Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • This particularly beautiful specimen of a the seep monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata) is a favorite of our native bumble bees which it relies on heavily for pollination, but is also known to self-pollinate when there aren't enough bees. This particular one was found in Kent, Washington in the wetlands around Soos Creek on a warm, sunny day.
    Seep Monkeyflower
  • Bluehearts are a very common wildflower in Florida and are always a welcome sight!
    Bluehearts
  • A brilliantly colored Indian blanketflower unfurls on a warm, bright spring morning on Florida's Sanibel Island.
    Indian Blanketflower
  • The wild poinsettia goes by many common names such as fire-on-the-mountain, paintedleaf, and dwarf poinsettia and is a member of the spurge family native to North and South America, but has spread all over the world. Related to the commercially important poinsettia that we all have come to love at Christmastime, this one was found growing wild among some landscaping at a community park in Palm Beach County, Florida. Many people think the red part of the is the petals, but they are actually just colored leaves called bracts that surround the flowers. You can see the tiny yellow flowers just inside the red bracts.
    Wild Poinsettia
  • Found throughout many parts of the Arizona and California, I kept running into this beautiful and often overlooked wildflower in the driest parts of the Sonoran Desert in arroyos and roadsides. This one was found outside of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
    Notch-Leaf Scorpion-Weed
  • This attractive yellow non-native member of the mustard family is originally from Europe and North Africa, but is commonly found  nearly everywhere in North America, with the exception of Alabama and Labrador. This one was found growing in the rural sagebrush desert area between Yakima, Washington and the Cascade Mountains.
    Tumble Mustard
  • Chia is a common member of the mint family found throughout much of its native range in the Southwestern United States. Very popular in today's health food trends, it has a long history of use among American Indian tribes, and was often planted alongside corn. The tiny nut-like seeds were mixed with water and herbs to make a minty beverage, they were ground and mixed with water to make a sticky poultice for wounds, and today it is often used as a treatment from diabetes. This particular plant was photographed in a washed-out arroyo in Southern California's Joshua Tree National Park.
    Chia
  • One of the numerous species of catseyes found in the United States, the thicksepal catseye is a hardy and prickly native wildflower found in the arid regions of the American Southwest and is a great source of nectar for many of the insects . This one photographed in the Pawnee National Grasslands of Northeastern Colorado.
    Thicksepal Catseye
  • A field in Southern Washington is awash in a dazzling display of brightly colored wildflowers. Predominant are the brilliantly blue cornflowers, as well as wild poppies, asters, lilies, and wild peas.
    Cornflowers
  • The intensely and wildly vibrant blue cornflower is found throughout most of North America, but is actually native to Europe, and is only naturalized here. Oddly enough, it is becoming rare and has disappeared completely from many places where it once flourished in the Old World. This one was photographed next to the Columbia River on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.
    Cornflower
  • The delicate and beautiful showy milkwort is often found growing in the flooded prairies and cypress domes of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Showy Milkwort
  • Blue flag iris growing in the Six-Mile Cypress Slough in Lee County, in the middle of Fort Myers, Florida.
    Blue Flag Iris
  • Also known as the tarweed fiddleneck, the bugloss fiddleneck (Amsinckia lycopsoides) is a striking member of the borage family and is primarily found in the Western United States and Canada, but can be found scattered throughout most of the USA except for the Southeast. These were found growing in profusion in sagebrush country, near Whiskey Dick Mountain in rural Kittitas County in central Washington State.
    Bugloss Fiddleneck
  • Also known as the tarweed fiddleneck, the bugloss fiddleneck (Amsinckia lycopsoides) is a striking member of the borage family and is primarily found in the Western United States and Canada, but can be found scattered throughout most of the USA except for the Southeast. These were found growing in profusion in sagebrush country, near Whiskey Dick Mountain in rural Kittitas County in central Washington State.
    Bugloss Fiddleneck
  • Also known as the tarweed fiddleneck, the bugloss fiddleneck (Amsinckia lycopsoides) is a striking member of the borage family and is primarily found in the Western United States and Canada, but can be found scattered throughout most of the USA except for the Southeast. These were found growing in profusion in sagebrush country, near Whiskey Dick Mountain in rural Kittitas County in central Washington State.
    Bugloss Fiddleneck
  • Open prairie in Southeast Florida with yellow bachelor's button wildflowers.
