[Wallflowers: The Genus Erysimum East of the
Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]
Douglas' Wallflower, Prairie Rocket, Rough Wallflower, Sanddune Wallflower, Western Wallflower
Erysimum capitatum var. capitatum
Synonyms: Erysimum arkansanum, Erysimum asperum, Erysimum asperum ssp. capitatum, Erysimum asperum var. arkansanum, Erysimum asperum var. capitatum , Erysimum capitaum var. stellatum, Erysimum capitatum var. washoense, Erysimum elatum, Erysimum moniliforme, Erysimum wheeleri
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The photo at left shows the inflorescence of rough wallflower as seen from atop Bickleton Ridge of the East Simcoe Mountains Unit of the Klickitat Wildlife Area..........May28, 2017. The photo at right shows the inflorescence of rough wallflower as observed on the western canyon walls of Box Canyon, East Simcoe Mountains Unit of the Klickitat Wildlife Area..........Ma y 23, 2020.
Characteristics:
Rough wallflower is an attractive biennial to short-lived perennial wildflower
with one to several, stout, simple stems from 10-120 cm high. The herbage consists
of appressed twice-branched to many branched, radiate hairs, giving the stems
and leaves a light, whitish cast. The leaves are linear, lanceolate or oblanceolate
with entire to toothed and wavy leaf margins. The leaves are petiolate, 7-15
cm long, and often with the margins folded upwards from the midvein.
The inflorescence is a raceme of yellow to orange-yellow flowers at the apex
of the stem. The sepals measure from 8-12 mm long while the petals are 15-25
mm long. The stout pedicels range from 8-13 mm long. The fruits are siliques
which measure from 4-12 cm long and are 1-2 mm wide. They are spreading to ascending.
Habitat:
Rough wallflower is found on dry slopes from the valleys to high in the mountains.
Range:
Rough wallflower may be found east of the Cascade Mts. from southern British
Columbia south through Washington to Oregon and east across most of the west
to Manitoba, Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Its range extends westward
through the Columbia River Gorge to the Willamette Valley and hence south to
California.
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Rough wallflower blooming along the Flatiron Trail, Badlands Wilderness........May 12, 2018.
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Rough wallflower as seen at left along FS Road 5401-811, on the northern approach to Baldy Mountain, Malheur National Forest..........June 3, 2011. The photo at right shows rough wallfloweron BLM lands along Box Canyon Road about one mile east of the gated
trailhead. This site is near the boundary between BLM and Simcoe Mountain Unit of the Klickitat Wildlife Area lands.....May 22, 2022. Plants near this location were quite floriferous and multi-stemmed due to the prolonged moist and cool spring in 2022.
The photo above shows a close-up of the seed pod shown above of rough wallflower with its squared-off corners, a characteristic of this species. Note the minute, appressed hairs covering the pod.
Rough wallflower as seen from the southern slopes of Mt. Adams..........May 2005.
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Rough wallflower blooming in an avalanche shoot/drainage along the East Fork Lostine River Trail #1662 adjacent to Lost Lake, Eagle Cap Wilderness.........August 4, 2016.
The photo above shows a close-up of the inflorescence of rough wallflower as seen in meadows along Forest Road 40-020 at Ray Ridge Viewpoint, Umatilla National Forest...........June 25, 2007.
Paul Slichter