Clustered Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium fasciculatum)
Weldon Wagon Wheel Trail, WA 5/2022.
We nearly passed up this rare orchid, well camouflaged within inches of the trail. This single plant with a pair of intricate nodding slipper flowers was the prize of a blustery May hike on a flower covered ridge just north of the Columbia Gorge. (more…)
White Shooting Star (Dodecatheon dentatum)
Elowah Falls, Columbia River Gorge, OR. 5/2021.
Elated to discover multiple specimens of this unusual White Shooting Star growing out of a dripping wet cliffside in the Columbia Gorge! (more…)
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…)
Showy Phlox (Phlox speciosa)
Dalles Mountain Road, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2014.
Unlike the phlox we commonly see carpeting gravelly windswept mountain passes, the p. speciosa variety is a taller plant found in open woods and meadows at low elevation , often mixed with other grassland flowers. (more…)
Vanilla Leaf (Achlys triphylla)
Three Corner Rock Trail, Skamania County, WA, 5/2020.
It’s nearly impossible to hike in the Cascades without recognizing large drifts of this common plant in the understory, but nearly as rare is seeing it in bloom. (more…)
Thick-leaf Thelypody (Thelypodium laciniatum var. laciniatum)
Lyle Cherry Orchard Trailhead, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2016.
This early bloomer is only found in dry rocky sites at lower and middle elevations. In fact, most of the photos we’ve seen of this uncommon plant have it springing directly from a rock face. (more…)
Striped Coralroot (Corallorhiza striata)
Hamilton Mountain Trail, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2015.
We find coral roots, except for this striped species, faithful companions that reward those that closely scan the pine-needle floors throughout the wilderness areas of the Pacific Northwest. (more…)
Northwestern Twayblade (Listera caurina)
Larch Mountain, Columbia Gorge, OR, 6/2016.
Although Twayblades are not uncommon (especially for an orchid), (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…)
Columbia Lewisia (Lewisia columbiana)
Silver Star Mountain, Columbia Gorge, WA, 7/2017.
This member of the purslane family prefers rocky cliffs, making it difficult to get good close-ups of it without risking life and limb. (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…)
Columbia Gorge Daisy (Erigeron oreganus)
McCord Creek Falls Trail, Columbia Gorge, OR 6/2013.
Look for these on the cliff trail approaching upper McCord Creek Falls in June.
Rock Penny Cress (Thlaspi fendleri var. glaucum)
Silver Star Mountain, WA, 5/2015.
When the flowers are closed, it’d be easy to mistake this mustard family member for a clover of some sort. (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…)
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…)
Great Hound’s Tongue (Cynoglossum grande)
Mitchell Point Trail, Columbia Gorge, OR, 3/2015.
Not sure why both the genus name and the common name refer to a dog’s tongue (the leaves?). (more…)
Sicklepod Rockcress (Arabis sparsiflora)
Dalles Mountain Road, Columbia Gorge, WA, 4/2014.
Many books/botanists now classify this as Boechera sparsiflora.
Snow Queen (Synthyris reniformis)
Silver Falls State Park, OR, 5/2014.
There are nine species in the Synthyris genus. Four appear in the Pacific Northwest. Only two appear in the Columbia Gorge (more…)
Cliff Paintbrush (Castilleja rupicola)
McCord Creek Falls, Columbia Gorge, OR, 4/2014.
This is one of the easier paintbrush varieties to identify (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…)
Gold Stars (Crocidium multicaule)
Lyle Cherry Orchard, Columbia Gorge, WA , 2/2015.
These charming members of the aster family, and the senecio (groundsel) tribe, bloom in early spring, usually in large groups. (more…)
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