Cryptantha is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. They are known commonly as cat's eyes and popcorn flowers. They are distributed throughout western North America and western South America, but they are absent from the regions in between.
Aquilegia coerulea, the Colorado columbine, Rocky Mountain columbine, or blue columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the Rocky Mountains and some of the surrounding states of the western United States. It is the state flower of Colorado. The Latin specific name coerulea means "sky blue".
The High Plains are a subregion of the Great Plains, mainly in the Western United States, but also partly in the Midwest states of Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota, generally encompassing the western part of the Great Plains before the region reaches the Rocky Mountains. The High Plains are located in eastern Montana, southeastern Wyoming, southwestern South Dakota, western Nebraska, eastern Colorado, western Kansas, eastern New Mexico, the Oklahoma Panhandle, and the Texas Panhandle. The southern region of the Western High Plains ecology region contains the geological formation known as Llano Estacado which can be seen from a short distance or on satellite maps. From east to west, the High Plains rise in elevation from around 1,500 to 6,000 ft.
The black-tailed prairie dog is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States–Canada border to the United States–Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen above ground in midwinter. A black-tailed prairie dog town in Texas was reported to cover 25,000 sq mi (64,000 km2) and included 400,000,000 individuals. Prior to habitat destruction, the species may have been the most abundant prairie dog in central North America. It was one of two prairie dogs described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the journals and diaries of their expedition.
Bouteloua gracilis, the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season (C4) perennial grass, native to North America.
Cryptantha affinis is a flowering annual plant occurring in open areas of the coniferous forest. It is a member of the family Boraginaceae. It occurs at elevation ranges between 700 – 2900 m. Cryptantha species occur with other genera such as Clarkia, Hesperolinon, Lasthenia, Lupinus, Mimulus and Phacelia.
Bouteloua dactyloides, commonly known as buffalograss or buffalo grass, is a North American prairie grass native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a short grass found mainly on the High Plains and is co-dominant with blue grama over most of the shortgrass prairie. Buffalo grass in North America is not the same species of grass commonly known as buffalo in Australia.
Geum triflorum, commonly known as prairie smoke, old man's whiskers, or three-flowered avens, is a spring-blooming perennial herbaceous plant of the Rosaceae family. It is a hemiboreal continental climate species that is widespread in colder and drier environments of western North America, although it does occur in isolated populations as far east as New York and Ontario. It is particularly known for the long feathery plumes on the seed heads that have inspired many of the regional common names and aid in wind dispersal of its seeds.
The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America. The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama and buffalograss, the two less dominant grasses in the prairie are greasegrass and sideoats grama. The prairie was formerly maintained by grazing pressure of American bison, which is the keystone species. Due to its semiarid climate, the shortgrass prairie receives on average less precipitation than that of the tall and mixed grass prairies to the east.
Artemisia cana is a species of sagebrush native to western and central North America; it is a member of the sunflower family. It is known by many common names, including silver sagebrush, sticky sagebrush, silver wormwood, hoary sagebrush, and dwarf sagebrush.
Oreocarya subcapitata is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae known by the common names Owl Creek miner's candle, Wallowa cat's eye, and Wallowa cryptantha. It is endemic to Wyoming in the United States, where it is limited to the Owl Creek and Bridger Mountains in Fremont County. There are three populations, with a total of about 38,000 individuals.
Eritrichium howardii, or Howard's alpine forget-me-not, is a rare flowering plant found in the Rocky Mountain area, most notably in Wyoming and Montana. It is a pleasant, light blue to purplish flower that has a yellow ring around the middle. It has 5 petals.
Johnstonella is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae.
Oreocarya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 63 species and its native range extends from western and central Canada, through western United States to north Mexico. It is part of subtribe of Amsinckiinae.
Eremocarya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are two species and its native range extends through the western United States and Texas to northwestern Mexico. It is part of subtribe of Amsinckiinae.
Greeneocharis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are two species, and it has a disjunct distribution in the western United States and northwestern Mexico in North America and western Argentina in southern South America. It is part of subtribe of Amsinckiinae.
Oreocarya thompsonii is a species of flowering plant in the genus Oreocarya with the common name Thompson's cryptantha.
Penstemon virens, commonly known as blue mist penstemon, Front Range penstemon, or Green beardtongue, is a common Penstemon in the Front Range foothills in Colorado and Wyoming. The dainty flowers are an ornament to many rocky or sandy area within its range. It is confusingly similar to Penstemon humilis and Penstemon albertinus though the ranges of these plants do not overlap in the wild. The origin of calling it the "blue mist penstemon" is not precisely known, but is thought to relate to the large number of blue flowers the plant can produce reminding observers of a blue mist.
Oreocarya suffruticosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to the west and central United States and to northern Mexico. It was first described by John Torrey in 1827 as Myosotis suffruticosa and transferred to Oreocarya by Edward Lee Greene in 1887. Varieties of Oreocarya suffruticosa have previously been placed within several species of Cryptantha, including Cryptantha cinerea, Cryptantha jamesii and Cryptantha pustulosa.
