As wild animals heavily graze Yosemite, visitors will find only small areas of wildflowers throughout the park. Flowering trees and shrubs, however, are not as affected by grazing animals and often provide a nice uniform display. For example, western redbud trees bloom in early May, offering visitors a show of magenta flowers. Dogwood trees also bloom in May, with flowers ranging from white to pink. Azalea bushes vary widely in color and are at their peak in mid-May to early June.
Shooting stars, monkeyflowers, paintbrush, lupines and asters are a few of the common wildflower species found at lower elevations. Shooting stars begin blooming in low elevations outside Yosemite in early spring. They are purple in color and reach their peak in mid-elevation meadow. More than 30 species of monkeyflower live in Yosemite from low to high elevations. They range from yellow to red to purple. Paintbrush is one of several parasitic plant species found in Yosemite. Paintbrush species grow on the roots of plants and are generally bright red. Asters are usually found in dry open meadows or along roadsides. They come in yellow and purple varieties. Known for their pink and yellow petals, harlequin lupines grow in dry areas in low elevations.
Visitors commonly find monkeyflowers, little elephant's head, snow plant, paintbrush, buttercups and lupines, among other species, in Yosemite's higher elevations. Paintbrush, little elephant's head and snow plant are all parasitic plants. Snow plant is an all-red plant with no ability to photosynthesize. It feeds on soil fungi and is one of the first plants to bloom in Yosemite. The buttercup family includes marigolds and columbine and is found in moist areas from mid to high elevations. Monkeyflowers, lupines and paintbrush species flourish in low and high elevations. Paintbrush is a hardy plant and is able to grow in a variety of areas. Gray's lupine and Brewer's lupine are two of the common lupine species that grow in middle to upper elevations.
