[Bloom Reports for the Cascade Mountains of Washington: 2012]


Mount Adams: Bird Creek Meadows

The Climbers Trail from the Bird Creek Meadows parking lot west to the Hellroaring Overlook, then downhill to the Round the Mountain Trail #66, then down the Bluff Lake Trail to Bluff Lake, then east along the Dry Creek Trail to the parking lot.

Yakama Indian Reservation

August 14, 2012

Mt. Adams viewed from Bench Lake, Bird Creek Meadows.......August 14, 2012.

Mt. Adams viewed from Bench Lake, Bird Creek Meadows.......August 14, 2012.

Bird Creek Meadows Parking Lot: --- N 46 09.204' --- W 121 25.497' --- Elevation: 5731' --- +/- 28'

Snow was slow in melting out of the Bird Creek Meadows area on Mt. Adams this year. The lower meadows are now clear of snow, but snow remains in patches on some of the upper meadows below the moraines. The flowers are near their peak in a number of moist spots along the Round the Mt. Trail #9 but will not be peaking for several weeks yet at higher altitudes (except on drier slopes, where the peak has already been reached). Plenty of flowers should remain here through the Labor Day Holiday!


* Indicates the wildflower is in bloom.

Wildflowers in Bloom at Bird Creek Meadows:

Moss: Polystichum sp.

Lace Lip Fern: Cheilanthes gracillima

Subalpine Fir: Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa

White Bark Pine: Pinus albicaulis

Ponderosa Pine: Pinus ponderosa

Mountain Hemlock: Tsuga mertensiana

* Black Alpine Sedge: Carex nigricans

* Showy Sedge: Carex spectabilis

* Tall Cottongrass: Eriophorum angustifolium var. angustifolium

* Drummond's Rush: Juncus drummondii

* Merten's Rush: Juncus mertensianus

* Parry's Rush: Juncus parryi

* Hitchcock's Wood-rush: Luzula glabrata ssp. hitchcockii

* Brome: Bromus (suksdorfii ?)

* Bottlebrush Squirreltail: Elymus elymoides ssp. elymoides (formerly Sitanion hystrix)

* Idaho Fescue: Festuca idahoensis

* Subalpine Mariposa Lily: Calochortus subalpinus

Glacier Lily: Erythronium grandiflorum - Pods only.

* Green False Hellebore: Veratrum viride

Beargrass: Xerophyllum tenax - All plants of this species are now past bloom. It was not a good bloom year for the beargrass.

* Newberry's Fleeceflower: Aconogonon davisiae ssp. davisiae (formerly Polygonum newberryi)

* Heart-leaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum

* Alpine Buckwheat: Eriogonum pyrolifolium var. coryphaeum

* Sulphur-flowered Buckwheat: Eriogonum umbellatum var. umbellatum

* Broadleaf Knotweed: Polygonum minimum

* Pussypaws: Cistanthe umbellata var. caudicifera

* Threeleaf Lewisia: Lewisia triphylla - Fading out of bloom.

* Littleleaf Montia: Montia parvifolia

* Slender Mt. Sandwort: Arenaria capillaris ssp. americana

* Parry's Catchfly: Silene parryi

* Crimson Columbine: Aquilegia formosa

* White Marsh Marigold: Caltha leptosepala ssp. howellii

* White Marsh Marigold: Caltha leptosepala ssp. leptosepala var. leptosepala

* Upland Larkspur: Delphinium nuttallianum var. nuttallianum

* Columbia Gorge Rockcress: Arabis furcata - A few still blooming at higher altitudes.

Steers Head: Dicentra uniflora

* Spreading Stonecrop: Sedum divergens

Rusty Saxifrage: Saxifraga ferruginea var. vreelandii

* Tolmie's Saxifrage: Saxifraga tolmiei

* Partridge Foot: Luetkea pectinata - Beginning to bloom.

