It is easy to miss the flowering of field chickweed in spring. The low-growing herbs have small flowers and the blooms appear among many of the more noticeable wildflowers, but we stop to admire the semi-transparent petals, arranged around a … Continue reading →
We usually run into mountain forget-me-nots while hiking through alpine meadows. Our first encounter is at lower elevations (Neskonlith Meadows in April), then later in subalpine locations like the alpine meadows on Tod Mountain, in the Marble Range, and in … Continue reading →
A new video now available on YouTube: In 2019, the first arrivals appeared on the first day of spring.
Continue reading →We usually encounter pink monkeyflower in seep zones, seasonal stream channels, and wet meadows in subalpine areas in the mountains in summer. The first time I ran into mimulus lewisii in flower was in 1969 when I hiked around Helm … Continue reading →
We look forward to spotting paintbrush as we hike the trails in late spring and summer. The showy bright red bracts symbolize the arrival of warm weather and the beauty of summer flower meadows. Castilleja miniata or common paintbrush is … Continue reading →
Milkweed emerges in disturbed areas, on the rivershore above the high water mark, and along the sides of paths looking weedy and primitive. When the flowerheads start to emerge we are then reminded of the showy exotic-looking flowers and … Continue reading →
When chicory first emerges, it is not noticed, unobvious with the surge of spring growth, and unremarkable in early stages. It is only when the flowers appear that we stop to notice the weedy-looking plant. In tight clusters chicory can … Continue reading →
Shrubby penstemon is one of the finest flowering shrubs of our area, a welcome sight in late spring and summer. Penstemon fruticosas is a low-growing evergreen shrub (or subshrub) that grows on open, rocky hillsides in our area. Many branches … Continue reading →
Moneses uniflora or one flowered wintergreen is a perennial that grows from rhizomes to a woody base and a stalk of up to 10 cm. Evergreen oval thin veined basal leaves cover the base. Flowers form on leafless, nodding … Continue reading →
In late spring, larkspur grows rapidly on open slopes, providing blue and purple blossoms to complement the yellows and whites of spring. Delphinium nutallianum is a perennial that grows from a tuberous, branched fleshy root system. A single stalk grows … Continue reading →
Marsh Skullcap (scutellaria galericulata) was spotted at two local lakes – Scuitto Lake then at Bleeker Lake, mostly growing on old logs and stumps submersed in the water. In mid-August they were in bloom and with some maneovering of my … Continue reading →
The blooming period for bitterroot (lewisia reviva) is late May in our area. I have encountered it near Ashcroft (Elephant Hill and Black Canyon) and it is known to be found between Ashcroft and Spences Bridge so I picked a … Continue reading →
