High Country Apps
COLORADO ROCKY MOUNTAIN WILDFLOWERS
A guide to 520 wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, and trees of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Author: Al Schneider. In support of the Colorado Native Plant Society. ($9.99)
This Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers app is intended for nature lovers of all kinds; those who love details, those who are casual observers, and those who want lovely photographs to enjoy on the comfort of their couch. To cover all interests, we have made this app very flexible so you can, for instance, arrange it by common or scientific name; you can identify unknown plants with a key to visible characteristics; you can search; you can scroll quickly through thumbnail photos or browse leisurely through full-sized photos; you can enlarge photos, and delve into as much detail as satisfies you. The app covers the Colorado Rocky Mountains from the foothills to the alpine zone and although we show you a few plants found exclusively in Colorado, the vast majority of the plants shown can also be found through the Rockies of Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico. We describe and show you multiple photographs of 520 wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, and trees. An additional 150 species are discussed in the text. We have been careful to include the most abundant and visible plants and also those less common but found in unusual habitats, such as, wetlands, ponds, and rocky slopes. We have also chosen species from various altitudes, from 85 families and 200 genera, and from all geographic locations -- East Slope, West Slope, and the mountains between. We hope this app increases your enthusiasm for the plants that give us all life and inspiration. Revel in the wildflowers and infect others with your love of the land.
-- Al Schneider, Lewis, Colorado and Whitney Tilt, Bozeman, Montana, 2012
Press Reviews
20 Smartphone Apps for Plant Lovers "High Country Apps offers four wildflower recognition apps that are getting rave reviews from users: Glacier Wildflowers for $4.99, Colorado Rocky Wildflowers for $9.99, Idaho Wildflowers for $7.99 and Washington Wildflowers for $7.99. Search for flowers by family, color, name (common and botanical), and more. Color photos, drawings, and fun facts included." read more...
Den Garden - May 10, 2019
Curious Nature: Wildflower season is upon us; here’s what to look for "'Harrington's penstemon,' I call to my friends. I stop the truck. It's late May, and I have been driving slowly in a sage-oak plant community south of Eagle. Our quest: to find wildflowers. Upon closer inspection, the two exerted stamens confirm it is, indeed, a Harrington's. This half-foot-tall hyper-color purple penstemon is uniquely endemic to Eagle and surrounding counties." read more...
Jan Prusse, Vail Daily News, June 23, 2018
17 Smart Phone Apps for Plant Lovers -- "High Country Apps offers three wildflower recognition apps that are getting rave reviews from users." read more...
Den Garden by Jill Spencer, December 7, 2017
High Country Apps Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers -- "A well thought-out app for pros and beginners alike" read more...
Trailspace Outdoor Gear Reviews, October 15, 2017, by Big Red
"Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers" now on Colorado Native Plant Society's site read more...
Colorado Native Plant Society, June 2016
Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers App -- "Al Schneider’s popular Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers app ..." read more...
Aquilegia Newsletter of the Colorado Native Plant Society, Winter 2017
"It's happened to probably every hiker somewhere along the trail. You're walking and a bright wildflower catches your eye. You've never seen it before — and you want to know more." read more...
Denver Post, January 18, 2014
"Part of the allure of being outdoors in Colorado is the magnificent array of wildflowers found in the Rockies. With a new interactive app for smart phones and tablets, users easily can identify species while enjoying nature." read more...
Colorado Springs Gazette, May 2, 2013, by Leslie Massey
"The clear photos, illustrations, field descriptions, habitat and information on the plant’s ecology and cultural uses make this app one more reason to leave the guide book at home. The app also offers a search function: Enter a few key descriptors and the app identifies the plant for you." read more...
Grand Junction Sentinel, May 1, 2013, by Dave Buchanan
"Wildflower Resources: High Country Apps has developed Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, an interactive app for your smartphone or tablet. " read more...
Fort Collins Coloradoan, April 27, 2013, by Miles Blumhardt
"There’s an “app” for that too. High Country Apps has developed an inexpensive ($10) mobile field guide called “Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers.” Designed for the tablet, smartphone, or Kindle, the app functions without a phone signal and is well-suited to field use." read more...
