[Wood-rushes: The Genus Luzula East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]

The atractive red-tinged basal leaves of Hitchcock's smooth woodrush are seen in open pumice soils atop the Ridge of Wonders and amongst the alpine trees to about 6900'..........August 12, 2006. This species of woodrush has leaves often as wide as 10-15 mm as seen here.

The photo at left shows the upper stem and inflorescence of Hitchcock's smooth wood-rush as seen at the Bird Creek Meadows trailhead parking lot at the southeastern corner of Mt. Adams........August 25, 2005. The flowers in the inflorescence are mostly solitary in an open panicle as seen here. The photso at center and at right were from the same location and they show close-up views of the leaves.

The photo above shows another close-up of the basal leaves which begin to turn an attractive reddish-brown late in the summer. Photographed at 6600' on the Ridge of Wonders on the eastern slopes of Mt. Adams.........August 12, 2006.