Wildflowers

Vibrant yellow flowers with orange accents and five petals. Gray twigs and other plant matter is blurred in the background. — Lance-leaved stonecrop (Sedum lanceolatum) is a yellow wildflower found at Black Canyon.
NPS/D. Goodman

Wildflowers and flowering shrubs found at Black Canyon bloom in early season (April–June), mid-season (June–July), and late season (July–September). They grow on the canyon rim, uplands, and the inner canyon.

Colorado has five distinct life zones - plains, foothills, montane, subalpine, and alpine. Black Canyon contains mostly the foothills (canyon rim and uplands) and montane (highest elevations in the park and some parts of the inner canyon).

The foothills, ranging from 6,000–8,000 ft (1830-2440 m), is characterized by Gambel oak shrubland, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and some groves of deciduous trees. Wildflowers in this life zone are common. In western Colorado, some wildflowers and flowering cactus from the Colorado Plateau (much of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico) are seen.

The montane, approximately 8,000–10,000 ft (2,440–3,050 m) is more densely forested and receives more moisture than the foothills. Some parts of the inner canyon, despite being lower in elevation, have plant communities typically found in the montane. Wildflowers grow beneath the forest canopy, but also in the cracks and "hanging gardens" of the canyon walls.

The albums below show a sampling of wildflowers you may see at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. White flowers are the most common, followed by yellow and blue/purple. Some wildflowers have phases and are not always the same color. This is due to seasons, pH levels in soil, and genetic changes to attract different pollinators.