I love books! You don’t need all the books below to learn about wildflowers, but there’s a world of knowledge between their pages.
The links below are affiliate links, letting you purchase these books from independent booksellers. I receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase after clicking the link.
Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification by Thomas J. Elpel
Montana Native Plants and Early Peoples by Jeff Hart (Author), Jacqueline Moore (Illustrator)
Wildflowers of Montana by Donald Anthony Schiemann
Free Online Resources
Free dichotomous key to vascular plants of west-central Montana published by the forest service
Free checklist of Montana vascular plants from the Montana Heritage Program
Montana Wildflower App for iOS and Android: This app is great learning more about plants, giving you an informative field guide in your pocket that you can use offline.
iNaturalist is a citizen scientist app and website that lets you log your observations, get suggestions for plant ID, and contribute to research into flora, fauna, and fungi.
Seek by iNaturalist is a photo ID app that many people like. I always recommend cross checking the scientific name it gives you with a regional field guide before you go with an ID from any photo ID app! They can get things wrong, they’re only as good as the photo you take, and some of the common names they use are not the ones we use in our area.
Other Faves
Of course I have to recommend my Water Bottle Field Guide Sticker for the Northern Rockies as a great general guide you can take with you anywhere, without having to be glued to your phone!
I’m working on the draft of an adult coloring book and wildflower field guide, releasing one page for download each month on my Patreon. Emphasis on ADULT! Expect fine detailed coloring pages with adult/explicit language in field guide entries. Not intended for children. It’s a great way to learn a little, relax, and support my work.
iNaturalist Checklists
Here are some of the checklists of species we talked about at some of my wildflower walks:
5/29/2026 at Lion Mountain with Whitefish Legacy Partners
5/30/2026 at Lone Pine State Park with Becoming an Outdoors Woman