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Western Trillium - Trillium ovatum, Lily Family (Liliaceae). Perrennial, bulbous rhizome, plant 6-18″ tall, 3 whorled leaves, 3 white petals which turn to pink and then to rose-red with age.  Blooms in early spring in the Cascade Mts to the Coast and in the Blue Mts. in N.E. Or.  Picking trilliums removes all the leaves and this may kill the plant.  This is the “Easter Lily” of my youth and it will always be one of my favorites.  Photo:  Rainier, Or. 3/21/2005

Creek Trillium “Pseudotrillium rivale”. Lily Family (Liliaceae), Perennial, bulbous rhizome, plant 2-6″ tall, 3 whorled leaves, 3 white petals with pink or purplish spotting.  Spring blooming in rocky serpentine soils in the Siskiyou Mts of S.E. Or.  Previously listed as a trillium but it has recently been placed in its own genus.  Photo:  Darlingtonia Trail Wayside near Cave Junction, Or.  4/28/2007

Red Flowering Currant “Ribes sanguineum” Gooseberry Family (Grossulariaceae). Perennial, shrub 4-8′ tall, flowers deep red to white, late spring in open areas from the Cascade Mts. of Or. & Wa. to the coast. The blue-black berries are insipid. Lewis & Clark collected this plant while camping near present day Prescott, Or. on 2/27/1806 Photo: Salem, Or. 3/29/05

Fairy-slipper “Calypso bulbosa” Orchid Family (Orchididaceae) Perennial, bulbous corm with a single basal leaf, plant 3-7″ tall.  Petals usually reddish purple fading with age and fragrant but definately not for picking. Found west of Cascades and Blue Mts in Or & Wa and around the world in Northern latitudes.  Photo:  Waters Creek near Selma, Or in S.W. Or  4/13/2005

Bell Catchfly “Silene campanulata” Pink Family (Caroyphyllaceae)  Perennial, plant 6-15″ tall, leaves sessile (without stems), calyx enlarged and tubular, flowers white to greenish and sometimes pink. Blooms summer in wooded areas in S.W. Oregon.  Photo:  Rough and Ready Wayside near Cave Junction in S.E. Or   4/13/2005

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Hall’s Violet “Viola hallii”  Violet Family (Violaceae)  Perrenial, plant 3-9″ tall, leaves divided into many segments, flowers have purple upper petals and yellow to white lower petals.  Blooms in the spring in rocky areas in S.W. Oregon,  Photo:  Rough and Ready Wayside near Cave Junction, Or. 4/13/2005

Shaggy Flowered Horkelia “Horkelia congesta”  Rose Family (Rosaceae) Perennial, plant 8-18″ tall, leaves basal and fern like, flowers white approx 0.5″ in diameter.  Blooms in dry open areas in late spring in Western Oregon.  Photo:  Near Cave Junction in S.W. Oregon  4/13/2005

Wedge-leaved Violet “Viola cunneata” Violet Family (Violaceae) Perennial, plant 4-8″ tall, flower white with yellow throat, purple streaked on the front, dark purple spots on side petals and streaked with purple on the back.  Blooms in late spring in rocky of S.W. Oregon.  Photo:  Near Selma, Or.  4/13/2005

Cougar “Puma concolor”  Adult males can be 8 or more feet long from nose to the tip of their tail and weigh 130 to 150 pounds.  Females are approximately 7 feet long and 90 to 110 pounds.  Home ranges are 15 to 45 square miles and they generally travel 5 or 6 miles when they are out hunting.  Reportedly they can a vertical leap of 20 feet from a standing start.  In the Pacific Northweat, they are generally seen in mountainous areas.  Photo:  The Oregon Zoo in Portland, OR  5/20/2007

Common Tarweed “Madia elegans” Sunflower Family  (Asteraceae)  Annual, 6-36″ tall, ray flowers lobed and yellow, often with a maroon blotch at the base.  The disk flowers contain the stamens and the ray flowers form the seeds.  Blooms in early summer and on into fall in dry exposed areas in Western Oregon.  Photo:  Along the Rogue River 4/14/2005