    Florida Prairie
  • Because the parasitic desert broomrape doesn't use chlorophyll like most all plants to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into food, it doesn't need to be green. Instead, this oddly beautiful plant steals nutrients from neighboring plants and has a rather fond taste for asters, such as the sunflowers are common in the desert. This one was found growing in Western Texas near the Rio Grande River.
    Desert Broomrape
  • While devoid of chlorophyll and unable to make its own food like most plants, the clustered broomrape is a parasitic plant that steals nutrients from neighboring host plants. These fuzzy and perfect examples of the yellow variety were found growing among patches of poison oak in southern Oregon near Medford.
    Clustered Broomrape
  • Close-up of the desert broomrape, showing off the beautiful and unusual hairy flowers. Because it doesn't use chlorophyll like most all plants to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into food, it doesn't need to be green. Instead, this oddly beautiful parasitic plant steals nutrients from neighboring plants and has a rather fond taste for asters, such as the sunflowers are common in the desert. This one was found growing in Western Texas near the Rio Grande River.
    Desert Broomrape
  • The sweet-scented heliotrope looked like a mini-morning glory to me at first glance, but a closer look showed this wonderfully scented member of the borage family is also the largest of America's native heliotropes. Like many desert wildflowers, the sweet-scented heliotrope opens in the evening and can be found in all of the southwestern states as well as Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. This one was found in the early evening just after opening up in Utah's Moab Desert.
    Sweet-Scented Heliotrope
  • The large-flowered collomia is a member of the phlox family that is associated with dry soils and often mountain slopes from mid to low elevation. Found throughout most of the western states and north into British Columbia, it is easily recognizable by the (usually) salmon-orange flowers with blue pollen on its five anthers. This one was found growing on a hilly slope among ponderosa pines near the Columbia River in rural Douglas County, Washington.
    Large-flowered Collomia
  • The large-flowered collomia is a member of the phlox family that is associated with dry soils and often mountain slopes from mid to low elevation. Found throughout most of the western states and north into British Columbia, it is easily recognizable by the (usually) salmon-orange flowers with blue pollen on its five anthers. This one was found growing on a hilly slope among ponderosa pines near the Columbia River in rural Douglas County, Washington.
    Large-flowered Collomia
  • The large-flowered collomia is a member of the phlox family that is associated with dry soils and often mountain slopes from mid to low elevation. Found throughout most of the western states and north into British Columbia, it is easily recognizable by the (usually) salmon-orange flowers with blue pollen on its five anthers. This one was found growing on a hilly slope among ponderosa pines near the Columbia River in rural Douglas County, Washington.
    Large-flowered Collomia
  • Primarily a western spring bloomer, the seep-spring monkeyflower, like other monkeyflowers, is often found very close to water or actually growing in standing water. It can be found in most western states and provinces and can be found sporadically in such eastern states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and even Maine! These were found growing on the damp Pacific Northwest cliffs on Fidalgo Island in Washington State.
    Seep-spring Monkeyflower
  • Primarily a western spring bloomer, the seep-spring monkeyflower, like other monkeyflowers, is often found very close to water or actually growing in standing water. It can be found in most western states and provinces and can be found sporadically in such eastern states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and even Maine! These were found growing on the damp Pacific Northwest cliffs on Fidalgo Island in Washington State.
    Seep-spring Monkeyflower
  • The Mexican gold poppy is a desert-loving subspecies of the California gold poppy that is found across the American Southwest as well as Mexico, which is known for it's sweeping golden orange carpet of color across the desert after the winter rains. This one was seen near Sonoita Creek in Patagonia, Arizona on a hot spring afternoon.
    Mexican Gold Poppy
  • The Mexican gold poppy is a desert-loving subspecies of the California gold poppy that is found across the American Southwest as well as Mexico, which is known for it's sweeping golden orange carpet of color across the desert after the winter rains. These poppies were seen near Sonoita Creek in Patagonia, Arizona on a hot spring afternoon.
    Mexican Gold Poppies
  • While not a native to the Americas, this Eurasian import can be found in the wild across all of North America almost as far south as the US/Mexican border. This was one of many widely-spaced plants growing on the edge of the Umtanum Creek in a canyon in Central Kittitas County, Washington.
    White Campion
  • One of the hardiest of all desert wildflowers... this sand verbena persists when all other plants fail.
    Sand Verbena in White Sands, New Mexico
  • Close-up detail of the sand verbena. This southwestern native wildflower is found in the wild only in Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas.
