[Wildflower Bloom Reports for the Columbia River Gorge: 2010]

[Wildflower Destinations in the Columbia River Gorge]

Wildflower Bloom in the Columbia River Gorge

Crawford Oaks and Eightmile Creek drainage

Columbia Hills State Park

from State Highway 14 (Crawford Oaks gate) uphill to the Dalles Mt. Ranch

April 4, 2010

View of balsamroot blooming above the Crawford Oaks area in the Columbia Hills State Park in the eastern Columbia River Gorge...........April 4, 2010.

View east towards Eightmile Creek and the Crawford Oaks trailhead in the Columbia Hills State Park in the eastern Columbia River Gorge............April 4, 2010. A system of new bike and equestrian paths have been proposed for the area visible in this photo.
Weather: Overcast. Light wind. Temperatures in the low 50s with occasional sprinkles.

* indicates a wildflower currently in bloom.

Complete Plant List for the Crawford Oaks/Eightmile Creek portion of the Columbia Hills State Park.

Gold Back Fern: Pentagramma triangularis ssp. triangularis

Oregon Cliff Fern: Woodsia oregana

* Cheatgrass: Bromus tectorum

Bottlebrush Squirreltail: Elymus elymoides

Idaho Fescue: Festuca idahoensis

Giant Wildrye: Leymus cinereus

* Bulbous Bluegrass: Poa bulbosa

Medusahead: Taeniatherum caput-medusae

* Big-leaf Maple: Acer macrophyllum

Tree-of-Heaven: Ailanthus altissima

Creek Dogwood: Cornus sericea

White Mulberry: Morus alba

Oregon White Oak: Quercus garryana

Tapertip Onion: Allium accuminatum ?

Yellow Bells: Fritillaria pudica

Bicolor Cluster Lily: Triteleia grandiflora var. howellii - In bud.

* Panicle Deathcamas: Zigadenus paniculatus

* Grass Widows: Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii - 1 plant still in bloom.

Heartleaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum - In bud.

Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum

Strict Buckwheat: Eriogonum strictum (var. proliferum?)

Wickerstem Buckwheat: Eriogonum vimineum

Curly Dock: Rumex crispus

Stinging Nettles: Urtica dioica (ssp. ?)

* Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata (ssp. perfoliata ?)

* Jagged Chickweed: Holosteum umbellatum

Soapweed: Saponaria officinalis

* Common Chickweed: Stellaria media

* Upland Larkspur: Delphinium nuttallianum var. nuttallianum

* Shining Oregon Grape: Berberis aquifolium

* Hairy Bittercress: Cardamine hirsuta

* Spring Whitlow-grass: Draba verna

* Fringepods: Thysanocarpus curvipes

Mock Orange: Philadelphus lewisii

* Bulblet Prairie Star: Lithophragma bulbifera (L. glabrum)

* Smooth Prairie Star: Lithophragma glabrum

* Small-flowered Prairie Star: Lithophragma parviflorum

* Northwestern Saxifrage: Saxifraga integrifolia

* Peak Saxifrage: Saxifraga nidifica ssp. claytoniifolia

Oceanspray: Holodiscus discolor

Domestic Apple: Malus Xdomestica ?

Glandular Cinquefoil: Potentilla glandulosa (var. )

Chokecherry: Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa

Columbia Gorge Lupine: Lupinus latifolius x sericeus - In bud.

Lupine: Lupinus sp.

Alfalfa: Medicago sativa

* Bighead Clover: Trifolium macrocephalum

* Filaree: Erodium cicutarium

Turkey Mullein: Eremocarpus setigera

Smoothstem Blazingstar: Mentzelia laevicaulis var. laevicaulis

Chervil: Anthriscus scandicina

* Pungent Desert Parsley: Lomatium grayii

* Biscuitroot: Lomatium macrocarpum - Cream-flowered form.

* Desert Parsley: Lomatium leptocarpum ?

* Barestem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule

* Nineleaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium triternatum var. triternatum

Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon conjugens

* Poet's Shooting Star: Dodecatheon poeticum

* Midget Phlox: Microsteris gracilis

* Showy Phlox: Phlox speciosa

* Ballhead Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum capitatum v. thompsonii

Basin Nemophila: Nemophila breviflora

Small-flowered Nemophila: Nemophila parviflora (var. parviflora ?)

Varileaf Phacelia: Phacelia heterophylla - In bud.

* Rigid Fiddleneck: Amsinckia retrorsa

* Puccoon: Lithospermum ruderale

* Slender Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys tenellus

* Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia parviflora

Common Monkey Flower: Mimulus guttatus

Cutleaf Penstemon: Penstemon richardsonii var. richardsonii

Moth Mullein: Verbascum blattaria

* Naked Broomrape: Orobanche uniflora var. purpurea

* Annual Bedstraw, Cleavers: Galium aparine var. echinospermum

Teasel: Dipsacus sylvestris

* Manroot: Marah oreganus

Blue Elderberry: Sambucus mexicana

Snowberry: Symphoricarpos sp.

* Long-spur Plectritis: Plectritis ciliosa ssp. ciliosa

* White Plectritis: Plectritis macrocera

Yarrow: Achillea millefolium - In bud.

* Annual Agoseris: Agoseris heterophylla var. heterophylla

* Low Pussytoes: Antennaria dimorpha

* Balsamroot: Balsamorhiza deltoidea ?

Chicory: Cichorum intybus

Hawsbeard: Crepis sp.

* Gold Stars: Crocidium multicaule

Gray Rabbitbrush: Ericameria nauseosa (v. speciosa?)

Columbia Goldenweed: Ericameria resinosa

Blanketflower: Gaillardia aristata

* False Agoseris: Nothocalais troximoides

* Common Dandelion: Taraxacum officinale

Yellow Salsify: Tragopogon dubius

Animals Seen Along This Route:

Ring-necked Pheasent (male)

Northern Flickers

Western Meadowlarks

Spotted Towhee

American Robins

Western Bluebirds

Dark-eyed Juncos

Paul Slichter