Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)
Mirror Lake, Rooster Rock State Park, OR, 7/2015.
The big-heads of this aster family member can be dried, powdered and used as snuff, (more…)
Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera oblongifolia)
South Puyallup Trail, Mt Rainier National Park, WA, 7/2015.
This member of the orchid family is common in conifer woodlands across the west and northwest. (more…)
Fuzzy-tongue Penstemon (Penstemon eriantherus v. argillosus)
Iron Mountain, Willamette National Forest, OR, 6/2016.
These fuzzy-tongue penstemon, display amazing markings to guide pollinators to their nectar. (more…)
Western False Asphodel (Tofieldia glutinosa)
Along the banks of Royal Lake, Olympic N.P., WA, 7/2016.
We’ve probably mistaken these for Death Camas, Bistort, or Valerian on many occasions. (more…)
Sitka Mistmaiden (Romanzoffia sitchensis)
Mary’s Peak, Siuslaw National Forest, 6/2016.
The common name “mistmaiden” is surely appropriate for these delightful flowers. (more…)
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…)
Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus)
Wahclella Falls Trail (Tanner Creek), Columbia Gorge, OR, 5/2015.
This flowering shrub is native to the northwest coast and Cascades (more…)
Kellogg’s Monkeyflower (Diplacus kelloggii)
Viewpoint Mike Trail, Lost Creek Lake, OR, 4/2018.
What a treat to discover these tiny, and possibly somewhat rare, monkeyflowers on the dry grassy slopes among the blooming buckbrush and long-needled ponderosa pines on a recent hike in Southern Oregon! (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…)
Siskiyou Mat aka Dwarf Ceanothus (Ceanothus pumilus)
Illinois River Trail, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, OR, 3/2018.
This is one of two similar ceanothus ground covers whose rugged foliage set it apart from the larger more common trailside shrubs in the buckthorn family, (more…)
