Alaska may wear a abstruse mantel of snow much of the year , but when the state begin to warming in May , its native plants put on a display dominated by regal , grim , white and yellow wild flower . By July , many function of the Last Frontier resemble an ephemeral garden of Eden , as berries ripen and the omnipresent fireweed blooms . Even on the tundra outside Barrow , the most northerly city in the United States , audacious groundcover plant life adorn drab gravel roadsides with their tiny flush .

Fireweed

Most visitors to Alaska will encounter unforgettably vibrant stands of lavender rosebay willowherb , produce up to 8 feet tall along most of the road system in USDA hardiness geographical zone 2A. Fireweed ( Epilobium angustifolium ) grows in open , unhinged land in much of the Northern hemisphere . Its eatable shoot , leaves and flowers feel their way into Alaska Native ice ointment and even sled dog chow chow .

Alpine Forget-Me-Not

The state flower Alpine Forget - Me - Not ( Myostis alpetris ) blossoms in July . It feature five sky - blue flower petal 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch around a bloodless privileged band and a chicken mall . This perennial wildflower grow 6 to 12 inch high in alpine meadows and is hardy to USDA Zone 3A.

Alaska Poppy

Hardy even in the brutal conditions of USDA Zone 1 , the Alaska poppy ( Papaver alaskanum ) grows 6 to 12 column inch high-pitched . The Arctic poppy race ( Papaver lapponicum ) grows on the tundra above the Arctic Circle and features buttercup yellow flowers that follow the motion of the sun . Additional Arctic wildflowers admit rock jasmine ( Androsace chamaejasme ) with five white petals around a yellow center , and yellow - flower members of the family Saxifraga , admit bog saxifrage , shock saxifrage and yellow - spotted rockfoil .

Alaska Blueberry

This 6 - foot - tall shrub ply berries beloved by Alaska bears and birds , and homo . It forms one of the major ingredient of akutaq or Eskimo methamphetamine hydrochloride cream . Alaska blueberry ( Vaccinium alaskensis Howell ) grows from Southeast Alaska to the Pacific Northwest . The berry rafts high in tests of its antioxidant prop , according to scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks , connive scientist and entrepreneurs who want to bring the Alaskan blueberry to mart .

Alaska Cedar

Hardy to minus 40 degrees F , the Alaska cedar ( Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ) can grow to 20 to 30 feet and is an important timber specie valued for its indestructible wood . It boom in cool , humid climates within 100 mile of the Pacific Ocean and grows in Alaska from Prince William Sound south . It grows in pedestal mixed with westerly hemlock , western crimson cedar and Sitka spruce .

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