    Sand Verbena
  • The sand verbena (sometimes also called the purple or pink sand verbena) is a very hardy, heat-resistant desert survivor in the American Southwest. Not many plants survive in the gypsum sands desert of White Sands National Monument in Southern New Mexico with its shifting dunes, but this one does just fine.
    Sand Verbena
  • Yellow salsify is a tall, single-flowering non-native European import commonly found in the drier parts of the North America, excluding much of the American Southeast. The flowers are known for their unusual habit of closing in the middle of the day. This one was photographed early in the morning near the banks of the Tieton River, just south of Naches, Washington.
    Yellow Salsify
  • Yellow salsify is a non-native, European import and relative to chicory commonly found in the drier parts of the North America, excluding much of the American Southeast. This one was photographed near the banks of the Tieton River, just south of Naches, Washington.
    Yellow Salsify
  • This little jewel of the forest floor is considered a noxious weed in Washington state (where this was photographed) and has taken over much of the Pacific Northwest. Native to Europe, this little geranium is one of hundreds of plants introduced as an attractive ornamental that escaped into the wild. Often called "Stinky Bob", crushing the leaves or stem will result in the strong odor of burning tires.
    Herb Robert
  • Found throughout much of the American Southwest, rattlesnake weed is a member of the spurge family. Like all species of the Euphorbia genus, oozes a milky white sticky sap when damaged, and be careful because the sap of this particular species is poisonous. It gets its name from the erroneous fact that it was once believed that mashing this plant into a poultice would cure a rattlesnake bite. This one was photographed in Southern California's Mojave Desert.
    Rattlesnake Weed
  • This beautiful globe gilia is a native member of the phlox family and found throughout most of the western states and British Columbia and the Yukon in where the soils tend to be sandy or rocky. This one was found with a small number of others on an open forest slope near the eastern shore of Lake Wenatchee in Chelan County, Washington.
    Globe Gilia
  • This invasive weed in now established in nearly all of North America, and is a member of the often-overlooked plantain family.
    English Plantain
  • A blooming sticky purple geranium opens its first blossom on a warm summer day in rural Montana at the edge of a mountain forest. This plant is a natural astringent, and has a long history of being used by Native American tribes for various medicinal uses.
    Sticky Purple Geranium
  • This uncommon member of the broomrape family is found at very high altitudes, such as this owl's clover found near the top of the tree line on Hurricane Ridge in Washington's Olympic Mountains. Here the habitat was a very rocky, open subalpine meadow within sight of late-summer mountain snow.
    Mountain Owl's Clover
  • White campion is a very beautiful, and commonly widespread invasive wildflower found across most of North America, excluding most of the American Southern states. These were found growing along the Skagit River in northern Washington.
    White Campion
  • Not all cornflowers are blue. Sometimes they are pink, magenta, white, or any combination of these. This particular field near Catherine Creek in Southern Washington had all kinds of different color variations spread over acres of grassland.
    Cornflower
  • Rabbit-foot clover is an uncommon, small fluffy clover found in low-lying grasslands in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. These were photographed in a rocky field in Washington's Columbia River Gorge near Catherine Creek.
    Rabbit-foot Clover
  • Usually a bright yellow, there is some color variation in California poppies where some of them can be the brightest orange imaginable.
    California Poppy
  • Woolly vetch (sometimes called winter vetch) is an important crop used in agriculture for fixing depleted soil nitrogen, and is often planted in fields to correct deficiencies resulting from extensive farming. Found in nearly all of North America, woolly vetch doubles as a tenacious weed that is sometimes hard to remove as vast numbers of seeds are released early which grow back the next season.
    Woolly Vetch
  • Easily one of the most recognized of West Coast wildflowers and the official state wildflower of California, the California poppy is found frequently in summer in open grasslands and open fields. Sometimes in spectacular washes of golden orange-yellow carpets, it will easily transform a landscape in ways that is hard to describe in mere words.
    California Poppies
  • A widespread North American naturalized wildflower that orginates from the Old World, the white campion is a summer bloomer that is found often in disturbed areas. This one was photographed<br />
 about 35 miles south of Seattle, Washington in suburban Federal Way.
    White Campion
  • These white campions were found in full flower on a hot summer morning near a rural creek in Arkansas less than a mile from the Arkansas-Missouri border.
    White Campion
  • This beautiful member of the carnation family is not native to North America, but is so widespread that it is now called naturalized instead of invasive. This one was photographed in King County, Washington.
    White Campion
  • The invasive Mexican bluebell (or ruellia) has escaped cultivated gardens and is now found all over Florida.
