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…)
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…)
Violet Suksdorfia (Suksdorfia violacea)
Castle Rock Trail, Tumwater Canyon, WA. 5/2017
Ran across this single specimen of an uncommon late-spring flower we’d spent days looking for in the Columbia Gorge, (more…)
Western Saxifrage (Saxifraga occidentalis)
Catherine Creek, Columbia Gorge, WA, 2/2015.
Most sources set the bloom time for this common gorge variety in March, but this year we found it at Catherine Creek in mid February! (more…)
Brewer’s Mitrewort (Mitella breweri)
Inlet of “Big” Cougar Lake, William O. Douglas Wilderness, WA, 7/2014.
The name has us thinking of mitrewort beer, but it’s actually named after William Henry Brewer (1828-1910), a prestigious botanist who explored California and the northwest, and has his name on several flowers. (more…)
Youth-on-age (Tolmiea menziesii)
Cascade Head Nature Preserve, OR, 4/2014.
This odd-looking member of the saxifrage family occurs almost exclusively in the western portion of the Northwest U.S. and Canada. (more…)
Northwestern Saxifrage (Saxifraga integrifolia)
Coyote Wall Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA, 3/2014.
The Latin word saxifraga means, literally, “rock splitter”. (more…)
Fringecup (Tellima grandiflora)
Dog Mountain, Columbia Gorge, WA, 5/2013.
While it can be found inland, as above, this plant, along with Youth-on-Age, is one of the only saxifrages one sees on coastal hikes. (more…)
Rusty Saxifrage (Saxifraga ferruginea)
Ed’s Trail, Silver Star Mountain, WA 6/2013.
Three or four of the five petals on these small flowers are larger than the others and sport yellow dots. The anthers are bright orange. The leaves are oval and toothed. The reddish central capsule is what gives the flower its common name. (more…)
Small-flowered Prarie Star (Lithophragma parviflora)
Grassy Knoll Trailhead, Columbia Gorge, WA 5/2013.
Lithophragma means “stone breaker” in Greek, similar to its Latin family name Saxifraga which means “rock splitter”. (more…)
