Boreal Yarrow

Achillea borealis

Pollinator plant

Growing it

When	Flowers June to August
Type	wildflower
Sun	Full sun
Water	Low
Soil	pH 5.5–7.5
Hardiness	zone 2–7
Mature height	0.5 m
Mature spread	0.6 m
Spacing	0.4 m
Years to maturity	2
Bloom	Jun–Aug
Flower colour	White not verified, a genus-level estimate
In bloom	June July August
Native to	AB, SK

Where it has been recorded

BothSpecimensObservations

119 squares of about 28 km, each holding at least one record. A square is not a claim that the plant grows throughout it, and an unshaded square is unrecorded rather than empty. Darker squares hold more records, which follows roads and towns as much as it follows the plant. 9 herbarium specimens and 266 field observations this project may redraw. A filled dot is a pressed sheet somebody can re-examine; a hollow ring is a photograph identified by community agreement. Where the dots are dense is where people have looked, not where the plant is commonest, and empty ground is unsurveyed rather than unoccupied. How this map is made.

Which ecoregions the records fall in

Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 65 records, high confidence
Northern Continental Divide south AB: 58 records, high confidence
Eastern Continental Ranges central AB: 35 records, high confidence
Fescue Grassland south AB: 26 records, high confidence
Western Alberta Upland central AB: 24 records, high confidence
Moist Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 22 records, high confidence
Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 20 records, high confidence
Cypress Upland south AB / SK: 19 records, medium confidence
Peace Lowland north AB: 8 records, medium confidence
Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 7 records, low confidence
Slave River Lowland north AB: 4 records, low confidence

These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.

See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.

Documented animals

334 documented relationships.

