We were hiking on remote ridges in the desert hills of Central Washington and decided to try the Swakane Canyon Trail. We climbed out of the canyon onto a high open ridge and came across numerous showy flowers. We didn’t know what they were at the time, but we took a lot of photos. We were fortunate to be at the right spot at exactly the right time to witness cisanthe tweedyi at the height of its blooming period.

• Cistanthe tweedyi is a regional endemic perennial found in the southernmost Interior of B.C. area (inc. locations in Manning Park) and central Washington (directly south).
• The herb is in the purslane family.
• It grows on well-drained soil or on rocky slopes or ponderosa pine or fir forest openings.
• The plant grows from a thick, long, red and fleshy taproot.
• Numerous fleshy, smooth green leaves grow form the base.
• Stems rise up to 20 cm. The showy flowers are usually yellow-pink, coral, or salmon colored.
• The inflorescence has 2 sepals, between 8 and 12 petals, numerous stamens, and one style, all in a cup-shaped blossom.
• Lewisia is drought tolerant, but does not easily grow in low exposed locations.
• All photos taken by the author. Click an image in the gallery for a caption and a larger (lightbox) image.

• The fruit is in a single egg-shaped capsule and it may produce 10 – 20 seeds.
• The flower is also called Tweedy’s pussypaws and Tweedy’s bitterroot.
• This plant was named by Frank Tweedy, a government railway surveyor who was working near Wenatchee in 1882.

We would normally expect to see such a impressive flowering perennial in a nursery or botanical garden, but it grows in wild and remote locations just south of us, waiting for wildlfower enthusiasts to discover.