Gumboot Lake, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, CA, 7/2023.
What a find! Just a handful of steps from our campsite were marshy areas filled with masses of white flower stalks (teeming with pollinators). We initially mistook them for bog orchids, (more…)
August 31, 2023 | Categories: Asparagus , California , July , June , Low Elevation , marsh wetland/water's edge , Mid Elevation , raceme , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Unique to Northwest , white | Tags: botanizing , fen , hiking , mount shasta , serpentine , wildflower | 1 Comment
Paradise Meadow, Mt. Lassen N.P. , CA 7/2023.
California has its own Corn Lily, and it puts on a real flower show (more…)
July 29, 2023 | Categories: All Northwest , California , Cascades , green , July , lily , Mid Elevation , poisonous , Southern Oregon / Northern California , white | Tags: botanizing , botany , flower , hiking , lassen , mount lassen , mount shasta , pacific northwest , PCT , shasta-trinity , wildflower | Leave a comment
Bandit Springs Trail, Ochoco NF, OR 6/2023.
Our third Iris post, this Rocky Mountain Iris is found in wet pockets of Ponderosa Pine forests with drier summers. In the PNW that means east of the cascades, (more…)
July 16, 2023 | Categories: East of Cascades , grasslands/prarie , iris , June , Low Elevation , Mid Elevation , Oregon , purple/blue , roadsides/disturbed areas , shaded forests , Southern Oregon / Northern California , white | Tags: central oregon , Flowers , hiking , Lookout mountain , mitchell , prineville , Wildflowers | Leave a comment
Lookout Mountain Trail, Ochoco NF, OR 6/2023.
This darling flower has no common name, forcing you to remember (and remember how to pronounce) its latin genus, (more…)
July 9, 2023 | Categories: East of Cascades , grasslands/prarie , Low Elevation , May , Mid Elevation , Oregon , sagebrush steppe , shaded forests , Southern Oregon / Northern California , waterleaf , white | Tags: flower , hiking , ochoco , wildflower | 2 Comments
Elowah Falls, Columbia River Gorge, OR. 5/2021.
Elated to discover multiple specimens of this unusual White Shooting Star growing out of a dripping wet cliffside in the Columbia Gorge! (more…)
July 5, 2021 | Categories: Cascades , Columbia Gorge West , Low Elevation , marsh wetland/water's edge , May , Oregon , primrose , shaded forests , Unique to Northwest , white | Tags: botanizing , Columbia Gorge , flower , hiking , pacific northwest , Wildflowers | Leave a comment
Olympic National Forest, WA 8/2020. Aster is Greek for “star”. Fields of these mixed with purple Thistles (Cirsium edule
(more…)
August 24, 2020 | Categories: Alpine , alpine/subalpine meadow , aster/composite , August , July , Olympics , rocky slopes , Unique to Northwest , Washington , white , yellow | Tags: endemic , flower , hiking , mt. ellinor , Olympic National Park , pacific northwest , wildflower | 1 Comment
Mt. Ellinor trail, Olympic National Forest, WA, 8/2020.
We often see these spikes of cream-colored bells on rocky peaks and ridges. (more…)
August 11, 2020 | Categories: Alpine , August , Cascades , Olympics , raceme , rocky slopes , saxifrage , Unique to Northwest , Washington , white , yellow | Tags: botanizing , flower , hiking , Olympic National Park , Olympic Peninsula , pacific northwest , wildflower | Leave a comment
Rowena Plateau, Tom McCall Preserve, Columbia Gorge, OR, 7/2015
Milkweeds, genus Asclepias , are often plain, overlooked, and rarely appear in our wildflower reference guides, but A. fascicularis , in particular is critical to the survival of Monarch butterflies! (more…)
June 24, 2020 | Categories: Coastal , Columbia Gorge East , East of Cascades , grasslands , grasslands/prarie , July , June , Low Elevation , marsh wetland/water's edge , Oregon , pink , Southern Oregon / Northern California , umbel , white | Tags: butterflies , flower , hiking , pacific northwest , pollinators , tom McCall , wildflower | Leave a comment
Badger Creek Wilderness, OR, 5/2016.
