In Bloom in Gopher Valley

Welcome to the Wildflower Page

As always, please ask permission if you want to use any of the photos (via the contact form).

2015

Flowers blooming this year are below with dates. If you scroll down you will see more photos from previous seasons. From 2015 I will be tracking the phenology (timing of development of the plant, bloom, seed production, senescence) by adding photos with dates.

Chocolate lily – Fritillaria afinis. Found a new plant of this species this year, so we have 2! Hope to see more pop up as time goes on. 4/10/15

This has a protective brush pile around it to deflect deer (lost the flower the first year in one bite). Seems to be working. This one is in full shade, but oddly at the same stage of development as the other in sun. 4/10/15

Below photos are roughly in reverse order of bloom time (later first). These are from previous years.

Early August, late July. Depending on how hot and dry the microclimate, the tarweeds are in various stages of bloom or seed.

Tarweed (Madia sp) smells like the name. I like the resinous stink, but for some it’s never an acquired aroma. This one is possibly M. glomerata. A showier one, Madia elegans was an important food plant for Indians in the valley and throughout its range in California, where the seeds were harvested.

Tarweed (Madia sp., possibly glomerata)

Madia plant

Madia flower early bloom

Madia seeds are easily released from head, and may be lost if not collected soon after ripening

After a long lead-up since late spring, the rein orchids are in full bloom in mid July. By the end of the month, they will be done blooming and making seeds. See more photos in the post: Highlight of the Season in Bloom!

Rein orchid – elegant Piperia (P. elegans) mid July

Orchid leaves – Feb

Harvest Brodiaeas dot the grassy spaces in early July, many appeared this year where none were blooming before.

Harvest Brodiaea (B. coronaria)

Harvest brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria)

Characteristic uneven branches on fruits of B. coronaria; seeds and individual fruit at top

Green fruit with seeds extracted. Seeds should be thoroughly ripe and dry before storage or planting

I prefer Tom’s name for the meadow checkermallow: fairy princesses. Naturalized ones blooming on June 25.

Homegrown meadow checkermallow (S. campestris)

Sidalcea campestris seedling/spring shoot – March

Meadow checkermallow seed heads with  “cheese wheel” seeds

Late June:  self heal (Prunella vulgaris) – goes well with Oregon sunshine

Prunella

Prunella vulgaris – self-heal – fruits

Prunella seeds and individual ‘husks’

June: seeds forming, things are drying out a bit.

Slender clarkia (C. gracilis)

Slender clarkia (C. gracilis)

Small flowered Clarkia (C. purpurea ssp. quadrivulnera)

Slender Clarkia (left) and small-flowered Clarkia (right) seeds and fruit

Giant seeds on giant cow parsnip

Palmate leaves (centrally attached leaflets radiating out) of P. gracilis. P. glandulosa has pinnate leaves (opposite leaflets along the stem)

Slender cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis)

Oregon Sunshine! (Eriophyllum lanatum) aptly named

Oregon Sunshine

Oregon sunshine leaves among the yarrow leaves

Oregon sunshine (E. lanatum) seeds; head with mature seed

Yerba buena (Satureja douglasii) A fragrant woodland ground cover

Fool’s onion (Triteleia hyacinthina) yet another lily family plant

Triteleia fruit

Triteleia fr and seeds

Late May gems: purple sanicle, ookow (another lily), mariposa lily, and western star flower.

Early May: camas lilies (Camassia leichtlinii) scattered in the woods and wet ravines, rose checkermallow (Sidalcea virgata)  in the planted plots of nectar plants. Almost time to collect seeds of April bloomers: western buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis) and fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum).

Purple sanicle (Sanicula bipinnatidifa)

Sanicula leaves

Ookow (Dichelostemma congestum) One of several lily family species Indians used traditionally for food

Ookow (D. congestum) fruit and seeds

May 18, 2012 – Buttercups galore. Ranunculus occidentale in early fruit/late bloom. R. uncinatus, a tiny-flowered wet-loving species is carpeting the recently cleared areas by the pond.

Ranunculus uncinatus

Ranunculus occindentale fruit – note curved beaks

R uncinatus – fr and beak shape is different

R uncinatus – very small flowers

Calochortus tolmiei – happy to have more sun since firs were removed

C. tolmiei

Sidalcea virgata (rose checkermallow) planted several yrs ago now establishing well

S virgata May 2012

Sannicula bipinnatifida Natural population

Native remnant Lomatium nudicaule still hanging on, more planted after the timber harvest

Lupinus oreganus var. kincaidii (Kincaid’s lupine)

Kincaid’s lupine 3rd year after seeding

Juncus (bufonius?) recolonizing disturbed skid road

Iris tenax planted in plots several yrs ago

Roemer’s fescue planted several years ago establishing well- sending up seed heads

Cynoglossum grande (giant houndstongue) seedling.Seed from mother plant germinated and transplanted fall 2010

Sidalcea oregana (Meadow checkermallow)

Phenology notes:

April 15, 2012 –  Trillium just recently opened.

Oaks toothwort. Western buttercup in the open in early bloom, tall Oregon grape early bloom/bud, Fawn lily fully open. Indian plum end of bloom. Photos below.

Mariposa lily or cat’s ear (Calochortus tolmiei) – mariposa means butterfly in Spanish. This species is endemic to our area and south in the Willamette Valley and into California

Attractive green fruit on mariposa lily mid-June

Drying fruits (note one beginning to open along suture) seeds are easily shed and lost if not bagged

Calochortus leaves with Sanicula crassicaulis (top) and Osmorrhiza sp (lwr left & center) April

Calochortus bulb sprouting (looks like grass) Jan

western star flower early spring

Western star flower (Trientalis borealis ssp. latifolia) a flower of shady mixed woods

Butterfly and pollinator nectar plant Rose Checkermallow (Sidalcea virgata)

Lomatium nudicaule – barestem biscuitroot

Flower beetle on Lomatium

Fritillaria affinis (Chocolate lily/checker liliy) before the deer got to it.

Camas lily (Camassia leichtlinii). “Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast” fieldguide by Pojar and Mackinnon (1994) includes the familiar comment from the journal of Meriwether Lewis: ‘The quawmash is now in blume and … at a short distance it resembles lakes of fine clear water …’

Camassia leichtlinii

Camas (C. leichtlinii) capsules and seeds. Some seeds remain even when the upright capsules are open, if you miss the opportunity to collect when capsules first split. Prolific seed producer.

Miner’s lettuce in the shady doug fir woods

Fawn lilies in bloom early spring

Erythronium (fawn lily) seeds

Giant houndstongue (Cynoglossum grande) one of the few really blue flowers

Giant houndstongue in green fruit – June

C. grande – giant houndstongue – fruits

Giant Houndstongue Cynoglossum grande sending up shoots from a giant rootstock

Seedling of giant houndstongue Cynoglossum officinale & Osmorhiza sp

Houndstongue seeds germination after cold treatment

Shooting star (Dodecatheon sp)

The photo of Trillium is T. parviflorum (recognized by Flora of North America) or T. albidum ssp. parviflorum (accepted by Oregon Flora Project)

Trillium parviflorum/T.albidum ssp. parviflorum March 2011

Trillium parviflorum/T. allbidum ssp. parviflorum April 12, 2012

T. parviflorum/T. albidum ssp. parviflorum April 12, 2012

Ranunuculus occidentalis – western buttercup

Ranunculus pollinator

Ranunculus seeds

Oaks Toothwort (Cardamine nuttallii var. nuttallii) March 29, 2012