Ghost Flower (Monotropa uniflora) is a fleshy saprophytic perennial in the heath family. Other common names include Indian-pipe, corpse plant and ice plant. It has no green leaves, does not produce chlorophyl, and can’t photosynthesize. It takes its food from decaying material on the forest floor. Fleshy white stems may be whitish-pinkish at first but turn white, then black. … Continue reading →
Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) is a perennial which grows from a long taproot and a woody base. Basal leaves appear in spring, but wither in summer. Fleshy pinkish showy flowers appear on short stalks, mostly hiding any linear leaves. The flowers have 15 narrow petals and 6 to 9 sepals. Small seed capsules form in summer. The flowers open … Continue reading →
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) is a native evergreen perennial found in our mid-elevation to sub-alpine forests. It has a woody base and spreads by rhizomes. A whorl of 4 – 7 leaves grows at the tops of stems. The leaves have parallel veins and are shaped somewhere from oval to elliptical. The undersides are whitish. An inflorescence … Continue reading →
Meadow death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum) is a perennial that grows from a scaly bulb, similar to an onion. In early spring, the first basal leaves appear, usually in open spots. The leaves are narrow and linear with a V-shape, with a “keel.” The inflorescence has short floral stalks with many star-like white-yellowish flowers rising to a peak. The flowers have an … Continue reading →
Few-flowered shooting stars (Dodecatheon pulchellum sp. now Dodacatheon pauciflora) are native perennial wildflowers in the primrose family (Primulaceae) that bloom in April and May in our area. From fibrous root stocks, leafless stems grow up to 40 cm. A rosette of mostly glabrous lanceolate leaves taper off below the inflorescence. The purple to lavender flowers are complex, but … Continue reading →
Lemonweed or Stoneseed (Lithospermum ruderale) is a spring-flowering perennial found in the dry grasslands and open forests at lower elevations. From a woody taproot, several hairy stems grow up to 1 – 1.5 m. Lanceolate or linear leaves grow alternately up the stems. The inflorescence has clusters of small yellow flowers, with a pale yellow corolla and petals fused … Continue reading →
Field chickweed (Cerastium arvense) is a mat-forming perennial in the pinks (Caryophyllaceae) family found in many areas of our region. Slender stems grow from rhizomes. Narrow hairy leaves and slender hairy stems may rise to 40 cm. Chickweed is quite variable, but we usually see a single white flower or a cluster of several flowers, with 5 white notched … Continue reading →
Yellow bells (Fritillaria pudica) are low-growing perennials found in the grasslands in early spring. They are part of the lily family. They grow from scaly bulbs and many have several small corms. The stems rise to about 15-25 cm. Lanceolate-linear leaves are usually in opposite pairs. A yellow bell-shaped drooping flower sometimes has a faint purple ring near … Continue reading →
Sagebrush buttercups (Ranunculus glaberrimus) are early-blooming perennial herbs found in many habitats in our area. Sagebrush buttercups grow from thick, fleshy woody bases and emerge with low-growing, fleshy, lobed basal leaves with several short stems. All buttercups have shiny, reflective yellow flowers with 5 petals and sepals, although we have spotted many sagebrush buttercups with multiple petals … Continue reading →
Cutleaf anemone (Anemone multifida) is a perennial herb in the buttercup family (along with pasqueflowers at higher elevations). They tend to clump with a thick woody base and they usually have multiple stems. The lower leaves are hairy, segmented and have incised leaflets. Long, soft, hairy stems are topped with white, yellowish, or pinkish sepals, often tinged with purple, red, … Continue reading →
