Yellow Flax in the Dry Southern Prairies

Yellow Flax near Grasslands National Park  ©SB

Yellow Flax. The first time I photographed this buttery yellow Prairie wildflower was the day we went hiking in Saskatchewan's Great Sandhills in the southwest of the province.

But that day was too bright, and the gentle yellow and coral colours of these flowers were burned away by the harsh sunlight.

This summer, at the side of a high range road connecting parts of the West Block of Grasslands National Park, near the edge of a bluff only a few miles north of the Canada/U.S. border, we once more found Yellow Flax. And this time, the day was softly overcast, with a giant lightbox for a sky, casting a warm glow over the land.

Vance, Jowsey et al in Wildflowers Across the Prairies say that the habitat for Yellow Flax is in "the dry upper reaches of the Southern Prairies, particularly along old trails and sandy disturbed places." And yes, that sums up our location.

Yellow Flax blossoms, in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada  © SB

Yellow Flax plant, with flowers.  ©SB

Although Yellow Flax can grow much taller, these plants along the exposed side of the hill were only about six inches high. Like many Prairie wildflowers, they were hidden behind grasses, invisible from the road. To see wildflowers is not only to walk the land, but at times, to crawl it...

Prairie Wildflower: Yellow Flax

Location: Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, Canada,  

Photo Date: June 22, 2015. 

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