Jacob’s ladder is rather elusive wildflower—so much so that it always elicits squeals of delight when someone runs across it while hiking the trails around Sun Valley and Stanley. Part of the Phlox family, the “ladder” refers to the creeping habit of the plant and the pinnately compound leaves that someone long ago thought resembled the ladder seen in the dream of the biblical Jacob.

Learn about this fascinating wildflower, the monkey flower, the elephant’s head and cinquefoil when Eye on Sun Valley’s Lisa Horton takes you to a roadside cache of wildflowers near Stanley.