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…)
Tweedy’s Lewisia (Lewisia tweedyi)
Chiwaukum Creek Trail, Wenatchee NF, WA, 5/2017.
The largest member of the Lewisia family grows at low and mid-elevations almost exclusively in the Wenatchee Mountains in central Washington. Frank Tweedy, a botanist with the US Geological Survey stumbled upon this beauty while working with the Northern Pacific Railway in 1882. (more…)
Small-flowered Godetia (Clarkia purpurea)
Saddle Mountain Trail, Saddle Mountain State Natural Area, OR, 6/2015.
Looking very much like its better know relative Farewell-to-spring (Clarkia amoena), (more…)
Mountain Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium montanum)
Badger Creek Trail, Badger Creek Wilderness, OR 5/2016.
This rare orchid is a special treat if you can find it. (more…)
Harsh Paintbrush (Castilleja hispida)
Near Memaloose Viewpoint, Columbia Gorge, OR, 5/2014.
The many different species of this genus of the figwort family are notoriously hard to distinguish from one another, even for botanists. (more…)
Naked Broomrape (Orobanche uniflora var. purpurea)
Tom McCall Nature Preserve, Columbia Gorge, OR, 3/2015.
Look closely for these tiny flowers, but don’t expect to find any leaves. (more…)
Yakima Milk-vetch (Astragalus reventiformis)
Dalles Mountain Road, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2014.
Yakima is the name of a group or tribe of Native Americans who live in Washington state. (more…)
Upland Larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum)
Rowena Plateau, Tom McCall Nature Preserve, Columbia Gorge, OR, 3/2015.
If you’re seeing larkspur now (early spring) in the Northwest, chances are that it’s this variety. Also called “Common Larkspur”. (more…)
Sicklepod Rockcress (Arabis sparsiflora)
Dalles Mountain Road, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2014.
Many books/botanists now classify this as Boechera sparsiflora.
Hood’s Phlox (Phlox hoodi)
Dalles Mountain Road, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2014.
Phlox is Greek for “flame” (apparently named after a bright red variety). (more…)
