Natural History Wanderings

Mount Rainier National Park  reports

Currently Blooming – Updated August 12, 2016
Wildflowers are blooming throughout subalpine meadows in the park. Paradise meadows, Tipsoo Lake, and Berkeley Park near Sunrise are reported to have particularly nice displays. At Sunrise, look for patches of small-flowered penstemon (Penstemon procerus). In addition to being called small-flowered, this penstemon is also small in general compared to other penstemon found in the park. It grows to a maximum height of 12 inches (30 cm). It makes up for its small size with its bright blue-purple flowers.

Wildflower Reports

• Sunrise (8/11) – grays lovage, small-flowered penstemon, bear grass, magenta paintbrush, cusick’s speedwell, subalpine daisy, mountain dandelion, aster, American bistort, alpine buckwheat, partridgefoot, white-flowered sickletop lousewort, pearly everlasting, sitka mountain ash, pink mountain heather, white mountain heather, shrubby cinquefoil, hellebore
• Carbon Glacier Trail (8/4) – lower: candyflower, foam flower, bunchberry; upper: stonecrop, fireweed, oregon sunshine, harebell, pearly everlasting, yarrow, columbine
• Tipsoo Lake (8/4) – lupine, magenta paintbrush, sitka valerian, beargrass
• Mowich Lake (7/27) – lupine, rosy spirea, subalpine daisy, bear grass, pink mountain heather, white heather, grays lovage, birds beak lousewort, sitka valerian, jeffrey’s shooting star, partridgefoot, wild strawberry, slender bog orchid, fringecup, arrowleaf groundsel, white rhododendron
• Silver Forest Trail (Sunrise) (7/23) – fan leaf cinquefoil, cusick’s speedwell, magenta paintbrush, tiger lily, alpine aster, gray’s lovage
• Paradise (7/22) – glacier lily, cusick’s speedwell, avalanche lily, scarlet paintbrush, magenta paintbrush, buttercup, cinquefoil, sitka valerian, bracted lousewort, cascade blueberry, bear grass, arnica, pink heather, white heather, pasqueflower, marsh marigold, sitka mountain ash, jeffreys shooting star, alaska and leatherleaf saxifrage, partridgefoot, willowherb, elephanthead lousewort, agoseris, jacob’s ladder, lovage, rosy spirea, Lewis and mountain monkeyflower, bistort, bluebells, goat’s beard, edible thistle, subalpine daisy, groundsel, cow parsnip.

See photos and more information on Mt. Rainier Wildflowers at Discover Wildflowers – Mount Rainier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)