Scouler’s Corydalis (Corydalis scouleri)

McCord Creek Falls, Columbia Gorge, OR, 4/2014.

Mary A.  Fries, in Wildflowers of Mount Rainier and the Cascades,  says to pronounce Corydalis “with a riddle in the middle and the accent on the ‘ryd’.”  And then she goes on to supply us with other fun facts about the plant.  It was named after after John Scouler, who was an assistant to David Douglas, and had several other plants named after him.  The two found many of these near the mouth of the Columbia.

She and other sources note that the plant’s seed pods, when dry, shoot out seeds with a spring-like mechanism when disturbed.  Related to the Bleeding Heart and Dutchman’s Breeches,  the genus has several hundred different species, including many Asian varieties.

McCord Creek Falls, Columbia Gorge, OR, 4/2014.