North Loop Road, Steens Mountain

from Page Springs to Jackman Park Campground

June 2, 2012

The North Loop Road opened several days after Memorial Day this year. Lower areas along the road are drying up, although several thunderstorms have brought a fair amount of rain to the area. The earliest blooming plants are just doing so someplace above Jackman Park. The road currently is a good way to explore the native flora by driving along the road and stopping when you see something interesting.

Western Juniper: Juniperus occidentalis

Quaking Aspen: Populus tremuloides

* Sitka Willow: Salix sitchensis var. sitchensis

Water Sedge: Carex aquatilis var. aquatilis or Lens-shaped Sedge: Carex lenticularis var. lipocarpa ?

* Liddon's Sedge: Carex petasata ?

* Cheatgrass: Bromus tectorum

* Bottlebrush Squirreltail: Elymus elymoides

* Bulbous Bluegrass: Poa bulbosa

* Nevada Bluegrass: Poa secunda ssp. juncifolia

* Sandberg's Bluegrass: Poa secunda ssp. secunda

Stinging Nettles: Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis

Tapertip Onion: Allium accuminatum - In bud. ?

* Tolmie's Onion: Allium tolmiei ?

Sagebrush Mariposa: Calochortus macrocarpus var. macrocarpus

* Common Camas: Camassia quamash ssp. breviflora

* Yellow Bells: Fritillaria pudica

White False Hellebore: Veratrum californicum var. californicum

* Panicle Deathcamas: Zigadenus paniculatus

* Grass Widow: Olsynium douglasii var. inflatum

Wyeth Buckwheat: Eriogonum heracleoides var. heracleoides - In bud.

Pussytoes: Calyptridium umbellatum - In bud.

* Lineleaf Montia: Montia linearis

Prickly Sandwort: Eremogone aculeata - In bud.

Mountain Sandwort: Eremogone capillaris var americana

Brown's Peony: Paeonia brownii

* Dwarf Plantain-leaved Buttercup: Ranunuculus alismifolius var. alismellus

* Sagebrush Buttercup: Ranunculus glaberrimus var. ellipticus

Hornseed: Ranunculus testiculatus

Meadow Rue: Thalictrum - In bud.

* Pale Alyssum: Alyssum alyssoides

* Holboell's Rockcress: Arabis holboellii (var. ?)

Daggerpod: Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides - Blooming at and above Jackman Park.

* Tumblemustard: Sisymbrium altissimum

Wormleaf Stonecrop: Sedum stenopetalum

Bulblet Prairie Star: Lithophragma bulbifera - Past bloom.

* Small-flowered Woodland Star: Lithophragma parviflorum

* Wax Currant: Ribes cereum var. cereum

* Old Man's Whiskers: Geum triflorum ssp. ciliatum

Elmer's Cinquefoil: Potentilla gracilis var. elmeri

Slender Cinquefoil: Potentilla gracilis var. fastigiata

Fan-leaved Cinquefoil: Potentilla gracilis var. flabelliformis

* Threadstalk Milkvetch: Astragalus filipes

* Freckled Milkvetch: Astragalus lentiginosus var. chartaceus - In bud.

Woollypod Milkvetch: Astragalus purshii (var. ?) - Pods forming.

Silky Lupine: Lupinus sericeus ?

Stony Ground Lupine: Lupinus saxosus ?

* Yellow Sweetclover: Melilotus officinalis

* Bighead Clover: Trifolium macrocephalum

* Goosefoot Violet: Viola purpurea var. venosa

* Valley Yellow Violet: Viola vallicola

* Filaree: Erodium cicutarium

Sticky Geranium: Geranium viscosissimum (var. ?)

Wild Hollyhock: Iliamnia rivularis - In bud.

Oregon Checkerbloom: Sidalcea oregana - In bud.

False Mermaid: Floerkea proserpinacoides

Stemless Evening Primrose: Camissonia subacaulis

* Tansy-leaved Evening Primrose: Camissonia tanacetifolia

* Groundsmoke: Gayophytum sp.

* Cous: Lomatium cous

* Gumbo Lomatium: Lomatium leptocarpum

* Nevada Desert Parsley: Lomatium nevadense

* Nineleaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium triternatum var. triternatum

* Olasi: Perideridia (bolanderi)

* Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon conjugens - Fading out of bloom.

Three-seed Linanthus: Linanthus (harknessii ?)

Nuttall's Linanthus: Linanthus nuttallii

* Brewer's Navarretia: Navarretia breweri

Mountain Navarretia: Navarretia divaricata

* Midget Phlox: Phlox gracilis

Dwarf Hesperochiron: Hesperochiron pumilis

* Ball-head Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum capitatum var. alpinum

Blue Stickseed: Hackelia micrantha

* Sagebrush Bluebells: Mertensia oblongifolia var. nevadensis

* Eastside Popcornflower: Plagiobothrys hispidulus

* Steen's Mountain Paintbrush: Castilleja pilosa var. steenensis

* Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia parviflora

* Rydberg's Penstemon: Penstemon rydbergii var. oreocharis

Blue Elderberry: Sambucus cerulea

Mountain Snowberry: Symphoricarpos oreophilus

* Tall Pussytoes: Antennaria anaphaloides ? - Sorry, we saw this one on the way up and missed it on the way down so can't confirm its identity.

Low Pussytoes: Antennaria dimorpha

* Woodrush Pussytoes: Antennaria luzuloides

Low Sagebrush: Artemisia arbuscula

Basin Big Sagebrush: Artemisia tridentata var. tridentata

Big Sagebrush: Artemisia tridentata var. vaseyana

* Serrate Balsamroot: Balsamorhiza serrata

* Blepharipappus: Blepharipappus scaber

Steen's Mt. Thistle: Cirsium peckii

Western Hawksbeard: Crepis occidentalis - In bud.

* Orange Sneezeweed: Dugaldia hoopesii - Beginning to bloom.

* Yellow Desert Daisy: Erigeron linearis

False Agoseris: Nothocalais troximoides

Thick-leaved Groundsel: Senecio crassulus - In bud.

* Western Groundsel: Senecio integerrimum var. exaltatus

* Woolly Goldenweed: Stenotus lanuginosus var. lanuginosus

* Common Dandylion: Taraxacum officinale

* Yellow Salsify: Tragopogon dubius

* White Mule's Ears: Wyethia helianthoides - Beginning to fade out of bloom.

Belding Ground Squirrels

Turkey Vultures

Golden Eagles

Kestrel

Mallards - Lily Lake

Red-tailed Hawk

Common Nighthawks

Common Snipes

Long-billed Curlew

Sage Thrashers

Hermit Thrush

Robins

Western Wood Peewees

Tree Swallows

Crows

Brewer's Blackbirds

Red-winged Blackbirds

Western Meadowlarks

Mountain Bluebirds

Chipping Sparrows

Song Sparrows

White-crowned Sparrows

Pine Siskins