nectar for

A Flower Fly Acorn
A Leafcutter Bee LaManna et al. 2020
Adela septentrionella Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Agapostemon texanus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Albuna pyramidalis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Allograpta obliqua Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
American Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
American Lady Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
American Sand Wasp Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Anania funebris Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Anastrangalia laetifica Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Ancistrocerus adiabatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Ancistrocerus catskill Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Andrena amphibola LaManna et al. 2020
Andrena candida Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Andrena columbiana Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Andrena crataegi Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Andrena hirticincta Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Andrena milwaukeensis LaManna et al. 2020
Andrena miserabilis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Andrena nigrocaerulea Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Andrena pallidifovea Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Andrena prunorum Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Andrena trevoris LaManna et al. 2020
Andrena vicina Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Anicia Checkerspot Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Antherophagus ochraceus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Anthidium utahense LaManna et al. 2020
Aphrodite Fritillary Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Arctic Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Atlantis Fritillary Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Augochlorella aurata Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Batyle suturalis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Bicoloured Sweat Bee Clint Otto et al. 2020
Black Swallowtail Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Black-and-yellow Lichen Moth Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Black-shouldered Drone Fly Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Black-tailed Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Boisduval's Blue Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Bronze Copper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Brown-belted Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Brown-tailed Bumble Bee Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Calligrapher Fly Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Calliopsis andreniformis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Callophrys augustinus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Callophrys spinetorum Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Central Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Cerceris nigrescens Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Cercyonis oetus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Chalcosyrphus piger Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Checkered White Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Chlosyne acastus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Chlosyne harrisii Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Chlosyne palla Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Clouded Sulphur Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Coelioxys octodentatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Coelioxys rufitarsis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Colias hecla Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Colletes fulgidus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Common Checkered-Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Common Ringlet Acorn & Sheldon 2006
Common Wood-Nymph Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Compact Cuckoo Nomad Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Convergent Lady Beetle Acorn
Copestylum vittatum Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Coral Hairstreak Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Dejongia lobidactylus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Dianthidium subparvum Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Drone Fly Acorn
Eastern Calligrapher Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Eastern Pine Elfin Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Eastern Tailed-Blue Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Ectemnius arcuatus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Ectemnius maculosus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Eight-spotted Forester Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Epeolus olympiellus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Epicauta puncticollis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Epistrophe grossulariae Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Eristalis flavipes Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Eristalis hirta Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Eristalis stipator Clint Otto et al. 2020
Eucera hamata Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Euodynerus annulatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Euodynerus foraminatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Euodynerus hidalgo Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Euodynerus pratensis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Eupeodes americanus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Euphydryas chalcedona Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Euphydryas colon Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Euphydryas editha Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Feltia herilis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Field Crescent LaManna et al. 2020
Frigid Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Gnathacmaeops pratensis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Golden Northern Bumble Bee LaManna et al. 2020
Golden-haired Flower Longhorn Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Goldenrod Soldier Beetle Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Gray Hairstreak Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Great Golden Digger Wasp Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Great Spangled Fritillary Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Green Lacewing Acorn
Greenish Blue Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Half-black Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Halictus confusus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Halictus farinosus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Halictus ligatus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Halictus tripartitus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Halictus virgatellus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Hedriodiscus binotatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Heliothis phloxiphaga Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Helophilus fasciatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Hemipenthes morioides LaManna et al. 2020
Heriades carinata Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Heriades cressoni Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Hesperia juba Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Himmelman's Plume Moth Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Hobomok Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Holcopasites calliopsidis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Hoplitis producta Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Hunt's Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Hylaeus affinis Clint Otto et al. 2020
Hylaeus leptocephalus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Hylaeus mesillae Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Hylaeus modestus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Isodontia elegans Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Isodontia mexicana Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Judolia montivagans Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Lapposyrphus aberrantis LaManna et al. 2020
Lapposyrphus lapponicus LaManna et al. 2020
Lasioglossum albipenne LaManna et al. 2020
Lasioglossum cressonii Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Lasioglossum incompletum Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Lasioglossum kincaidii Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Lasioglossum knereri Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Lasioglossum marinense LaManna et al. 2020
Lasioglossum nigroviride LaManna et al. 2020
Lasioglossum paraforbesii Clint Otto et al. 2020
Lasioglossum pectorale Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Lasioglossum pruinosum Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Lasioglossum ruidosense Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Lasioglossum sandhousiellum Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Lasioglossum sedi Specimen records from the USDA-ARS:BBSL1175949 collection
Lasioglossum sisymbrii Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Leucospis affinis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Lucerne Moth Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Lustrous Copper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Lygaeus kalmii Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Meadow Fritillary Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Megachile apicalis Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Megachile brevis Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Megachile fidelis Specimen records from the USDA-ARS:BBSL1176554 collection
Megachile frigida Specimen records from the USDA-ARS:BBSL1176416 collection
Megachile latimanus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Megachile onobrychidis Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Megachile parallela Specimen records from the USDA-ARS:BBSL1176534 collection
Megachile perihirta Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Megachile pugnata Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Megachile rotundata Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Meliscaeva cinctella Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Melissa Arctic Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Melissa Blue LaManna et al. 2020
Melissodes bimaculatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Milbert's Tortoiseshell Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Monarch Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Mormon Fritillary Acorn & Sheldon 2006
Mourning Cloak Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Mylitta Crescent Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Neophasia menapia Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Neurocolpus nubilus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Nevada Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Northern Amber Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Northern Azure Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Northern Crescent Acorn & Sheldon 2006
Northern Paper Wasp Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Orange Sulphur Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Orange-legged Furrow Bee Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Ornate Checkered Beetle Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Osmia albolateralis Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Osmia coloradensis Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Osmia montana Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Osmia trevoris Specimen records from the USDA-ARS:BBSL1165762 collection
Oxybelus emarginatus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Oxybelus uniglumis Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Painted Lady Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Pale Swallowtail Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Paragus haemorrhous LaManna et al. 2020
Parnassius clodius Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Parnassius smintheus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Pearl Crescent Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Peck's Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Perdita nevadensis Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Philanthus bilunatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Philanthus crabroniformis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Philanthus gibbosus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Philanthus multimaculatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Philanthus politus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Philanthus sanbornii Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Philanthus solivagus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Philanthus ventilabris Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Pieris marginalis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Pigeon Horntail Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Pink-edged Sulphur Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Plagiognathus obscurus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Plebejus anna Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Poecilanthrax tegminipennis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Police Car Moth Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Purplish Copper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Pyrausta orphisalis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Pyrausta subsequalis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Pyrgus ruralis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Red Admiral Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Red-belted Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Satyrium acadica Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Satyrium behrii Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Satyrium calanus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Satyrium californica Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Satyrium edwardsii Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Satyrium liparops Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Satyrium saepium Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Satyrium sylvinus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Sceliphron caementarium Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Scelolyperus varipes Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Sericomyia chalcopyga Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Sericomyia lata Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Silver-spotted Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Silvery Blue Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Sitka Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Speyeria zerene Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Sphaerophoria contigua Clint Otto et al. 2020
Sphaerophoria sulphuripes Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Sphex lucae Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Spotted Cucumber Beetle Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Stelis lateralis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Stelis permaculata LaManna et al. 2020
Stratiomys badia Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Summer Azure Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Synanthedon bibionipennis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Synanthedon pictipes Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Synanthedon polygoni Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Syrphus rectus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tarnished Plant Bug Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tawny-edged Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Temnostoma alternans Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tetracis cachexiata Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tharsalea editha Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tharsalea mariposa Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tharsalea nivalis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tharsalea rubidus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Three-banded Lady Beetle Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Toxomerus occidentalis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Trachysida mutabilis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Trichiotinus assimilis Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tricoloured Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Tropidia quadrata Clint Otto et al. 2020
Two-ranked Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Two-spotted Lady Beetle Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Viceroy Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Villa fulviana LaManna et al. 2020
Villa lateralis LaManna et al. 2020
Virginia Ctenucha Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Wavy-lined Emerald Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Western Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
Western Tiger Swallowtail Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
White Admiral Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Woodland Skipper Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Yarrow Plume Moth Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Yellow Cuckoo Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Yellow Dung Fly Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Yellow-banded Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Yellow-collared Scape Moth Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee Specimen records from ecdysis.org

