Fiesta Flower (Pholistoma auritum var. auritum)
Aliases: Blue Fiesta Flower
Family: Borage (Boraginaceae)
Fiesta Flower is a creature of the foothills, living just outside Yosemite Valley but never venturing in, lacking, as so many plants do, the twenty dollars for admission. It grows in abundance in the Merced River Canyon (the Highway 140 route to the park) and along the Hite Cove trail, which begins in the canyon and then proceeds up the south fork of the Merced.
Blooms: March - May
Lifespan: Annual
Origins: Native (see distribution maps for California and US/Canada)
Pholistoma auritum etymology: Pholistoma derives from the Greek word pholis, meaning horny or scaled, and auritum derives from the Latin word auritus, meaning long-eared.
This Photo: Along the Hite Cove trail, late April