Want to get out of the house and take an amazing road trip? The Gyp (Red) Hills area of Barber County is a fascinating choice. And now is the time to see an amazing wildflower display. With good spring rains, the grasslands are ablaze with color. And you don't have to explore beyond the road to see it. It's right outside the car window. Here are some examples of what you can see.
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| This amazingly dense stand of Purple Poppy Mallow paints this part of the Red Hills a wine color. |
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| Prairie Groundsel formerly known as Prairie Ragwort |
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| Catclaw Sensitive Briar |
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| Missouri Locoweed |
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| Lemon Paintbrush |
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| Hartweg (Fendler) Evening Primrose (very similar to Missouri Evening Primrose) Hartweg's is probably more common in the Red Hills. And, as the name implies, it opens late in the day. |
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| Purple Ground Cherry in the foreground mixed in with Scarlet Globe Mallow. Spider Antelopehorn Milkweed is in the background. |
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| Scarlet Globe Mallow, one of the few orange-colored flowers in these hills. |
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| Cobaea Penstamon (Beardtongue) is one of the showiest flowers of the Red Hills and in Kansas. |
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| Indian Blanket Flower A favorite local name is Cowboy Daisy. |
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| Yucca is one of the most evident and iconic plants of the prairie, especially in bloom. You don't have to be on a pasture road to see this very recognizable plant. |
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| A most spectacular display along Sand Creek Road in Barber County. Included are the tall Rayless Gaillardia in the foreground and flowering Yucca in the background. While without conspicuous petals, this Gaillardia has the most amazing scent. If you find some, be sure and smell them! The lower growing plants are Stiff-stem Flax (yellow) and Norton's Flax (blue). -----------------------------------------------------------------
Take a day and go the Red Hills as well as many other wild areas of Kansas. Take it slow and enjoy nature at its best. There are many resources for helping with identification of these plants but a great on-line resource is "Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses" developed and maintained by Mike Haddock. https://www.kswildflower.org/index.php If interested in specific flora of the Red Hills, look for the field guide below. It can be obtained through the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita or the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Another great organization and source of information is the Kansas Native Plant Society. https://www.kansasnativeplantsociety.org/
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