Dead or Dormant

March has arrived, but it doesn't look much like spring is around the corner to judge by looking at the plantlife.  Except for the few evergreens, most vegetation looks dead or dormant, with only brown or tan dried-up pieces sticking up out of the snow.  I think the following might have once been a thistle, growing in a sunny spot.

In a mixed aspen/conifer forest, I came across what appeared to be last summer's timothy grass.

And on the open Laramie prairie, the core of a mystery flower was all that remained.   Some kind of sunflower, perhaps, since the stalks still look like they are stretching towards the sun.

It can be kind of a game, I guess, to guess the plant by the winter remnant, but I think it would be more fun if there was a chance of knowing the right answer.  I suppose in the summer I may be able to revisit these exact locations for verification, but that seems a bit unlikely.  I'm not even sure if all of these plants are perennials!  But I suppose if I find a green gentian growing near where I took the next photo of a withered stalk, then I will allow myself to think that I can indeed recognize some plants.