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Yellow Salsify “Tragopogon dubius”  Sunflower Family (Asteraceae) Annual or Biennial, plant 1-3′ tall, stem enlarged just below the flower head, flowers pale yellow and they close when it is night or cloudy, bracts longer than ray flowers, seed heads large and globular and larger than a dandelion. Blooms in summer throughout Or and Wa in disturbed soil and along roadsides.  Weedy plant originally from Europe.   Photo:  Zumwalt Prairie in N.E. Or  6/26/2004

Musk Thistle “Carduus nutans”  Sunflower Family (Asteraceae) Biennial, plant is a basal rosette approx 2 feet in diameter the first year and 2-6 feet tall the second.  Flower are bright purple, 1-3″ in diameter and the solitary heads are often nodding.  Blooms in summer in disturbed soil in Eastern Or & Wa. Introduced from Europe around 1850 and it is listed as a noxious weed.  The butterfly is a Fritillary but a view of the underside of the wing is needed to identify the species.  Photo:  Near Hog Creek in Grant County, Or  7/14/2006

Russian Thistle “Salsola kali” Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae)  Annual, plants 1-4′ tall, stems are green to red, flowers without petals but the bracts are the same color as the stems and are spine-like.  When the plants die, they break loose from their roots and then turn into the more familiar tumbleweeds.  They distribute their approx 50,000 seeds as they travel.  Blooms in late summer in disturbed areas in Eastern Or & Wa.  It is not a native and it is originally from Russia and Siberia.  Photo:  Near Sherars Bridge by the Deschutes River 10/01/2009

Dalmatian Toadflax “Linaria dalmatica” Snapdragon Family (Scrophulariaceae) Perennial, plant 2-4′ tall, leaves blue -green and alternate, bright yellow flowers with closed throats and conspicuous spurs.  Blooms in late spring along roadways in disturbed soils in Or and Wa.  Non-native and invasive.  Photo:  near Catherine Creek, Wa in the Columbia River Gorge  4/20/2005

Buffalo Burr “Solanum rostratum”  Nightshade Family (Solanaceae)  Annual, plant 2-3 feet tall, lobed leaves resemble the watermelon plant, yellow flowers five lobed and aprox 1 inch diameter,  spines on stems and fruits.  Noxious weed from the mid-west and each plant produces approx 8500 seeds.  Photo:  Goble, Or  9/17/2009

Thyme-Thyme-leaf Speedwell “Veronica serpyllifolia” Snapdragon Family “Scrophulariaceae).  Perennial, plant 2-12″ tall, leaves 0.5-1.0″ long, flowers white with blue lines.  Blooms spring-summer in moist areas throughout Or & Wa.  Non-native introduced from Europe.  Photo Near Rainier, Or 5/7/2009

Germander Speedwell “Veronica chamaedrys” Snapdragon Family (Scrophulariaceae).  Perennials, plant 2/18″ tall, leaves hairy and coarsely toothed, flowers dark blue with white centers.  Blooms in lawns Spring-Summer in Western Or & Wa.  Non-native introduced from Europe.  Photo:  Near Rainier, Or 5/7/2009

Creeping Charlie “Glecoma hederacea” Mint Family (Lamiaceae). Perennial, 1-6″ tall, leaves rounded and roughly toothed, flowers two lipped purplish tubes.  Blooms spring in Western Or & Wa and near the Id border in shaded disturbed soils.  Non-native introduced from Europe.  Photo: Near Rainier, OR 5/7/2009

Common St John’s Wort “Hypericum perforatum”  St John’s Wort Family (Hypericaceae).  Perennial, plant 1-4′ tall, leaves oblong to linear, flowers deep yellow and 5 petaled.  Blooms all summer in disturbed areas throughout OR & WA.  Nonnative.   Photo:  Near Rainier, OR 7/18/2008  

Common Teasel “Dipsacus fullonum” Teasel Family (Dipsacaceae).  Biennial, plant 3-6′ tall with cone-shaped flower head, flowers lilac to pink blooming in a ring around the cone, starting at the base and gradually moving up the flower head.  Blooms in the summer in disturbed moist soils at lower elevations through out Or. & Wa.  Introduced from Europe and the seed heads were used to raise the nap on cloth. 

Photo:  Near Rainier, Or. 7/8/2008    © 2008 mkellar