We hiked a number of trails in the dry Central area of Washington State in April, camping at State Parks, and going out each day to hike new-to-us trails.    One of the trails we enjoyed started in Swakane Canyon in the Swakane State Wildlife Area north of Wenatchee.  We wound up onto open ridges above the Columbia River.

We hiked along the ridge and were surprised by finding Tweedy’s Lewisia in bloom.   It is an endemic herbaceous perennial  found in spots in north-central Washington and occasionally in northern Manning Park and Cathedral Park in B.C.   They are typically found on south-facing rocky slopes with good drainage.    The deep taproots prefer to be under rocks or logs to assist with summer heat and dry conditions.   They can be spotted in open forests or on rock ledges, but they are rarely seen by most hikers.

Lewisiopsis tweedyi has large, thick, and fleshy taproots.   The stems grow from 0.2 to 0.4 m and large showy salmon-pink-yellowish flowers bloom in spring.   It is related to another bitterroot which grows in our area (Lewisia redviva).

All photos by the author.    Click an image for a lightbox (larger) view:

This perennial doesn’t transplant well and the seed is hard to propagate, but some nurseries have been successful in developing some varietals for home gardens (we have some of these).

This was a unexpected wildflower to spot and we were quite surprised by the showy flowers on dry ridges.