In the early 2000s, through DNA identification and global research advances, a few of the Cinquefoils, including this common lower elevation meadow flower, were moved from the Potentilla genus to the new Drymocallis genus. To date all three Drymocallis species’ share the trait of being ‘protocarnivorous.’ (more…)
June 15, 2020 | Categories: All Northwest , Cascades , Columbia Gorge East , Columbia Gorge West , July , June , Low Elevation , May , Mid Elevation , Olympics , Oregon , rose , SE Alaska , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Washington , white , Willamette Valley , yellow | Tags: botanizing , Flowers , hiking , pacific northwest , wilflowers | Leave a comment
Three Corner Rock Trail, Skamania County, WA, 5/2020.
It’s nearly impossible to hike in the Cascades without recognizing large drifts of this common plant in the understory, but nearly as rare is seeing it in bloom. (more…)
June 1, 2020 | Categories: barberry , Cascades , Coastal , Columbia Gorge West , Low Elevation , May , Oregon , shaded forests , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Unique to Northwest , white , Willamette Valley | Tags: Columbia Gorge , Flowers , hiking , pacific northwest , Wildflowers | Leave a comment
Weldon Wagon Road Trail, Klickitat County, WA .5/2020.
This native flowering plant is one we often see on spring hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, (more…)
May 25, 2020 | Categories: Alpine , alpine/subalpine meadow , Cascades , Columbia Gorge East , Columbia Gorge West , grasslands/prarie , June , Low Elevation , May , Mid Elevation , pink , sandalwood , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Washington , white | Tags: botanizing , Flowers , hiking , klickitat , northwest , Wildflowers | Leave a comment
Lyle Cherry Orchard Trailhead, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2016.
This early bloomer is only found in dry rocky sites at lower and middle elevations. In fact, most of the photos we’ve seen of this uncommon plant have it springing directly from a rock face. (more…)
January 3, 2020 | Categories: Columbia Gorge East , East of Cascades , June , Low Elevation , May , Mid Elevation , mustard , pink , raceme , rocky slopes , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Unique to Northwest , Washington , white | Tags: cherry orchard , Columbia Gorge , dry steppe , flower , wildflower | Leave a comment
We found this guy holding on amidst alpine scree and snow near the crest of central Oregon’s Three Fingered Jack this summer. (more…)
November 5, 2019 | Categories: Alpine , alpine/subalpine meadow , August , borage , Cascades , Columbia Gorge East , dry open woods , East of Cascades , grasslands/prarie , July , June , Mid Elevation , Olympics , Oregon , pink , rocky slopes , SE Alaska , Southern Oregon / Northern California , white | Tags: flower , Mt. Jefferson Wilderness , Mt. Rainier , three fingered jack , Wildflowers | Leave a comment
Tygh Creek Trail, Badger Creek Wilderness, OR, 5/2016.
Roundleaf Alumroot is a demure relative of the bold colored Heucheras one finds in home gardens. (more…)
October 20, 2019 | Categories: Alpine , alpine/subalpine meadow , Cascades , East of Cascades , July , June , Low Elevation , Mid Elevation , Oregon , raceme , rocky slopes , saxifrage , SE Alaska , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Unique to Northwest , white , yellow | Tags: badger creek wilderness , flower , heuchera , wildflower | Leave a comment
Eight Dollar Mountain, Selma, OR, 4/2015.
A special two-colored violet found only in serpentine soils at the Oregon-California border, a unique botanical environment we return to again and again. (more…)
September 3, 2019 | Categories: April , California , Low Elevation , May , Mid Elevation , Oregon , purple/blue , shaded forests , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Unique to Northwest , violet , white | Tags: bigfoot , Flowers , hiking , klamath , serpentine , Wildflowers | 4 Comments
Viewpoint Mike Trail, Lost Creek Lake, OR, 4/2018.
