Intermountain Region
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Rare Plants
Encountering a rare plant is always an exciting find. Rarity in higher elevations is driven by local adaptation and isolation of inter-continental mountain ranges, creating a higher degree of endemism (i.e. species exclusively native to this area). These endemics can be as limited in range from a plant species with less than five populations in the state (critically imperiled) to over 20 populations (state rare). Rare disjuncts from the northern circumboreal latitudes have also found their way down to the Wind River Mountains. Below are some of the delicate wildflowers that have earned our attention.
Rare plants in the general area include aromatic pussytoes (Antennaria aromatica), Greenland primrose (Primula egaliksensis), Hesperochiron (Hesperochiron californicus), Leadville milkvetch (Astragalus schultziorum), naked-stemmed parrya (Parrya nudicaulis), Payson’s bladderpod (Lesquerella paysonii), Weber’s saw-wort (Saussarea weberi), and woolly fleabane (Erigeron lanatus).
For more information, visit the Wyoming Rare Plant Field Guide or the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database.
Rare Plants Photo Gallery
Antennaria aromatica. Photo by Charmaine Delmatier.
Astragalus schultziorum. Photo by Charmaine Delmatier.
Erigeron lanatus. Photo by Charmaine Delmatier.
Hesperochiron californicus. Photo by Charmaine Delmatier.
Lesquerella paysonii. Photo by Charmaine Delmatier.
Parrya nudicaulis. Photo by Charmaine Delmatier.
Saussarea weberi. Photo by Charmaine Delmatier.