Blue, Purple, Green
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Moss Gentian; Gentiana prostrata
It would be easy to overlook these tiny blue flowers, they are less than an inch tall!
Forget-Me-Not; Myosotis alpestris
, subspecies asiatica I was happy to find the Alaska State Flower blooming at the overlook on Flat Top Mountain.
Flax-flowered Ipomopsis; Ipomopsis longiflora
Meteor Crater, AZ August 28, 2010 These are very long flowers.
Many-flowered Gilia; Ipomopsis multiflora
Tusayan, AZ August 25, 2010
Baby Blue-eyes; Nemophila menziesii
Waterleaf Family Mountains near Taft, CA March 22, 2007 We escaped into the mountains one day, I just couldn't take any more brown, dead grass and sand; I needed a "green fix"! As we drove out of the valley near Taft, we began to see rolling fields of green grass and a few flowers. We stopped to look at some bush lupine and goldenbush. As we were walking back to the car, a small patch of blue on the other side of the road caught my eye. It was this single plant of Baby Blue-eyes, one of my "target plants"! This subspecies has tiny black dots on the white part of the petals, another subspecies does not.
Blue Penstemon; Penstemon cyaneus
July 1, 2012 This was a very common wildflower in the Mammoth Lakes region. It has large, pretty blue flowers.
Dwarf Brodiaea; Earth Brodiaea; Brodiaea terrestris terrestris
Amaryllis Family Carmel, CA - Pt. Lobos State Preserve June 29, 2006 This little flower was a nice surprise to find when I was photographing the Coast Pretty Face. These are one of those plants that would not be seen from the car, they grow on the ground directly from the bulb.
Note the nearly-clasping leaves of the Late Purple Aster, this is a good identifying factor.
Pale Gentian; Gentiana villosa
Oak Ridge, TN Sept. 15, 2007 I photographed this flower while leading a fall wildflower hike at the University of Tennessee Arboretum. I was really surprised to see it, the only places I've seen large gentians has been in the high elevations of the Smokies and Blue Ridge mountains.
Tall Bellflower; Campanula americana
Bluebell Family The flowers are a lovely blue with a very long pistil. Note the difference between the pistils and stamens of the two flowers. I found these blooming in the Smokies in mid-July. {Formerly known as Campanulastrum americanum Winter Annual / Biennial Where seen:Great Smoky Mountains NP, Big Ridge SP, Cherokee NF, Warriors' Path SP
Stiff Gentian; Gentianella quinquefolia
Gentian Family I was delighted to find this plant blooming at Haw Ridge! The flower petals do open at the top. Annual Where seen: Haw Ridge Greenway, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Spotted Joe Pye Weed; Eupatorium maculatum
Aster Family Joe Pye was an Indian medicine man. The leaves of this plant were once used to treat lung ailments. Now we can enjoy it for its pale mauve flowers. Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Oak Ridge Greenways
Tall Jacob's Ladder; Polemonium acutiflorum
These flowers were photographed in my cousin's neighborhood in Kenai. The plants grow up to 3 feet tall. They are a very lovely blue color.
Mountain Harebell; Campanula lasiocarpa
This little Harebell was blooming in a crack in a rock at 3400' on Mt. Healy in Denali National Park. The flower is quite large in comparison to the whole plant. I'm often amazed at the tenacity of plants to live in such seemingly impossible situations!
Franciscan Bluebells; Mertensia franciscana
Flagstaff, AZ August 26, 2010
Miniature Wool Star; Eriastrum diffusum
Petrified Forest National Park, AZ August 28, 2010
Desert Canterbury Bells; Phacelia campanularia vasiformis
Joshua Tree National Park March 20, 2007 This plant got a little bit of help at the park visitor center, it got some irrigation. I actually missed seeing it the first day, it was hiding behind a larger plant.
Sierra Stickseed; Hakelia nervosa
July 3, 2012 This pretty blue wildflower is related to Forget-Me-Not. It gets its common name from the prickly seeds that develop from the flowers.
Virgate Eriastrum; Eriastrum virgatum
Phlox Family Soledad, CA - Pinnacles National Monument June 28, 2006 This pretty little flower was a real challenge to identify, especially since I thought it was in the Bluebell family. I finally found it on a California wildflower website through a Google search. It was not in any of my ID books.
Late Purple Aster; Aster patens
Aster Family Asters can be a real pain to identify! This is a very common aster that blooms in September and October. The flowers are on long, thin stems. I found this one blooming at the University of Tennessee Arboretum. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways, University of Tennessee Arboretum, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Warriors' Path SP
Aster Family Rare - Endangered in TN There are many species of asters that bloom in east Tennessee in the fall. This picture was taken in the Smokies in early September. Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP
Morning Glory; Ipomoea purpurea*
Morning Glory Family These pretty blue flowers are often seen blooming on fencerows or along roadsides. The flowers can be a sky-blue (like these), purple, white, or pink. This species has heart-shaped leaves. Annual Where seen: Oak Ridge, widespread
Mint Family I found these pretty little mint-family flowers blooming at Big Ridge State Park in early September. The leaves have a strong minty odor when crushed. Like other mints, Dittany has opposite leaves. The stems are very thin and woody. Perennial Where seen: Big Ridge SP, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Tall Ironweed; Vernonia altissima
Aster Family The small purple flowers add beautiful color to the fields and roadsides during late September and early October. Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways, Frozen Head SP, Norris Dam SP, Cove Lake SP, widespread
Glaucous Gentian; Gentiana glauca
The color of this flower was one that I have never seen in a flower before, it was a greenish-blue. The plant was about 3 inches tall growing among the rocks on Flat Top Mountain.