We recently photographed this uncommon catchfly, and then realized we had also seen it on a previous trip visiting, Oregon’s southern Cascades. Although common in this limited area, we more often see Parry’s Catchfly , elsewhere in the northwest. (more…)
August 26, 2019 | Categories: California , July , June , Low Elevation , May , Mid Elevation , Oregon , pink , shaded forests , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Unique to Northwest , white | Tags: Flowers , hiking , lost creek lake , pacific northwest , Siskiyou Mountains , Wildflowers | Leave a comment
Cone Peak Trail, Willamette National Forest, OR, 6/2016.
We rarely see this flower in full bloom, and then hardly ever without an insect of some sort on its lovely petals. (more…)
July 9, 2019 | Categories: Cascades , Coastal , fragrant , July , June , marsh wetland/water's edge , Mid Elevation , Olympics , Oregon , phlox , shaded forests , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Unique to Northwest , white , yellow | Tags: cone peak , flower , Flowers , Iron Mountain , Siskiyou Mountains | Leave a comment
Cone Peak Trail, Willamette National Forest, OR, 6/2019.
Amazingly….we continue to find more northwest penstemons! This one is unique in its stems of creamy white rather than the traditional purple, pink, or blue flowers (more…)
June 24, 2019 | Categories: All Northwest , figwort / lousewort , July , June , Mid Elevation , Oregon , rocky slopes , white | Tags: cone peak , flower , home sweet home , Iron Mountain , santiam river , white penstemon , wildflower | Leave a comment
Camassia Nature Preserve, West Linn, OR, 4/2019.
“What a pleasure, seeing the year’s first trilliums in March or April, just when the winter rains feel like Forever!” — Daniel Mathews, Cascade-Olympic Natural History
We couldn’t agree more! (more…)
April 21, 2019 | Categories: April , fragrant , lily , Low Elevation , marsh wetland/water's edge , Oregon , shaded forests , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Unique to Northwest , white , Willamette Valley | Tags: camas , camassia , Edith F. Johnston , Flowers , Wildflowers | Leave a comment
Bagley Creek, Mount Baker National Forest, WA, 7/2016.
We didn’t initially think this plant was a saxifrage because we mostly saw the red seed heads and stems, (more…)
April 11, 2019 | Categories: alpine/subalpine meadow , August , Cascades , July , marsh wetland/water's edge , medicinal , Mid Elevation , Olympics , saxifrage , SE Alaska , Unique to Northwest , Washington , white | Tags: bagley creek , flower , mt baker , wildflower | 1 Comment
Cone Peak, Willamette National Forest, OR, 6/2017.
This small and humble flower is often one of the earliest we find on hikes in the eastern gorge, and could be around now in places like the Dalles Mountain Ranch and Seven-Mile Hill west of The Dalles, (more…)
March 3, 2019 | Categories: Cascades , Columbia Gorge East , East of Cascades , grasslands/prarie , Low Elevation , May , Oregon , parsley , rocky slopes , Southern Oregon / Northern California , white | Tags: flower , wildflower | Leave a comment
Major Creek Road, Columbia Gorge, WA, 5/2017.
This attractive member of the gentian family is also sometimes called Elkweed. (more…)
January 14, 2019 | Categories: Columbia Gorge East , dry open woods , East of Cascades , gentian , June , Low Elevation , Mid Elevation , Oregon , purple/blue , rocky slopes , Southern Oregon / Northern California , Washington , white | Tags: Badger Creek , flower , Major Creek Road , wildflower | Leave a comment
Vista Ridge Trail, Mt. Hood Wilderness, OR, 8/2016.
Yet another of the many northwest saxifrage species; (more…)
November 25, 2018 | Categories: Alpine , alpine/subalpine meadow , August , Cascades , Mid Elevation , Oregon , rocky slopes , saxifrage , Unique to Northwest , white | Tags: flower , hudson bay company , mount rainier , tolmie , Vista ridge , wildflower | Leave a comment
Boundary Trail, Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness, WA, 7/2016.
Grizzly food! Good thing we didn’t know this fact (more…)
September 10, 2018 | Categories: East of Cascades , edible , fragrant , July , Mid Elevation , pea , shaded forests , Washington , white | Tags: arctic tundra , flower , grizzly bear , horseshoe basin , Okanogan , pasayten wilderness , Wildflowers | Leave a comment
nwwildflowers 