California Bog Asphodel (Narthecium californicum)
Near Gumboot Lake, Shasta Trinity NF, CA, 7/ 2023.
We encountered this attractive spike of yellow flowers several times in hikes near Mount Shasta. (more…)
Giant Blazing Star (Mentzelia laevicaulis)
Near Lake Siskiyou, CA 7/2023.
We’ve been chasing these huge neon yellow Blazing Star blooms for a couple years. (more…)
Oregon Fetid Adder’s Tongue (Scoliopus hallii)
McDowell Creek Falls, Linn County, OR, 3/2021.
This wildflower has been on our most wanted list for some time… (more…)
Olympic Mountain Aster (Aster paucicapitatus)
Aster is Greek for “star”. Fields of these mixed with purple Thistles (Cirsium edule) graced our hike up Mt. Ellinor this summer, where the flowers, not the views (hidden by fog), were the main event.
(more…)Elmera (Elmera racemosa)
Mt. Ellinor trail, Olympic National Forest, WA, 8/2020.
We often see these spikes of cream-colored bells on rocky peaks and ridges. (more…)
Mountain Sagewort (Artemesia norvegica)
Tatoosh Ridge Trail, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, WA, 7/2020.
These Mountain Sageworts were mixed into the incredible flower fields we found on Tatoosh Ridge south of Mt. Rainier. (more…)
Yellow Sand Verbena (Abronia latifolia)
North Trail, Cape Lookout State Park, OR, 7/2020.
One of two species of sand verbena native and unique to the Pacific coast (the other is Pink Sand Verbena, A. umbellata), which blooms all summer and into the fall. (more…)
Stream Orchid (Epipactis gigantea)
Along the Trask River, Tillamook County, OR, 7/2020.
Yay! After spending years at the top of our most wanted list, we finally tracked down this supposedly common orchid, but only after nearly walking by large groups of them twice. (more…)
Sticky Cinquefoil (Potentilla glandulosa)
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…)
Roundleaf Alumroot (Heuchera Cylindrica)
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…)
Henderson’s Stars (Triteleia hendersonii)
Pacific Crest Trail near Green Springs, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, OR, 7/2019.
We were excited to find this dramatically-colored flower in a recent trip to the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon.
Royal Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium carneum)
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…)
Arrow-leaved Groundsel (Senecio triangularis)
Mt. Hood, Vista Ridge Trail, OR, 8/2016.
One of the more common and easy to identify of the dizzying array of yellow composite flowers; we were surprised to find we hadn’t yet posted it. (more…)
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, (more…)
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. (more…)
Washington Twinpod (Physaria alpestris)
Burnt Mountain Trail, William O. Douglas Wilderness, WA 6/2018.
This uncommon, low-lying member of the mustard family, also known as bladderpod, is found in dry sandy soil. (more…)
Martindale’s Desert Parsley (Lomatium martindalei)
Silver Star Mountain, WA, 5/2015.
Although we’ve long enjoyed the “spring gold” dusting of these flowers across rocky landscapes in the early spring, (more…)
Common Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata)
Horsethief Lake, Columbia Hills State Park, WA. 5/2017.
While this plant is widespread and native to much of the western U.S., we still find ourselves taken with the rustic beauty of the flowers (more…)
Chickweed Monkeyflower (Mimulus alsinoides)
Britt Woods, Jacksonville, OR. 3/2018.
We tend to see three different species of yellow monkey flower in the Cascades and the Columbia River gorge (more…)
Oregon Fawn Lily (Erythronium oregonum)
Rim Trail, Silver Falls State Park, OR, 5/2014.
Blooming earlier, and at lower elevations than the similar Avalanche Lily, and Glacier Lily, these are recognizable by their lovely, “mottled” leaves with streaks of white, lighter green or even brown (seen below). (more…)
Rayless Arnica (Arnica discoidea)
Badger Creek Wilderness, OR, 5/2015.
There are three species of “rayless” arnica in the northwest: parryi, spathulata and this. (more…)
Gray Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa)
Sheep Rock Unit, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, OR, 10/2017.
Golden rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) framed the arid piñon-juniper desertscape in our recent fall trip to Eastern Oregon. We saw them blooming everywhere across the rolling hills near the John Day Fossil Beds. They look similar to sagebrush (more…)
Tufted Saxifrage (Saxifraga caespitosa)
Marmot Pass, Buckhorn Wilderness, 7/2017.
Nearly twenty species of saxifraga occur in the pacific northwest, and up until now, we’ve only posted three! (more…)
Tall Silvercrown (Luina nardosmia)
Leavenworth Ski Hill, Leavenworth, WA, 5/2017.
Variously called Luina or Cacaliopsis, this waist-high plain-looking plant’s leaves resemble those of Coltsfoot, with flowers that look somewhat like a Rainiera. Upon close inspection, (more…)
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