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…)
Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii)
Lower Table Rock, BLM Medford district, Oregon, 4/2018.
Although the flowers were quite small (less than 0.5 inches in diameter), we still believe the Nemophila we found growing among the grasses near the seasonal vernal pools on top of Table Rock a few weeks back are of the fairly common menziesii species (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…)
Tolmie’s Mariposa Lily (Calochortus tolmiei)
Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Dallas, OR, 5/2017.
This low elevation west-side species of Calochortus is notable for the extreme hairiness inside the flower. More than other Mariposa lilies (“butterfly” in spanish), (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…)
Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale)
Near Eight-Dollar Mountain, Selma, OR, 4/2015.
In the same southern Oregon fen where we found the unusual pitcher plant, these amazing flowering shrubs were just beginning to bloom. (more…)
Scouler’s Bluebell (Campanula scouleri)
Hamilton Mountain Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA, 6/2015.
This small, unassuming woodland flower does not immediately seem similar to its more common relative, rotundiflora. (more…)
Tooth-leaved Monkeyflower (Mimulus dentatus)
St. Perpetua Trail, Cape Perpetua State Park, OR, 5/2015.
We’ve been seeing a lot of these on recent hikes–both in the gorge and on the coast. (more…)
Copperbush (Elliottia pyroliflora)
Saddle Mountain Trail, Saddle Mountain State Natural Area, OR, 6/2015.
We were shocked and disappointed that not one of our many wildflower guides featured this native flowering shrub. (more…)
Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima)
Yachats State Recreation Area, Yachats, OR, 5/2015.
These seemed so colorful and prevalent around Yachats and Cape Perpetua last weekend, (more…)
Tomcat Clover (Trifolium willdenovii)
Catherine Creek Trail, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, WA. 4/2013.
Also known as Sand Clover, it was formerly named tridentatum. Named after Carl Ludwig Willdenow (1765-1812), a German botanist.
Phantom Orchid (Eburophyton austiniae)
King’s Mountain Trail, Tillamook NF, Oregon, 7/2015.
This rare, endangered plant is only found in the rich soils of shady pacific northwest forests. (more…)
Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)
Hamilton Mountain Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA, 7/2014.
This mint family member is found throughout the U.S. at low and mid elevations in moist woods or meadows. (more…)
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
Near Memaloose Viewpoint, Columbia Gorge, OR, 5/2014.
The edible berries of this shrub vary in taste. (more…)
Windflower (Anemone deltoidea)
Rainy Lake Road, Columbia Gorge, OR, 6/2014.
The genus name comes from the Greek anemos, meaning “wind”, so technically all anemones are “wind flowers,” but this is the only western variety that is usually called by that name. (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…)
Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
Bluff Lake Trail, Yakama Nation, Mt. Adams , WA, 8/2013.
We’ve been hiking on Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and in the Gorge the last few weeks and have been seeing these everywhere, usually in large bunches. We’ve seen them on roadsides, trail sides and lower-elevation meadows.
Yellow Water Lily (Nuphar polysepalum)
Burnt Lake, Mount Hood N.F., OR, 7/2013.
Like some other water plants (including rice) the water lily gives off alcohol instead of carbon dioxide.
California Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica)
Catherine Creek Trail, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, WA. 4/2013.
Named after the Russian-German naturalist and surgeon, Johann Friedrich von Eschsch0ltz. Spanish explorers on the California coast called this flower ‘Copa de Oro’ — cup of gold. The native range of the poppy encompasses the western states and Mexico, and it is the state flower of California, where one sees spectacular displays over entire hills and valleys in the spring. Native Americans used the leaves medicinally. It contains a different class of alkaloids than opium poppies, but its extract is said to have a mild opiate effect when smoked.
Indian Thistle (Cirsium edule)
Young flower head, Thunder Basin, North Cascades N.P., 8/2012.
A lot of thistles are non-native and often invasive. This one is neither. info and another pic…
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