Yellowstone Flora & Fauna

I've visited Yellowstone National Park many times in mid-May in order to see all the new life, the buffalo calves and pronghorn and sheep babies. This time, arriving just a little later, I got to see the elk fawns, all spotted and very newly born. And the wildflowers were putting on a grand show.
To the right is mahonia, also known as Oregon grape. I saw it growing in the shade of the aspen groves, and it's really quite a small shrub there, unlike the wild mahonia that grows in the Pacific Northwest.
One of the participants in the class that I taught for the Yellowstone Institute pointed out this lovely flower (photo above) among violets and larkspur at Swan Lake Flats. It's called Prairiesmoke (Geum triflorum), and I'd never seen it before. It is covered with delicate hairs on both leaves and flowers; at first I thought it might be a Pasqueflower, but they're not related. This plant is a member of the rose family, also known by these names:  Grandfather's Beard, Long-plumed Avens and China Bells. I do have a garden geum--the cultivar is called Lady Stratheden and once I looked up the scientific name I recognized the resemblance in leaf shape at least.  This is one of my favorite discoveries in wild places--discerning similarities and relationships between wild and cultivated species.

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