American Speedwell (Veronica americana)
Devil’s Rest Trail, Columbia River Gorge, OR, 7/2020.
We often encounter the tiny four-petaled blue flowers of the Veronica genus on our hikes in a variety of settings. (more…)
Sticky Cinquefoil (Potentilla glandulosa)
Badger Creek Wilderness, OR, 5/2016.
In the early 2000s, through DNA identification and global research advances, a few of the Cinquefoils, including this common lower elevation meadow flower, were moved from the Potentilla genus to the new Drymocallis genus. To date all three Drymocallis species’ share the trait of being ‘protocarnivorous.’ (more…)
Idaho Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium idahoense)
Willow Creek Nature Preserve, Eugene, OR, 5/2016.
This is the most common of the bashful blue-eyed grasses we encounter, (more…)
Scabland Penstemon (Penstemon deustus)
Cone Peak Trail, Willamette National Forest, OR, 6/2019.
Amazingly….we continue to find more northwest penstemons! This one is unique in its stems of creamy white rather than the traditional purple, pink, or blue flowers (more…)
Clasping Leaf Twisted-stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius)
Royal Basin trail, Olympic National Park, 7/2016.
This is the most common of the 3 twisted-stalks in our region. (more…)
Varileaf Phacelia (Phacelia heterophylla)
Horse Rock Ridge Trail, OR, 6/2016.
We found this Varileaf phacelia specimen at the lower edge of its elevation range (more…)
Sidebells (Pyrola secunda)
Union Creek Trail, William O. Douglas Wilderness, WA, 7/2014.
Although perhaps the least showy of the pyrolas, the tell-tale curved stalk is endearing when repeated in a grouping, explaining it’s common name of sidebells or one-sided wintergreen. (more…)
Oregon Anemone (Anemone oregana)
Crescent Mountain Trail, Willamette National Forest, OR, 6/2017.
Thanks to Ross & Chambers’ classic Wildflowers of the Western Cascades (a flora of Iron Mountain which, coincidentally, is just a few miles west on Oregon Highway 20 from where these pictures were taken), we now can differentiate Anemone oregana from the very similar lyallii. (more…)
Western Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceolata)
Cone Peak Trail, Willamette National Forest, OR, 6/2017.
Spring Beauties are part of a group of plants sometimes called “spring ephemerals”, also including Blue-Eyed Grass, that harness the insulating properties of winter snowfall to send a shoot up from their underground bulb through the cold wet soil, during winter (more…)
Cutleaf Fleabane (Erigeron compositus)
Marmot Pass, Buckhorn Wilderness, WA, 7/2017.
These pretty daisies were among many flowers blooming on Marmot Pass during our July visit. (more…)
Large-flowered Collomia (Collomia grandiflora)
Major Creek Road, Columbia Gorge, WA. 5/2017.
This stalk of small flowers stands out for its unusual salmon color and contrasting blue pollen. It grows in dry sandy soils west of the Continental Divide. (more…)
Hooded Ladies Tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana)
Eden Park Trail, Mt. Hood Wilderness, OR, 8/2016.
We stumbled across this fen of Ladies Tress orchids in the moist alpine meadows of Mt. Hood’s north side in late August. (more…)
Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor)
Hamilton Mountain Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA 6/2016.
This flowering shrub, a mainstay along roads and trailsides throughout the west, begins blooming in June at lower elevations (like our photos here) and peaks in July and August at higher elevations. (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)
Lyle Cherry Orchard Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA 4/2016.
Look closely for these tiny flowers, but don’t expect to find any leaves. (more…)
Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
Bridalveil Falls State Park, Columbia Gorge, OR, 4/2015.
This prevalent plant’s common name refers to its alleged nourishment for miners living in the wilds, far from civilization. (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…)
Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
Along Redwood Creek, Redwoods N.P., California, 8/2014.
Introduced to this continent from Europe, so that its roots could be used as a coffee substitute. (more…)
White Western Groundsel (Senecio integerrimus var. ochroleucus)
Starvation Ridge Trail, Columbia Gorge, OR, 5/2014.
Varying in color from white to yellow, this single-stemmed plant concentrates alkaloids from the soil, causing it to be poisonous to cattle in its later stages. Also known as Paleyellow Ragwort.
Star-Flowered Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina stellata)
Silver Falls State Park, OR, 5/2014.
Also called Star-Flowered False Solomon’s Seal, and Starry Solomon’s Plume. (more…)
Woodland Phacelia (Phacelia nemoralis)
Horsethief Butte, Columbia Hills State Park, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2014.
This strange looking plant is not, as one might guess, related to Fiddleneck, but rather a member of the waterleaf family. (more…)
Baneberry (Actaea rubra)
Hamilton Mountain Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA, 5/2014.
This member of the buttercup family is seen at all elevations across most of the the Northeast, North-central, and Western U.S. (more…)
Pinesap (Hypopitys monotropa)
Timberline trail near McNeil point, Mount Hood, OR, 8/2014.
Along with Mertens’ Coral Root, one of the more common, and less attractive of the chlorophyll lacking plants in northwest forests. (more…)
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