Scotts Bluff National Monument - Wildflowers

Scotts Bluff National Monument by National Parks Service

The wildflowers of Scotts Bluff National Monument are common. They may not number as many as those of the tallgrass prairie to the east, but they are no less beautiful or diversified. The wildflowers of the mixed grass prairie are more drought resistant, many with thick, fleshy or waxy leaves to conserve moisture. Many also have long taproots to absorb deep soil moisture during periods of drought. A rare year of above normal moisture can produce quite a show as wildflowers take advantage of the extra moisture and produce many more blooms than normal. Some species, which have not been seen for years, will bloom during these above normal precipitation periods.

The Monument's wildflowers may be annuals, which are those which die in the fall and reproduce only from seeds, or perennials, which will live for several years and reproduce by seeds and/or vegetatively, such as by rhizomes and tillers. Wildflowers can be found in all the different habitats of the Monument, including the dry mixed-grass prairie, sandstone badlands, shrub-dominated slopes, pine-studded bluff summits, shaded ravines, and moist riverine floodplain. During the progression of the seasons from early spring, through the hot and dry days of midsummer to the cool nights of fall, the continuous blooming of wildflowers is impressive.

Most wildflower species bloom only at certain times of the year. A visitor in April will see dog parsley, evening primrose, and purple locoweed. A visitor in June will see prairie wallflower, scarlet globemallow, and prairie spiderwort. In July and August, hoary vervain, many penstemon species, curlycup gumweed, prickly poppy, dotted gayfeather, and tenpetal mentzelia are blooming. The first killing frost of the year usually occurs in September, which reduces blooming to all but the most frost tolerant species of wildflowers.