Sea Blush “Plectritis congesta” Valerian Family (Valerianaceae). Annual, plant, 6-20″ tall, pink flowers but occasionally white , grows in wet areas, Cascade Mts. to the coast. Photo: Catherine Creek near Lyle, Wa. in the Columbia River Gorge 3/30/07
Wood Sorrel “Oxalis oregana” Oxallis Family (Oxalidaceae). Perennial, plant 2-8″ tall ground cover on forest floor, flowers 3/4 -1″ in diameter and white to pink. Blooms in spring & summer from the Cascade Mts. to the Coast in Or. & Wa. Photo: Lewis & Clark River near Seaside, Or. 3/17/2007.
Midget Phlox “Phlox gracilis” Phlox family (Polemoniaceae) Annual, plant 2-8″ tall, leaves hairy and 0.5 to 1.0″ long, flower pink to white and approx. 1/8″ in diameter. Blooms spring and summer throughout OR & WA. This flower is small and you may have to look twice to see it. Photo: Upper Table Rock near Medford, Or 3/21/2009
Tall Blue Huckleberry “Vaccinium ovalifolium”, Heath Family (Ericaceae). Deciduous shrub, 5-7 ‘ tall, flowers pink and 3/8″ long appear prior to leaves, early spring in deep woods in Coastal and Cascade Mts. of Or. & Wa. Blue to black edible berry. Photo: Lewis & Clark River near Saddle Mt. in N.W. Or. 3/17/2007
Fetid Adder’s Tongue “Scoliopus hallii”, Lily family (Liliaceae). Perennial, plant 2-5″ tall, flowers approx 1/2″ diameter, sepals yellow and mottled purple, narrow upright petals, early spring in deep shaded woods west of the Cascade Mts. The bright yellow is pollen in an anther that has split open. Photo: Wilson River Hwy near Tillamook, OR 3/13/2009
Henderson’s Fawn Lily “Erythronium hendersonii” Lily Family (Liliaceae). Perennial, corm, plant 6-12″ tall, basal leaves mottled with brown and white, flowers 1-4 with pale lavender petals,. Mid-spring in meadows and mixed woods in the Siskiyous of S.W. Or. Photo: Upper Table Rock near Medford, Or. 3/21/2009
Poet’s Shooting Star “Dodecatheon poeticum”. Primrose family (Primulaceae) Perennial, plant 5-10″ tall, flowers have five swept back rose-purple petals banded at the base with purple, yellow and black. Blooms in early spring in the wet meadows of the Columbia River Gorge. Dodecatheon (12 gods) was coined by Pliny the Elder for a primrose “favored by all the Roman gods”. Photo: Catherine Creek near Lyle, WA in the Columbia River Gorge 3/30/2007
Yellow Bells “Fritillaria pudica” Yellow Bells Lily Family (Liliaceae). Perennial, Small scaly bulbs, plant 4-10″ tall, bright clear yellow flowers turn orange to dull red as they age, early spring in moist areas that dry up in Summer. Cascade Mts. and eastward in Or. & Wa. and the Siskiyous. Photo: Catherine Creek near Lyle, WA in the Columbia River Gorge 3/13/2007
Gray’s Desert Parsley “Lomatium grayi” Parsley Family (Apiaceae). Perennial, plant 8-15″ tall, leaves resemble parsley, flowers bright yellow clusters in an umbel, aromatic but not entirely pleasant. Blooms in early spring in dry rocky soil in Eastern Or. & Wa. Photo: Catherine Creek near Lyle, Wa. 3/31/2007
Columbia Desert Parsley “Lomatium columbianum” Apiaceae (Parsley Family). Perennial, plant 12-30″ tall, leaves dissected and with a bluish cast, flowers in characteristic wine-red clusters. Blooms in early spring in dry rocky soils in the Columbia River Gorge in Or. & Wa. Photo: Catherine Creek near Lyle, Wa. 3/31/2007