Popping through the snow, the bright yellow flower of Glacier Lily is often a harbinger of Spring, but here it emerges much later in a lingering patch.

The flowers are sweet-scented and usually borne singly on foot-tall stems. Masses of blossoms may transform an entire hillside, as in Paradise Valley along the Park road.

The leaves are narrowed to a broad stalk, and the petals are wide near the base. Common in meadows, this species grows in subalpine habitat throughout the Park.