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The alpine snowfields are melting fast, and at this time of year Western pasqueflower (Pulsatilla occidentalis) springs into action. These wildflowers emerge and bloom so quickly after the snow clears that most will never see their blossoms – though almost anyone who spends time in the mountains will instantly recognize these plants by their seedhead! The mane of “hair” that covers their seed pods is famously groovy, and has inspired many colorful common names over the years. Among them:

• Old man of the mountain

• Hippie on a stick

• Moptops

• Tow-headed babies

• Muppets of the mountains

• Cousin Itt flower 

(…my obscure offering of “Vilanch flower” really hasn’t stuck, unsurprisingly… you’ll have to Google it).  

If you visit the alpine zone early enough, you might spot Western pasqueflower in its blooming phase, the unique flowers (below) revealing these as members of the Anemone family. They are so spirited is their spring emergence that the blooms come well ahead of their foliage, putting these flowers on a fast track to producing seeds, even as the summer season is just beginning.

The bloom phase of Western pasqueflower does not last long, and soon their transformation into mountain hippies begins with a first stop in the New Wave 1980s, with spiky punk hair (below) that would make Billy Idol proud. 

While their spiked 1980s punk styling continues to expand to Tina Turner proportions, these plants are also producing delicate, fern-like foliage that will persist through the summer. The spiked hair look didn’t last long in the 80s, nor does this phase for Western pasqueflower. Soon, their tightly spiked “hair” grows long and wavy, taking them back another decade to their ultimate early 1970s hippie motif. 

It is this final phase tribute to the mid-70s Led Zepplin-Peter Frampton look (below) that persists for most of the summer, and is how most know the Western pasqueflower (…and to completely belabor the metaphor, their luxuriant hair eventually falls out in late summer, leaving them with only a few sad strands as they resign themselves to the county fair oldies circuit…)

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Image Description: Three photos show the stages of blooming and seed head development of Western pasqueflower, an alpine member of the Anemone family. The first image shows a group of short, stout flowers emerging from bare ground, with white petals and bright yellow centers. The second image shows the initial stage of seed head development, with round globes covered in stiff green hairs. Delicate, fern-like foliage also appears at this stage for the Pasqueflower. The final stage shows three seedheads covered in long, wavy hairs that gives these plants their personality and many creative common names.

Photo © WyEast Images (2026)