Thick-leaf Thelypody (Thelypodium laciniatum var. laciniatum)
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…)
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…)
Rock Penny Cress (Thlaspi fendleri var. glaucum)
Silver Star Mountain, WA, 5/2015.
When the flowers are closed, it’d be easy to mistake this mustard family member for a clover of some sort. (more…)
Sicklepod Rockcress (Arabis sparsiflora)
Dalles Mountain Road, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2014.
Many books/botanists now classify this as Boechera sparsiflora.
Dagger Pod (Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides)
Dalles Mountain Road, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2014.
Named after its dagger-like seedpods, this plant’s range extends north to southeast Washington, east to western Idaho and south to northeastern California and western Nevada, but always east of the Cascades and Sierras. (more…)
Honesty (Lunaria annua)
Wahclella Falls Trail (Tanner Creek), Columbia Gorge, OR, 5/2014.
This non-native member of the mustard family appears sporadically across the U.S., but more often in Oregon and Washington. (more…)
Slender Toothwort (Cardamine pulcherrima var. tenella)
Beacon Rock, Columbia Gorge, WA 4/2012.
Couldn’t find much info on this low-elevation member of the mustard family. Wildflowers of the Columbia Gorge notes that it can be found near Beacon Rock in mid-April, which is exactly where and when we found it.
Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum)
Rainy Lake Road, Columbia Gorge, OR, 6/2014.
The name “western” is apt, as this variety appears in every western state, at almost every elevation. (more…)
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