[caption id="attachment_1811" align="alignleft" width="300"] Plants in habit[/caption] Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) is an aromatic evergreen shrub from the Aster Family (Asteraceae). It is native to Intermountain West of North America, thriving in arid and…
[caption id="attachment_1803" align="alignleft" width="300"] Plants in habit[/caption] Descurainia pinnata (Walter) Britton is a member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) known as the Western Tansymustard. It is an annual native to North America and is found…
[caption id="attachment_1774" align="alignleft" width="300"] Typical mat growing habit of the low pussytoes.[/caption] The Low Pussytoes (Antennaria dimorpha (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray) is a mat-forming low growing perennial member of the Aster family (Asteraceae) which…
[caption id="attachment_1788" align="alignleft" width="244"] Wingnut Cryptantha[/caption] The Wingnut Cryptantha (Cryptantha pterocarya (Torr.) Greene) is a diminutive spring blooming annual of the Forget-me-not Family (Boraginaceae) that is commonly found in uplands and sagebrush deserts in the…
[caption id="attachment_1687" align="alignleft" width="270"] Showy PhloxPhlox speciosa Pursh[/caption] The Showy Phlox (Phlox speciosa Pursh) is found in Western North America from British Columbia to Northern Mexico. It is absent from Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. In…
The Wooly-pod Milkvetch (Astragalus purshii Dougl. ex Hook.) is a variable species of the Legume Family (Fabaceae) that ranges throughout much of Western North America with several recognized varieties. Three of the varieties are native…
Like the Sagebrush Buttercup, the Inflated Grass Widow (Olsynium douglasii (A. Dietr.) E.P. Bicknell var. inflatum (Suksd.) Cholewa & Douglass M. Hend.) is a harbinger of spring for nature lovers in Spokane. They were in full…
[caption id="attachment_1398" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sagebrush Buttercup[/caption] The Sagebrush Buttercup (Ranunculus glaberrimus Hook.) is a small buttercup that is found in the interior western North America. It ranges from Central British Columbia and Saskatchewan on the…
Camp Caro brings back a lot of memories for me. I spent a lot of time in the Dishman Hills when I was younger and Camp Caro was the place that I entered the Dishman…
[caption id="attachment_1433" align="alignleft" width="300"] Arrowleaf Balsamroot[/caption] The Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.) is perhaps the showiest spring flower in the short bunchgrass and Ponderosa Pine communities around Spokane. A member of the Aster Family…
[caption id="attachment_1539" align="alignleft" width="300"] Entrance to Arbor Crest[/caption] The first this I did this morning was to drive over to Riblet's Point to check things out. There is a mansion on the point which is…
[caption id="attachment_1738" align="alignright" width="300"] A full view[/caption] The Thinleaf Alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench ssp. tenuifolia (Nutt.) Breitung) is a subspecies of alder that is found in Western North America from Alaska, Yukon, and…
[caption id="attachment_1411" align="alignleft" width="300"] Bill at Iller Creek Trailhead Entrance[/caption] While driving around the Valley (Spokane Valley) with my son and grandson, I showed my son some places that I used to spend a lot…
[caption id="attachment_1396" align="alignleft" width="300"] Spokane River as seen from Summit Boulevard[/caption] We arrived in Spokane in the late afternoon, and had some time to take a walk above the Spokane River. The path was along…
[caption id="attachment_1661" align="alignleft" width="216"] Slender Phlox[/caption] The tiny-flowered Slender Phlox (Microsteris gracilis (Hook.) Greene) is a spring blooming ephemeral commonly found in Western North America from Mexico to Canada, with outlying populations in Illinois. There…
[caption id="attachment_1706" align="alignleft" width="259"] Rainier Violet[/caption] The Rainier Violet, Three-nerved Violet, or Sagebrush Violet (Viola trinervata (Howell) Howell ex A. Gray) is endemic to Oregon and Washington and thrives in moist sagebrush flats and rocky…
[caption id="attachment_1640" align="alignleft" width="235"] One flower blooming and two still in bud[/caption] The Bulbous Woodland Star (Lithophragma glabrum Nutt.) stands out like little sprites where it grows. It is found from British Columbia, Alberta, and…
On our way to Spokane from Bellevue, we stopped off at Ryegrass Summit on Interstate 90 to stretch our legs and to check out the local flora. My grandson William was a little helper and…
[caption id="attachment_1623" align="alignleft" width="207"] Yellow bellFritillaria pudica (Pursh) Spreng -[/caption] Yellow bell (Fritillaria pudica (Pursh) Spreng) is a spring ephemeral flower found in the grasslands, sagebrush desert, to mixed Ponderosa Pine/conifier forest communities in the…
[caption id="attachment_1670" align="alignleft" width="300"] Close-up of a flower[/caption] Hood's Phlox (Phlox hoodii Richardson) is a highly variable, widespread species found in Western North America from Alaska to Northern Mexico on the west to Manitoba, Nebraska,…