pollen for

Adela septentrionella Guzman et al. 2022
Agapostemon texanus Robertson 1929
American Sand Wasp Guzman et al. 2022
Anastrangalia laetifica Guzman et al. 2022
Andrena amphibola Guzman et al. 2022
Andrena erythrogaster Robertson 1929
Andrena nivalis Guzman et al. 2022
Andrena pallidifovea Guzman et al. 2022
Andrena prunorum Guzman et al. 2022
Anthophora walshii Robertson 1929
Bembix amoena Guzman et al. 2022
Black-shouldered Drone Fly Guzman et al. 2022
Black-tailed Bumble Bee Guzman et al. 2022
Blue Orchard Mason Bee Guzman et al. 2022
Colletes fulgidus Guzman et al. 2022
Compact Cuckoo Nomad Bee Guzman et al. 2022
Conophorus sackenii Guzman et al. 2022
Cortodera subpilosa Guzman et al. 2022
Drone Fly Guzman et al. 2022
Epistrophe emarginata Guzman et al. 2022
Eristalis hirta Guzman et al. 2022
Eupeodes volucris Guzman et al. 2022
Exorista mella Robertson 1929
Halictus confusus Guzman et al. 2022
Halictus farinosus Guzman et al. 2022
Halictus ligatus Guzman et al. 2022
Halictus tripartitus Guzman et al. 2022
Heriades carinata Guzman et al. 2022
Hylaeus modestus Guzman et al. 2022
Large Bee Fly Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum albipenne Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum cressonii Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum dashwoodi Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum incompletum Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum knereri Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum laevissimum Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum mellipes Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum nevadense Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum pruinosum Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum punctatoventre Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum ruidosense Guzman et al. 2022
Lasioglossum sisymbrii Guzman et al. 2022
Megachile montivaga Guzman et al. 2022
Megachile perihirta Guzman et al. 2022
Minimal Cuckoo Nomad Bee Guzman et al. 2022
Neorhynchocephalus sackenii Guzman et al. 2022
Orange-legged Furrow Bee Guzman et al. 2022
Ornate Checkered Beetle Guzman et al. 2022
Osmia californica Guzman et al. 2022
Osmia coloradensis Guzman et al. 2022
Police Car Moth Clements & F. L. Long 1923
Prionyx atratus Robertson 1929
Sericomyia lata Guzman et al. 2022
Sphaerophoria contigua Guzman et al. 2022
Synanthedon albicornis Clements & F. L. Long 1923
Terellia occidentalis Clements & F. L. Long 1923
Two-ranked Bumble Bee Guzman et al. 2022
Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee Guzman et al. 2022

caterpillar host for

Euodynerus annulatus Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Halictus ligatus Specimen records from ecdysis.org
Northern Paper Wasp University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Insect Division. Full Database Export 2020

Also worth knowing

Safety

Low toxicity to pets

Edible parts

Leaves

Buying it

About $8–$16 per plant (estimate), usually stocked by garden centres. Estimate (herb default); AB retail as of 2026

Where these numbers came from

Flower detail: not verified, a genus-level estimate