* Fan-leaf Cinquefoil: Potentilla flabellifolia

Cascade Mt. Ash: Sorbus scopulina var. grayi

* Rose Meadowsweet: Spiraea splendens var. splendens (formerly S. densiflora)

* Subalpine Lupine: Lupinus latifolius ssp. subalpinus (formerly Lupinus latifolius var. subalpinus)

* Low Mt. Lupine: Lupinus lepidus var. lobbii

* Silky Lupine: Lupinus sericeus ssp. sericeus var. flexuosus

* Common Willow-herb: Epilobium ciliatum ssp. glandulosum

* Diffuse Groundsmoke: Gayophytum diffusum - Beginning to bloom on the lower slopes of Bird Creek Meadows.

* Gray's Lovage: Ligusticum grayii

* Martindale's Desert Parsley: Lomatium martindalei

Purple Sweetroot: Osmorhiza purpurea

Pinemat Manzanita: Arctostaphylos nevadensis

* White Mountain Heather: Cassiope mertensiana

Sidebells Wintergreen: Orthillia secunda - In bud.

* Pink Mountain-heather: Phyllodoce empetriformis - Mostly out of bloom.

* Dwarf Huckleberry: Vaccinium caespitosum

Thinleaf Huckleberry: Vaccinium membranaceum

Grouse Whortleberry: Vaccinium scoparium - In fruit.

* Alpine Shooting Star: Dodecatheon alpinum

* Mt. Bog Gentian: Gentiana calycosa var. calycosa - Flower buds are beginning to show.

* Spreading Phlox: Phlox diffusa var. longistylis

* California Jacob's Ladder: Polemonium californicum

* Western Polemonium: Polemonium occidentale ssp. occidentale

* Common Paintbrush: Castilleja miniata ssp. miniata

* Magenta Paintbrush: Castilleja parviflora var. oreopola

* Lewis' Monkeyflower: Erythranthe lewisii - Beginning to bloom.

* Turtle Heads: Nothochelone nemorosa

* Bracted Lousewort: Pedicularis bracteosa

* Elephanthead Lousewort: Pedicularis groenlandica

* Leafy (Sickle-top) Pedicularis: Pedicularis racemosa

* Glaucous Penstemon: Penstemon euglaucus

* Cliff Penstemon: Penstemon rupicola - Fading out of bloom.

* Sitka Valerian: Valeriana sitchensis

* Yarrow: Achillea millefolium

* Woolly Pussytoes: Antennaria lanata

* Broad-leaved Arnica: Arnica latifolia

Hairy Arnica: Arnica mollis - In bud.

Big Mt. Sagebrush: Artemisia tridentata var. vaseyana - Seen on south-facing slopes of the Ridge of Wonders to the north of the Hellroaring Viewpoint.

* Subalpine Daisy: Erigeron glacialis ssp. glacialis -

* Cascade Aster: Eucephalus ledophyllus var. ledophyllus

* Alpine Hawkweed, Slender Hawkweed: Hieracium gracile var. gracile

* Scouler's Woolly-weed: Hieracium scouleri var. scouleri

* Smooth Mountain Dandelion: Nothocalais alpestris

* Alpine Aster: Oreostemma alpigenum var. alpigenum

* Arrow-leaf Groundsel: Senecio triangularis -

* Canada Goldenrod: Solidago canadensis var. salebrosa -

* Dwarf Goldenrod: Solidago simplex ssp. simplex var. nana -


Animals Seen

Mountain Goats

Clark's Nutcrackers

Stellers Jays

Northern Flicker

Dark-eyed Juncos

Red-breasted Nuthatches

Pine Siskins

Rufous Hummingbirds

Cascades Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel: Spermophilus saturatus

Anise Swallowtail

Pale Tiger Swallowtails

Lorquin's Admirals

Red Admirables

Northern Blues

Sooty Hairstreaks

Hoary Commas

Hoffman's Checkerspots -

Numerous unidentified Fritillarys -

Clodius Parnassians - numerous


Paul Slichter