[Columbia River Gorge Wildflower Bloom Reports: 2004]

Currently Blooming Wildflowers in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington

Columbia Hills Natural Area Preserve & Stacker Butte

May 30, 2004

The photo above shows the view west along Stacker Butte across broad meadows of bunchgrass, lupine, balsamroot and paintbrush.......May 9, 2004.

* Indicates a wildflower currently in bloom.

Ponderosa Pine: Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa

Oregon White Oak: Quercus garryana var. garryana

* Taper-tipped Onion: Allium accuminatum- A few in bloom at lower elevations, many with well-formed buds.

Green-banded Mariposa Lily: Calochortus macrocarpus ssp. macrocarpus - Not in bloom yet.

* Striped Coral Root: Corallorhiza striata

Long-spurred Rein Orchid: Platanthera elegans - Close to bloom.

* Heart-leaf Buckwheat (both the yellow and white forms): Eriogonum compositum var. ompositum - Both white- and yellow-flowered forms.

* Scabland Wild Buckwheat: Eriogonum sphaerocephalum var. sublineare - In full bloom, varying from plants with white, cream or yellow flowers.

* Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata - A few still in bloom under the oaks on the north-facing slopes.

* Bitterroot: Lewisia rediviva - Still in bloom at the summit.

* Franklin's Sandwort: Arenaria franklinii var. franklinii - Still in bloom at the summit.

* White Water Buttercup: Ranunculus aquatilis var. diffusus - In bloom in the small pond near the summit.

* Rough Wallflower: Erysimum capitatum

* Small-flowerd Prairie Star: Lithophragma parviflorum - Several still in bloom under the uppermost oak trees.

* Wax Currant: Ribes cereum var. cereum - Only at the summit of the ridge.

* Ocean Spray: Holodiscus discolor

* Chokecherry: Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa

* Nootka Rose: Rosa nutkana (var. ?)

* Annual Burnet: Poteridium annuum - A few in bloom at the parking lot.

* Yakima Milk-vetch: Astragalus reventiformis - In fruit at lower elevations, in bloom atop the ridge.

* Few-flowered Pea: Lathyrus pauciflorus var. pauciflorus - A few remaining in bloom.

* Columbia Gorge Broad-leaf Lupine: Lupinus latifolius var. latifolius (formerly var. thompsonianus) - Beginning bloom.

* Spurred Lupine: Lupinus arbustus

* Velvet Lupine: Lupinus leucophyllus var. leucophyllus

* Whitish Lupine: Lupinus sulphureus var. bingenensis

* Filaree: Erodium cicutarium

* Bare-stem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule - A few still in bloom along the shores of the tiny pond near the summit.

Nine-leaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium triternatum var. triternatum

* Columbia Frasera: Frasera albicaulis var. nitida - In bloom at lower elevations.

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

* Showy Phlox: Phlox speciosa- Moderate bloom.

* Varied-leaf Phacelia: Phacelia heterophylla

* Fiddleneck: Amsinckia retrorsa-

* Common Cryptantha: Cryptantha intermedia

* Scouler's Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys scouleri

* Harsh Paintbrush: Castilleja hispida var. acuta

* Common Monkey Flower: Erythranthe guttata - A few in bloom along drying water courses.

Hotrock Penstemon: Penstemon deustus var. variabilis - Within a week of bloom.

Gairdner's Penstemon: Penstemon gairdneri var. gairdneri - Past bloom.

* Glandular Penstemon: Penstemon glandulosa (var. ?) - Only in bloom along the north edge of the summit.

* Yarrow: Achillea millefolium - Nearing bloom at mid-slope.

* Large-flowered Agoseris: Agoseris grandiflora

* Annual Agoseris: Agoseris heterophylla

* Narrow-leaf Pussytoes: Antennaria stenophylla ? - Plants with long, narrow leaves and brownish involucres. Several plants on the north-facing grassland slopes directly east of Stacker Butte.

* Heart-leaved Arnica: Arnica cordifolia - A few still in bloom under the oaks at the highest elevations.

* Carey's Hybrid Balsamroot: Balsamhoriza careyana x deltoidea - On the decline.

* Hoary False Yarrow: Chaenactis douglasii var. douglasii - One with opening blossoms near the summit, several in bloom along the Dalles Mt. Road.

* Wavy-leaf Thistle: Cirsium undulatum

* Western Hawksbeard: Crepis occidentalis

* Yellow Desert Daisy: Erigeron linearis - Only in bloom along the summit ridge.

* Woolly Sunflower: Eriophyllum lanatum var. integrifolium

* Little Sunflower: Helianthella uniflora - Numerous on the east face of Stacker Butte.

* Lemon-scented Tarweed: Madia citriodora

* Rayless Goldenweed: Pyrrocoma carthamoides var. carthamoides

* Yellow Western Groundsel: Senecio integerrimus var. exaltus

* Yellow Salsify: Tragopogon dubius

Animals Seen in the Columbia Hills/ Stacker Butte:

1. Western Meadow Lark

2. Horned Larks