Wildflower hunting was one of the stated intentions of this hike. Nevertheless, I was overwhelmed by the number of little gems that we saw and had never expected to see this many. It seemed as if my whole field guide was spread out and blooming. Flowers I’d never seen before, except in my field guide, were in full bloom, and others that I did know grew in quantities I’d never seen! It was truly stunning. There was absolutely no shortage of wildflowers in the burn area of the Legion Lake Fire. Rather, they were particularly abundant and spectacular. Prickly pear and barrel cacti were also quite abundant, which was some cause for concern: I’ve been accused of “crawling around on the ground” to take pictures of wildflowers. But one encounter with spines today was enough to make me much more cautious, so after that I was careful to look before kneeling down.

White crazyweed – Oxytropis sericea

Tufted milkvetch – Astragalus spatulatus

Desert biscuitroot – Lomatium foeniculaceum

Narrowleaf gromwell – Lithospermum incisum

Meadow deathcamas – Zigadenum venenosus

Missouri pincushion – Coryphantha missouriensis

Low larkspur – Delphinium bicolor

Darkthroat shootingstar – Dodecatheon pulchellum

Hood’s phlox – Phlox hoodii

Downy paintbrush – Castilleja sessiliflora

Prairie smoke – Geum triflorum

Small-leaf pussytoes – Antennaria parvifolia

Mountain blue-eyed grass – Sisyrinchium montanum

Western wallflower – Erysimum asperum

Nuttall’s violet – Viola nuttallii

Other flowers not shown here were the star lily, leafy phlox, prairie golden pea, various milkvetches and legumes, including the groundplum milkvetch (a favorite of mine, with an edible bean), yellow salsify, and a number of others. A beautiful afternoon to stroll in God’s Garden.