    Mexican Bluebell
  • The unusual and bright blue widemouth dayflower in all it's glory growing in a pine scrub in Estero, Fl (Lee County).
    Whitemouth Dayflower
  • These large and beautiful wildflowers can sometimes be seen in large patches on the side of the highways in the Apalachicola National Forest.
    Stoke's Aster
  • Skyflowers found growing in standing water in CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in Collier County, Florida.
    Skyflowers
  • The delicate and beautiful showy milkwort is often found growing in the flooded prairies and cypress domes of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Showy Milkwort
  • Seaside Gentian growing on Key Largo, Fl.
    Seaside Gentian
  • This is one of the many common wildflowers to be seen growing in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier and Monroe Counties. This one was in the Gator Hook Strand.
    Bartram's Rosegentian
  • Wild passionflower growing in a field in the Lake Talquin State Forest in North Florida.
    Purple Passionflower
  • A large and stunning purple passionflower in full bloom in Paynes Creek Preserve in Bowling Green, Florida. Truly Florida's most beautiful and intricate flowering vine!
    Purple Passionflower
  • Purple Flag Iris photographed in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, in North Florida (Jefferson County).
    Purple Flag Iris
  • Wild pennyroyal grows almost everywhere in SW Florida that is dry and sandy - particularly around palmettos. It also makes a wonderful tea!
    Wild Pennyroyal
  • The stunning oceanblue morning glory growing on the edge of a hardwood hammock in the Florida Everglades on the Anhinga Trail.
    Oceanblue Morning-Glory
  • These cool little monotrophs were found growing on the side of a sinkhole near Gainesville, Florida. They stood about an inch and a half tall and had the craziest electric purple-blue stems. I had to use a macro lens to get a full-frame photo.
    Nodding Nixies
  • This member of the mint family can be found in scattered places throughout Florida.
    Lyreleaf Sage
  • The beautiful Florida violet growing in the sand of a pine scrub in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails near Fort Myers, Florida.
    Florida Violet
  • Dragonheads blooming near a lake in Charlotte County in SW Florida in the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area.
    Dragonheads
  • Blue-eyed grass wildflowers growing in the Everglades National Park. These great little flowers can be found all over South Florida growing in and around the wetlands.
    Blue-Eyed Grass
  • Close-up of a blue-eyed grass flower growing in the Florida Everglades.
    Blue-Eyed Grass
  • Blazing Star growing in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Blazing Star
  • Blue-eyed grass wildflowers blooming in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Blue-Eyed Grass
  • The tiny bay lobelia flowering in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Bay Lobelia
  • Blue jasmine growing on the edge of Lime Sink near the Suwannee River.
    Blue Jasmine
  • This beautiful small, and beautiful blue member of the figwort family is found in conifer forests from mid-to-low elevations in California, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Washington and British Columbia. While its species name (Collinsia grandiflora) means "large-flowered", the tiny flowers of the giant blue-eyed Mary are still much larger than other members of the Collinsia genus. This one was found growing in thick mats scattered over the serpentine outcropping on the northwestern corner of Washington's Fidalgo Island.
    Giant Blue-Eyed Mary
  • This tiny daisy grows in many of the hottest, most arid deserts of the American Southwest in sand, gravel and scattered rocks. Easily identified by both it's dimunitative size and choice of habitat, close inspection of the foliage reveals a very wooly, hairy hovering of silvery hairs on the leaves and stem. This was one of many found in an open area in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
    Wallace's Woolly Daisy
  • In summertime, masses of California poppies line roadsides and open areas, such as here in a field near Southern Washington's  Catherine Creek in the Columbia River Gorge.
    California Poppies
  • In summertie, masses of California poppies line roadsides and open areas, such as here in a field near Southern Washington's  Catherine Creek in the Columbia River Gorge.
    California Poppies
  • Found scattered throughout the North American West, the denseflower willowherb is an easily overlooked beautiful flowering herb found in arid regions of mountain valleys, grasslands, rocky steppes, and along the coast. This one was photographed in the dry arid grasslands in early summer on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.
    Denseflower Willowherb
  • The invasive water-hyacinth while beautiful, clogs many wetlands and canals and is now designated as a federal noxious weed.
    Water-Hyacinth
  • This wildflower is seen often in South Florida anywhere that is sunny and is wet. This was taken in the Florida Everglades.
    Glades Lobelia
  • Beautiful flower of the Florida ironweed blooming in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails in SW Florida.
    Florida Ironweed