[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…
[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_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_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…
[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,…
[caption id="attachment_1611" align="alignleft" width="226"] Maiden Blue-eyed Mary[/caption] The tiny-flowered Maiden Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora Lindl.) is native to most of western North America and to Michigan, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island.…
[caption id="attachment_1602" align="alignleft" width="237"] Seed head with prickly seeds[/caption] The Curve-seed Butterwort (Ceratocephala testiculata (Crantz) Roth) is a member of the Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae) which is native to Eurasia, but has become invasive throughout much…
[caption id="attachment_1592" align="alignleft" width="300"] Cusick’s RockcressBoechera cusickii (S. Watson) Al-Shehbaz[/caption] A member of Brassicaceae (Mustard Family), the Cusick's Rockcress (Boechera cusickii (S. Watson) Al-Shehbaz) is found in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada. It was formerly…
Today along Duvall Bridge Road I spotted a single plant that caught my attention. It was unlike anything I had seen before. At first I let my imagination run wild and guessed it might be…
[caption id="attachment_1046" align="alignleft" width="300"] Overhead branches of Overcup Oak[/caption] Yesterday, I went out to the location along Millrace Road where I spotted the putative hybrid (Quercus lyrata X Quercus ????). The road serves as the…
[caption id="attachment_928" align="alignleft" width="640"] This is a North Red Oak Acorn found near Shenandoah National Park[/caption] My quest for the Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra L.) acorn on the North Tract continues. One of my…
Today, I re-visited a site about 200 feet off of Sweet Gum Lane where I spotted a small colony of Saul's Oak (Quercus ×saulii C.K. Schneid. [alba × montana]) last year. I wanted to see…
[caption id="attachment_965" align="alignleft" width="300"] Tree by the side of the road - Skyline Drive[/caption] [caption id="attachment_963" align="alignleft" width="300"] Pine Cone, note that the cone is directly attached to the branch and the prickly cone.[/caption] [caption…