Meadows are great places to find wildflowers. Most plants you find in the forest are native to Idaho. That means they grow here naturally. Here's some examples:

The bright pink flower in the panorama is fireweed. Fireweed got its name because it's one of the first plants to spring up after a forest fire. Deer and elk eat fireweed.

Western coneflower grows in many mountain meadows. It's bald-looking flower head is actually made up of lots of tiny brown flowers. Horses like to eat the flower heads.

Yarrow grows just about anywhere. You can find it alongside sagebrush in the desert. And, under fir trees in the higher elevation forests. Yarrow was used by Indians as a medicine. They made a tea out of the leaves. The leaves can also be used on rashes and to stop bleeding.

Another common meadow plant is lupine. Lupine seeds are eaten by birds and ground squirrels.

Botanists are people who study plants. A botanist might look for rare plants in the forest. When rare plants are found, botanists help protect that group of plants. Rare means there are very few areas with those plants. Or very few of those plants left in the world. We've found these rare plants in the Boise National Forest:

Giant helleborine grows around hot springs. It is a plant that is so rare it is a "threatened" plant. It is threatened with becoming extinct. Idaho Douglasia is also rare. It grows in dry rocky places.