Clustered Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium fasciculatum)
Weldon Wagon Wheel Trail, WA 5/2022.
We nearly passed up this rare orchid, well camouflaged within inches of the trail. This single plant with a pair of intricate nodding slipper flowers was the prize of a blustery May hike on a flower covered ridge just north of the Columbia Gorge. (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…)Piper’s Bellflower (Campanula piperi)
Olympic National Forest, WA, 8/2020.
A long car ride followed by a steep and crowded trail were suddenly made worthwhile when we spotted these endemic bellflowers growing in-between the rocks (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…)
Bastard Toadflax (Comandra umbellata)
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…)
Silverleaf Phacelia (Phacelia hastata)
Upper Canyon Creek Meadows Trail, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, OR, 7/2019.
We found this guy holding on amidst alpine scree and snow near the crest of central Oregon’s Three Fingered Jack this summer. (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…)
Toothed Owl’s Clover (Orthocarpus cuspidatus)
Pacific Crest Trail, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, OR, 7/2019.
At one point in the spectacular Hobart Bluff-Soda Mountain section of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, we found the trailside covered in these pretty Owl’s clovers we had never seen before. (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…)
Northern Gentian (Gentianella amarella)
Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness, WA, 7/2016.
In Washington’s Mt. Baker area, we stumbled upon this gentian, a less common variety within the pacific northwest (more…)
Tolmie’s Saxifrage (Saxifraga tolmiei)
Vista Ridge Trail, Mt. Hood Wilderness, OR, 8/2016.
Yet another of the many northwest saxifrage species; (more…)
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. (more…)
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. (more…)
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 (more…)
Spotted Saxifrage (Saxifraga bronchialis)
Upper Royal Basin, Olympic National Park, 7/2016.
This less-common saxifrage variety can be identified by its matted, basal, rosette-shaped leaves (shared with the Tolmiei species) and its upright, red stems, but mainly by the yellow, orange and red spots on its petals. (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…)
Western Meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale)
Upper Royal Basin, Olympic National Park, WA, 7/2016.
In moist meadows or forests you will often see these odd looking plants. (more…)
Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum)
Hardy Ridge Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA, 6/2015.
We see three species of wild allium with some regularity on hikes in the Columbia Gorge and Cascades (more…)
Nuttall’s Linanthus (Linanthus nuttallii)
South Puyallup Trail, Mt. Rainier N.P. 7/2015.
This fragrant phlox relative, sporting distinctive needle-like leaves, appears to be relatively common in alpine and subalpine areas in much of the western U.S. (more…)
Elegant Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium elegans)
Marmot Pass, Buckhorn Wilderness, 7/2017.
We found this version of Jacob’s Ladder in the stark, rocky, alpine zone of Marmot Pass at the eastern edge of the Olympic Mountains, along with phlox, cutleaf fleabane (see third photo), and moss campion. (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…)
Sidebells (Pyrola secunda)
Union Creek Trail, William O. Douglas Wilderness, WA, 7/2014.
Although perhaps the least showy of the pyrolas, the tell-tale curved stalk is endearing when repeated in a grouping, explaining it’s common name of sidebells or one-sided wintergreen. (more…)
Wood Nymph (Moneses uniflora)
Deer Mountain Trail, Ketchikan, AK, 7/2017.
Some books put this plant in the Pyrola (wintergreen) genus, while others give it it’s own: Moneses. (more…)
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