NPS Park Science Magazine, March 22, 2013, by Jeff Selleck
"It's not all gear-geeking and ski porn here on Master of None, and to that end I want to hype a really well designed and fun app called "Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers." The folks at High Country Apps are scientists first and designer/entrepreneurs second, but even so their app is the easiest I've used amongst the naturalist stuff out there-which is saying something, because I've blown cash on the Audubon bird guide and a few others. Rocky Mtn. Wildflowers is easier and more accurate for a bumbler like me, which is great!" read more...
Elevation Outdoors, June 12, 2012, Reviewed by Rob Coppolillo
User Reviews
"I have absolutely loved it."
"I work as a hiking guide in Rocky Mountain National Park so I bring the iPhone version with me every day. I have absolutely loved it, and love that I no longer lug around the three or so guide books that it might have taken me to cover all the zones on a hike. I also do some classroom based sessions, and that's where I use the iPad version. After dealing with books for the last 25 years, all of which had some basic flaws, I love that an app overcomes almost all of them. Color photos and drawings, sorting and searching by zone, family, color, latin names, common names, etc, interesting facts that aren't adding weight, many more species without adding weight. Ok, I'm a geek, but I really love the app! "
by M. L., Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (iOS), May 30, 2013
"Wish all apps were this good" *****
"Easy to use, extensive, accurate. More than wildflowers with some trees, ferns etc. Worth the price to have this much information in your pocket. Kudos to the developers."
by in2mtns - Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (iOS), April 19, 2013
"Thank you so much ..."
"Thank you so much for this beautiful & finely crafted guide! Having used a number of paper guides over the years, this app combines the best of photographic & drawn images with very clear scientific information, and adds the kind of historical and natural history information that enriches plant observing but which is too often buried on footnotes or is in the guide I didn't bring! This guide causes me to realize that divided information is like an interrupted conversation - and this guide allows the observation to continue as if the plant can tell me it's story much more directly. It's actually one of the few times I've felt a real connection with interactive media enhancing an experience, as part of the experience. "
by V in Pueblo, CO - Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (Android), Aug 26, 2012
"Perfect!" *****
"I love this! Now I don't have to wonder what I am seeing. It is great to id a flower or tree on the spot. The tidbits are helpful as well as descriptions. Thank you! "
by luv2mbike - Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (iPhone)
"Great app!" *****
"This is primarily a guide to plant identification, but it is very broad in scope and incredibly easy to use. One need not be a botanist to use the search function, which is very well laid out. It can be used not just to ID a plant that you have come across, but also to help you search for plants by habitat, season, elevation, and a variety of other characteristics. Photos and illustrations are very clear and instructive. This is a perfect example of how an app should be designed to take full advantage of the iPad interface. Highly recommended! "
by mzarn - Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (iPad), Version 1.1 May 20, 2012
"Wonderful." *****
"Finally an app for Colorado wildflowers. Rather than trying to figure out which of my wildflower books to bring on a hike I can just have my phone. The app covers alpine, subalpine, montane and foothills zones. Includes photos and drawings for help in identification. Search capability is good. I would like to see a place to enter notes on a plant, and also to enter where and whn I've seen a plant. But I still love app even without these capabilities."
by Maggie - Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (iPhone), Version 1.1 May 15, 2012
"Perfect for everyone!" *****
"Great application. Photos, tidbits and all of the information is much more than you can find in any one Wildflower book! Plus your phone fits in your pocket! It is also easy to use! Try it you won't be disappointed! "
by Priscilla - Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (iPhone), Version 1.1 May 17, 2012
"Solid." *****
"It's a really well designed search interface. Like any flower/tree app, that database isn't 100% complete. It would be nice if invasive species were give some kind of distinctive entry. But, this is the friendliest app I've found yet, and it's nice that it's focused on Colorado. "
by Mike - Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (iPhone), Version 1.1 May 14, 2012