Plants
Updated: January 30, 2026
Towering pines and leafy trees, colorful wildflowers, and many other plants adorn the Montana landscape, creating a treasure trove of natural beauty both in the expected and unexpected places. Montana has a variety of ecosystems-wetlands, forests, grasslands, and high-mountain areas-each with its own unique geography and plant life.
In the forests, you might walk under giant ponderosa pines, Montana's state tree, which can live for hundreds of years and grow taller than a six-story building. If you get close to the bark of an old ponderosa on a warm day, some people say it smells a little like vanilla or butterscotch-something many kids like to test for themselves.
On dry, rocky hillsides you can find bitterroot, Montana's state flower, with bright pink or white blossoms that grow close to the ground. Long ago, Native American families timed part of their spring travels by the bitterroot bloom and dug the thick roots to dry and trade; a sack of bitterroot could even be worth a horse.
In spring, high up near the snowline, glacier lilies light up the forest floor with glowing yellow flowers that appear soon after the snow melts, like tiny lanterns that signal winter is ending. On open prairies, tough native grasses such as bluebunch wheatgrass (Montana's state grass) and little bluestem help hold the soil, feed deer and elk, and bend instead of breaking in strong prairie winds.
Near rivers, ponds, and wetlands, plants like narrowleaf cottonwood and red-osier dogwood provide shade and shelter for birds, insects, and fish. Together, all these native plants form the living background of Montana-food, homes, and hiding places for wildlife, and a giant outdoor classroom where you can spot flowers, trees, and grasses that have learned to survive everything from blazing summer sun to deep winter snow.
Updated: January 30, 2026
