[Wildflower Bloom in Central and Eastern Oregon: 2014]

Wildflower Bloom At the East Rim Viewpoint and Along the Steens Mountain Summit

Steens Mountain Recreation Lands

July 11, 2014

View south along the Steens Mountain summit ridge towards the Alvord Desert from the East Rim Viewpoint, Steens Mountain Recreation Area..........July 11, 2014.

A view south along the east face of the Steens Mountain summit ridge from the East Rim Viewpoint, Steens Mountain Recreation Area.........July 11, 2014. The Alvord Desert is visible in the mid-distance. A series of thunderstorms is about to hit the summit. In the distance, although hard to see, there is a yellow-brown low elevation haze hugging the southern Alvord Desert and the western arm of the Trout Creek Mountains. A higher, 7000' fire plume was also observed extending east from Domingo Pass. Rangeland fires had been started the day before by lightning strikes.
* indicates the wildflower is currently in bloom.

The following list includes plants seen within 200 meters radius from the parking area at the East Rim Viewpoint, Steens Mountain Recreation Area:

Common Juniper: Juniperus communis var. montana

Fragile Fern: Cystopteris fragilis

* Bottlebrush Squirreltail: Elymus elymoides (var. californicus ?)

* Fescue: Festuca sp. ?

* Bluegrass: Poa sp.

* Mat Buckwheat: Eriogonum cespitosum

* Oval-leaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum ovalifolium var. depressum

* Sulfur-flower Buckwheat: Eriogonum umbellatum var. dicrocephalum

* Mountain Sorrel: Oxyria digyna

* Pussypaws: Calyptridium umbellatum

* Prickly Sandwort: Eremogone aculeata

* Ballhead Sandwort: Eremogone congesta var. congesta

* Nuttall's Sandwort: Minuartia nuttallii var. fragilis

* Lance-leaved Stonecrop: Sedum lanceolatum

* Roundleaf Alumroot: Heuchera cylindrica var. alpina

* Wax Currant: Ribes cereum var. cereum

* Alpine Prickly Currant: Ribes montigenum

* Sticky Cinquefoil: Potentilla glandulosa var. pseudorupestris

* Balloon Milkvetch: Astragalus whitneyi var. confusus

* Low Mt. Lupine: Lupinus lepidus var. lobbii

* Long-stalked Clover: Trifolium longipes var. multiovulatum (T. longipes var. shastense)

* Sky Pilot: Polemonium viscosum

* Purple Phacelia: Phacelia hastata var. alpina

* Steens Mt. Paintbrush: Castilleja pilosa var. steenensis

* Dwarf Purple Monkeyflower: Mimulus nanus

* Steens Mt. Penstemon: Penstemon davidsonii var. praeteritus

* Small-flowered Penstemon: Penstemon procerus var. formosus

* Yarrow: Achillea millefolium

* Rosy Pussytoes: Antennaria rosea - Beginning to bloom.

Long-leaf Arnica: Arnica longifolia

* Hairy Arnica: Arnica mollis

* Steens Mountain Thistle: Cirsium peckii - Beginning to bloom.

* Orange Sneezeweed: Dugaldia hoopesii

Discoid Goldenweed: Ericameria discoidea var. discoidea

Truckee Green Rabbitbrush: Ericameria humilis

* Cutleaf Fleabane: Erigeron compositus var. glabratus

* Woolly Groundsel: Packera cana

Thick-leaved Groundsel: Senecio crassulus - In bud.

* Dwarf Mountain Butterweed: Senecio fremontii

Additional Wildflowers in Bloom Along the Summit Ridge From One-quarter Mile South of the Kiger Gorge Junction to Just North of the Steens Summit Parking Area

* Spike Trisetum: Trisetum spicatum ?

* American Bistort: Bistorta bistortoides

* Oval-leaved Buckwheat: Eriogonum ovalifolium var. ovalifolium

* Alpine Sorrel: Rumex paucifolius

* Alpine Chickweed: Cerastium beeringianum var. capillare

* Douglas' Campion: Silene douglasii

* Oregon Campion: Silene oregana

* Prairie Smoke: Geum triflorum var. ciliatum

* Gordon's Ivesia: Ivesia gordonii

* Diverse-leaved Cinquefoil: Potentilla glaucophylla var. glaucophylla

* Elmer's Cinquefoil: Potentilla gracilis var. elmeri

* Long-stalked Clover: Trifolium longipes var hansenii (T. longipes var. nevadense)

* Bighead Clover: Trifolium macrocephalum

* Tansy-leaved Evening-primrose: Camissonia tanacetifolia

* Gray's Lovage: Ligusticum grayii - Beginning to bloom.

* Showy Frasera: Frasera speciosa

* Showy Jacob's Ladder: Polemonium pulcherrimum var. pulcherrimum

* Silky Phacelia: Phacelia sericea var. ciliosa

Michaux's Sagewort: Artemisia michauxiana

* Hayden's Aster: Oreostemma alpigenum var. haydenii

* Common Dandylion: Taraxacum officinale

Animals Observed Along the Summit Ridge From One-quarter Mile South of the Kiger Gorge Junction to Just North of the Steens Summit Parking Area

Least Chipmunks

Sierra Nevada Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels

Yellow-bellied Marmots

Red-tailed Hawk

Swainson's Hawks

Turkey Vulture ?

Townsend's Solitaires

Black Rosy Finch

Horned Larks

Brewer's Sparrows

Dark-eyed Juncos

Rock Wrens

Violet-green Swallows

White-throated Swifts

Paul Slichter