White Sweetvetch (Hedysarum sulphurescens)

Boundary Trail, Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness, WA, 7/2016.

Grizzly food! Good thing we didn’t know this fact

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Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

Mirror Lake, Rooster Rock State Park, OR, 7/2015.

The big-heads of this aster family member can be dried, powdered and  used as snuff,

American Sawwort (Saussurea americana)

Home Sweet Home, Olympic National Park, WA, 8/2018.

If ever one needs a reminder that flowers exist to attract pollinators rather than for  human enjoyment, look no further than the homely sawwort. 

Round-Headed Buckwheat (Eriogonum sphaerocephalum)

Umtanum Creek Recreation Area, Yakima River Canyon, WA, 6/2018.

We encountered this bright yellow buckwheat shrub dotting the pale dry sagebrush steppe in the Yakima River Valley in early summer. 

Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera oblongifolia)

South Puyallup Trail, Mt Rainier National Park, WA, 7/2015.

This member of the orchid family is common in conifer woodlands across the west and northwest. 

Fuzzy-tongue Penstemon (Penstemon eriantherus v. argillosus)

Iron Mountain, Willamette National Forest, OR, 6/2016.

These fuzzy-tongue penstemon, display amazing markings to guide pollinators to their nectar. 

Western False Asphodel (Tofieldia glutinosa)

Along the banks of Royal Lake, Olympic N.P., WA, 7/2016.

We’ve probably mistaken these for Death Camas, Bistort, or Valerian on many occasions.

Clasping Leaf Twisted-stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius)

Royal Basin trail, Olympic National Park, 7/2016.

This is the most common of the 3 twisted-stalks in our region. 

Monument Plant (Frasera speciosa)

Burnt Mountain Trail, William O. Douglas Wilderness Area, WA 6/2018.

Hiking along a ridge in Washington’s central Cascades, we were surprised to find a group of these large, unusual looking plants

Sagebrush Mariposa Lily (Calochortus macrocarpus)

Umtanum Ridge Trail, Yakima River Canyon (BLM), WA 6/2018.

The exquisite sagebrush mariposa lily, the largest in size of the many calochortus,