purple to deep blue bell-shaped flowers and hairy leaves, the prairie crocus can be found in the grasslands, steppes, and mountainous valleys of southern Montana. A few of the prairie crocus’ leaves emerge at the base of the plant early in spring.

However, most of the leaves will unfurl after the flowers have bloomed. Purple, egg-shaped fruit produces a dark red juice that can be used to stain arts and crafts projects, Easter eggs, or unfinished wood.

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7. Cursed Crow’s Foot

Scientific name: Ranunculus sceleratus

Wildflower lovers will find the cursed crow’s foot blooming around lakes, streams, and Montana wetlands in the warm sunlight of late spring. Its shiny, lemon-colored flowers have distinctly green centers encircled by yellow stamens. A member of the buttercup family, in some regions it is also known as a “cursed buttercup”.

At maturity, the cursed crow’s foot flower center enlarges into an elliptical seed head. Leaves sprouting on the stem are lobed, while leaves higher up on the stem are roughly kidney-shaped.

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8. Colorado Blue Columbine

Scientific name: Aquilegia coerulea

Perhaps one of the more beautiful wildflowers in Montana is the Colorado blue columbine, a two to four-foot-tall flower that thrives at elevations of 6,900 to 12,100 feet. Surrounded by snow-white sepals, the Colorado columbine’s showy blue, violet, or bluish-violet petals naturally attract a variety of pollinators throughout the summer.

Look for the Colorado blue columbine in southwestern Montana’s subalpine ecosystems. Despite it growing naturally at higher elevations, it is often planted in ornamental gardens.

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9. Red Baneberry

Scientific name: Actaea rubra

Preferring partly shaded, wooded areas throughout Montana, the red baneberry bears featherlike, white flowers on reddish-green stems sprouting bright green leaves. By mid-summer, the red baneberry’s flowers have matured into shiny red berries.

If you see red baneberry while hiking in Montana and wonder why those delicious-looking berries haven’t been devoured by birds and bears, it’s because the berries are extremely toxic if consumed.

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