Lithophragma parviflorum - Woodlandstar
Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Saxifragales - Family: Saxifragaceae
Above: Woodlandstar, Lithophragma parviflorum is one of the rarer Rocky Mountain wildflowers.
This lovely wildflower, with its brilliant white star-like flowers, is widespread but quite rare.
Woodlandstar is a member of the Saxifrage family and has round, deeply lobed leaves. The flower stems grow to around 35cm in height, and each stem carries several flowers. It is the three-lobed petals which overlap each other that give this flower its almost square symmetrical shape.
The plant flowers in late June and well into July. It can be found in the foothills of the mountains in meadows and scrub areas, and also on the edges of submontane forests. It also grows in the stony clefts of rocky slopes.
The range of Woodlandstar extends from British Columbia, Alberta and south to Colorado and California
The specimen on this page was photographed in Yellowstone National Park in early July.
Please Help Us: If you have found this information interesting and useful, please consider helping to keep First Nature online by making a small donation towards the web hosting and internet costs.
Any donations over and above the essential running costs will help support the conservation work of Plantlife, the Rivers Trust and charitable botanic gardens - as do author royalties and publisher proceeds from books by Pat and Sue.