Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa var. arborescens)
The name refers to the bright red berries, not the flowers, which are white, as shown.
Silver Star Mountain, WA, 5/2015.
Orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa)
Dog Mountain, Columbia Gorge, WA, 5/2013.
On a May climb up Dog Mountain, perhaps the classic wildflower hike in the Columbia Gorge, this flowering vine took the prize for the brightest-colored flower we saw. (more…)
Brachted Honeysuckle aka Black Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata)
Banff N.P., Alberta, Canada. 7/2011.
Twinflower (Linnaea borealis)
Olympic NP woodlands. 8/2010.
These paired, delicate, trumpet-shaped flowers are a personal favorite of ours as well as Swedish scientist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), father of modern plant and animal nomenclature (he developed the binomial system of using two Latin names to designate the genus and species) for whom they are named. Linnaeus was so taken with the flowers, he incorporated them into his family crest.
The runners of this trailing evergreen cover the forest floor, and are often found growing from decomposing logs and moss-covered stumps. Kootenay Indians made tea from its leaves.
