[Wildflower Bloom Reports for Washington & Oregon] [Columbia River Gorge Wildflower Bloom Reports Prior to 2002]

[Wildflower Destinations in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]

Wildflower Bloom in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington

East Bank of the Deschutes River at its Mouth and Upper Hiking Trail to Several Miles Upstream

March 22, 2002

Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon conjugens

Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon conjugens

Directions to the East Bank of the Deschutes River

* Indicates Plant is in bloom.

Common Camas: Camassia quamash - A few with flower buds showing.

* Yellow Bells: Fritillaria pudica- Some still in full bloom at higher elevations.

Heart-leaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum- Not in bloom yet.

Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum- Not in bloom.

Snow Buckwheat: Eriogonum niveum - Not in bloom.

* Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata- Many in bloom.

* Chickweed: Stellaria media- A few in bloom.

* Little Western Bitter Cress: Cardamine oligosperma- Many in bloom, many going to seed.

* Spring Whitlow-grass: Draba verna- Many in bloom.

Thick-leaf Thelypody: Thelypodium laciniatum var. laciniatum- Several plants not quite in bloom.

* Fringe Pods: Thysanocarpus curvipes- Numerous

* Bulblet Prairie Star: Lithophragma bulbifera (Now included as part of Lithophragma glabrum.) - Several plants seen.

* Smooth Prairie Star: Lithophragma glabrum -Fairly common, especially on steep slopes or along the upper edges of cliffs.

* Small-flowered Prairie Star: Lithophragma parviflorum - Numerous.

* Northwestern Saxifrage: Micranthes integrifolia- Fairly common at the east end of the trail.

* Wax Currant: Ribes cereum var. cereum - One plant in bloom.

* Almond: Prunus dulcis

Howell's Milk-vetch: Astragalus howellii - Several seen, not in bloom.

* Woolly-pod Milk-vetch: Astragalus purshii var. glareosus - Fairly common on undisturbed soils.

Kellogg's Spurred Lupine: Lupinus argenteus var. heteranthus ?- This species is similar to Lupinus arbustus in having a spurred calyx, but differs from the latter in not having tiny hairs on the upper tip of the wing petals and in having longer upper calyx lobes.

* Filaree: Erodium cicutarium- Common.

* Fern-leaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium dissectum var. multifidum

* Bare-stem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule- A few in bloom.

* Butterfly-loving (Pungent) Desert Parsley: Lomatium papilioniferum - Numerous bloom.

* Salt and Pepper: Lomatium piperi- Several going to seed.

* Nine-leaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium triternatum var. triternatum - A few in bloom.

* Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon/Primula conjugens- A few in bloom

* Poet's Shooting Star: Dodecatheon/Primula poeticum- A few in bloom along the creek near the east trailhead and sporadically along the trail.

* Midget Phlox: Microsteris gracilis- A few in bloom.

* Long-leaf Phlox: Phlox longifolia- Numerous

* Tarweed Fiddleneck: Amsinckia lycopsoides- Numerous

Puccoon: Lithospermum ruderale- One almost in bloom.

* Weak-stem Cryptantha: Cryptantha flaccida ? - Numerous

* Slender Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys tenellus- A few in bloom.

* White Plectritis: Plectritis macrocera- Numerous.

* Annual Agoseris: Agoseris heterophylla- Fairly numerous

* Low Pussytoes: Antennaria dimorpha- A few seen.

* Carey's Balsamroot: Balsamorhiza careyana- Plants are small but in fairly numerous bloom.

* Gold Stars: Crocidium multicaule -Many in bloom.

* False Agoseris: Nothocalais troximoides- Only one seen.


Animals Seen along the East Bank of the Deschutes River:

Bushtits (Several)

Golden-crowned Sparrows (Several)

White-crowned Sparrows (Several)

American Robins (Several)

Double-crested Cormorants - 5 or 6.

Black-billed Magpie (1)

Meadowlarks (Numerous)

Ravens - A pair.

Violet-green Swallows (Several)

Dark-eyed Juncos (Numerous)

Canyon Wren (One inquisitive wren seen at close range.)

California Ground Squirrel


Paul Slichter