Wildflower Bloom in Central Oregon:

Little Butter Creek Road

Between Oregon Highway 74 & the northern boundary of the Umatilla N.F.

May 6, 2000

This road is also known as South Fork Road. It ascends from Oregon Highway 74 and follows Little Butter Creek to its head near tree line in the Blue Mts. It is fairly scenic, but much of it is posted as no trespassing (as in not stopping one's vehicle and then exiting onto the surrounding terrain. However, many plants are readily visible from the car. The upper 3-4 miles ascends across rocky ground into the ponderosa pine forest and the going here is much rougher. However the views towards Pendleton and the Columbia River Gorge are stupendous, and one can still see Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood far off to the west after one ascends the ridge. The plant list below was taken at approximately 10.3 miles south of Oregon 74 on Butter Creek Road. The photo below depicts the view northeast from this site.

1. Tolmie's Onion: Allium tolmiei Nearing bloom.

2. Onion: Allium species

*3. Grass Widow: Sisyrinchium inflatum ?

4. Strict Buckwheat: Eriogonum strictum

5. Bitterroot: Lewisia rediviva ?

*6. Line-leaf Montia: Montia linearis

*7. Miner's Lettuce: Montia perfoliata

*8. Upland Larkspur: Delphinium nuttallianum

9. Hornseed: Ranunculus testiculatus

*10. Bulblet Prairie Star: Lithophragma bulbifera

*11. Yakima Milk-vetch: Astragalus conjunctus or reventiformis ?

*12. Cous: Lomatium cous

*13. Desert-parsley: Lomatium species

*14. Midget Phlox: Microsteris gracilis

*15. Phlox: Phlox species - Tufted

*16. Ball-head Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum capitatum var. capitatum

*17. Bluebells: Mertensia longiflora

*18. Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia parviflora

19. Yarrow: Achillea millefolium

*20. Low Pussytoes: Antennaria dimorpha

21. Gumweed: Grindelia species

*22. Glacier Lily: Erythronium grandiflorum

*23. Heart-leaf Arnica: Arnica cordiflolia

*24. Creeping Oregon Grape: Berberis repens

*25. Sagebrush Buttercup: Ranunculus glaberrimus