Beautiful Jacob's Ladder; Polemonium pulcherrimum
"Pulcherrimum" means beautiful. I saw two types of Jacob's Ladder, the "beautiful" kind and the "Tall" kind. I photographed these flowers on the Flat Top Mountain trail.
Larkspur Geranium; Delphinium nelsoni
Flagstaff, AZ August 26, 2010
Western Dayflower; Commelina dianthifolia
Flagstaff, AZ August 29, 2010 I found this flower blooming along the Old Craters Cave trail.
Miniature Lupine ; Lupine bicolor
Gorman, CA March 22, 2007 This tiny Lupine was blooming on Grapevine Hill. That single hill was a treasure trove of flowers!
Jessica's stickseed; Hackelia micrantha
June 29, 2012 I kept thinking this was a type of Forget-Me-Not, so I had trouble identifying it. This plant is in the same family.
species / Family Soledad, CA - Pinnacles National Monument June 28, 2006 There are 5 species of Navarretia in Pinnacles. I am having trouble finding which one this is. It looks a lot like Skunkweed.
Late Purple Aster - Close up of flower Note how the disk flowers bloom from the outside to the inside.
Southern Aster; Aster paludosus ssp. hemisphericus
Aster Family Perennial Where seen: Oak Ridge
Great Blue Lobelia; Lobelia siphilitica
Bluebell Family Aquatic When Europeans brought syphilis to this country and spread it to the Native Americans, this plant was used as a futile attempt to cure the disease, thus the species name. The genus names of many plants come from famous botanists. Lobelia was named for Matthias de l'Obel, an early Flemish botanist. This blue flower is related to the bright red Cardinal Flower. I found this plant blooming at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge in early September. Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Frozen Head SP, Warrior's Path SP, University of Tennessee Arboretum
Great Ragweed; Ambrosia trifida
Aster Family This is the plant that gives the beautiful insect-pollinated Goldenrod a "bad" name because they bloom at the same time. Ragweed probably got its name because people once had to use a "rag" to take care of the allergy symptoms this plant causes! The male flowers produce millions of microscopic, spiky, spherical spores which are spread by the wind. The small, light green female flowers are barely visible in this picture. Great Ragweed can grow over 6 feet in height. I call it "Mother Nature's Revenge," it likes to grow in places disturbed by man! Annual Where seen: Oak Ridge Greenways, Great Smoky Mountains NP, widespread
Curtiss' Aster; Aster curtissii
Aster Family I found this aster blooming at Purchase Knob in the Smokies in October 2003. Perennial Where seen: Great Smoky Mountains NP
Bluebells; Languid Lady; Chiming Bells; Mertensia paniculata
Flat Top Mountain proved to be a great area for wildflowers; I identified 52 different species along that trail!
Flagstaff, AZ August 26, 2010 Blue Flax blooms early in the day, by the afternoon the petals fall off.
Flagstaff, AZ August 26, 2010 This is a very small-flowered Lupine with sparse flowers.
Baby Blueyes; Nemophilia menzieii menzieii
Wafford Heights, CA March 24, 2007 I found these pretty little blue flowers as I was looking for the Cream Cups. I like getting what I call "two-fers", going to see one flower and finding another (or more)!
Camas Lily; Camassia leichtlinii
June 30, 2012 This beautiful blue wildflower was one of those nice surprises that I found when I was looking for another one. I am so fortunate to have a very patient husband who will (usually) stop the car so I can get out and look for wildflowers.
California Wild Lilac; Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
Family June 26, 2006 Big Sur Area These native shrubs with the pretty blue flowers are popular landscaping plants.
Commelina diffusa Monteverde, Costa Rica Feb. 26, 2011
Autumn Coralroot; Corallorizha odontorhiza
Orchid Family This is one of those little plants that you really have to look for very closely, it is easy to miss! I was excited to find it at a time when I had my macro lens on my camera. It is one of those orchids that doesn't have leaves. At first glance, it looks like a plant that is wilting and ready to die! The plant is a saprophyte, meaning it gets its nutrients from decaying leaves and twigs. I found this plant at Frozen Head State Park in early September. Perennial Where seen: Frozen Head SP, Warriors' Path SP
Aster Family I "cheated" on this one, I found it in the garden at the UT Arboretum. It does bloom in the woods though! Perennial Where seen: University of Tennessee Arboretum
close-up
This flower is a composite, note the tiny individual flowers.
Winged Loosestrife; Lythrum alatum
Loosestrife Family Aquatic This plant grows in damp areas. It does grow in east Tennessee, however I found this plant in northern Alabama when I released the Monarch butterfly at the rest stop! This plant is a native and not invasive like the Purple Loosestrife.