Flora
Beauty or hazard

Cotton grass

Species: Eriophorum

Where: Wet bogs, roadsides and tundra

When: Spring to early summer

Other names: Alaska cotton, swamp cotton, mousenuts

Flowers are fluffy and white, cream or rusty color. Stems are generally round, but in some species are triangular. Height ranges from one to two feet. Leaf blades may be flat, triangular, channeled or threadlike. Plants may grow in tufts or from runners.

Cow parsnip

Species: Heracleum lanatum, also known as heracleum maximum

Where: Meadows and open woods, from coast to mountains

When: Early spring to early fall

Other names: Wild celery, pushki or pootschki, cow cabbage, masterwort, Indian celery, hogweed

With small white flowers arranged in an umbrella-like cluster, cow parsnip can grow nine-feet tall. Lobed leaves are large, up to 12-inches wide. Handling cow parsnip can cause severe dermatitis, including blisters. If you touch the plant directly, wash skin thoroughly with soap and water as soon as possible.

Fireweed

Species: Epilobium angustifolium

Where: Ranges from burned and logged areas to meadows and gravel bars

When: Shoots appear in spring, flowers appear in summer

Other names: Willow herb, willow-weed, blooming Sally, wild asparagus

The four-petaled blossoms are commonly magenta, but sometimes pale purple or white. Leaves are long and narrow, with smooth edges, alternating on the stem. At maturity, pods split open and release a downy fluff that carries the seed to new locations. Areas devastated by fire are fertile ground for a blaze of fireweed.

Forget-me-not

Species: Myosotis alpestris

Where: Alpine meadows and along streams

When: Late May through August

Other names: Unknown

Alaska's official state flower, the forget-me-not is a delicate-looking plant from six to 18 inches tall, has long stems and flower clusters most commonly light blue, but occasionally pink or white. The blue of this flower and the sky over Alaska were represented by the blue background in the state flag designed by Benny Benson in 1927.

Lupine

Species: Lupinus

Where: Meadows, roadsides, gravel bars, mountain slopes

When: Flowers and leaves from spring to summer

Other names: Sundial, quaker's bonnets

With deep-blue and purple flower clusters, lupine normally grows one to two feet tall, but can reach heights of five feet. The flowers are occasionally yellow or white. Leaves radiate from a central point. Many references list lupine as poisonous.

Nettle

Species: Urtica

Where: Thickets and moist soil in forest openings; common on old homesteads, in birch forests and along streams

When: Leaves and stems begin emerging in early spring

Other names: Stinging nettle, burning nettle, seven-minute itch, Indian spinach, common nettle, dwarf nettle

Reaching up to seven feet, the entire plant is edible when young and under one foot high. Flowers are small and greenish. Leaves and stems are covered with fine, stinging hairs, and the raw plant can inject irritating compounds into the skin, which makes it important to wear gloves when harvesting.

Paintbrush

Species: Castilleja

Where: Marshes to alpine areas, stony slopes, steamsides and meadows

When: Late spring through summer

Visitors from Wyoming will recognize this as their state flower. In Alaska, there are nine species of paintbrush ranging up to more than two feet in height. The spike-like flower clusters, in shades of yellow, orange and red, resemble a brush dipped in paint.

Rose

Species: Rosa

Where: Variable habitats such as meadows, forests, mountain slopes and bogs

When: Flowers appear late spring through mid summer

Other names: Wild rose, prickly rose, Nootka rose, wood rose, sweetbrier rose, dwarf woodland rose

Shrubs can reach eight-feet high. The five-petaled flowers are fragrant and have yellow stamens arranged in a circle. Leaflets are smooth, with a downy underside. Stems may be very prickly. The fruit, or hips, appear in the fall, after the frost, and are rich in vitamin C.

Wild iris

Species: Iris

Where: Moist meadows, bogs and shores

When: Flowers in summer

Other names: Wild flag, blue flag, dragon flower, liver lily, western blue flag

Although an eye-catcher, iris is poisonous. It grows one and one-half to two feet high and has swordlike leaves.