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

Wildflowers Blooming Along the Twin Tunnels Trail (Mark Hatfield Trail or old Highway 30)

Accessed from the Trailhead West of Hood River, OR

October 12, 2010

View from the Twin Tunnels Trail, mid-Columbia River Gorge........October 13, 2010.

A view east up the Columbia River from the Twin Tunnels Trail (old Highway 30) about one and one-half miles west of Mosier, OR........October 13, 2010.

* indicates the plant is currently in bloom.

Ponderosa Pine: Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa

Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii

Vine Maple: Acer circinatum

Douglas Maple: Acer glabrum var. douglasii - Includes a number of individuals with compound-trifoliate leaves.

Bigleaf Maple: Acer macrophyllum

Tree of Heaven: Ailanthus altissima

Filbert: Corylus cornuta var. californica

Oregon Ash: Fraxinus latifolia

Black Cottonwood: Populus trichocarpa

Oregon White Oak: Quercus garryana var. garryana

Scouler's Willow: Salix scouleriana

Willow: Salix sp. - Tall shrub. Leaves shiny green above, glaucous below, broadly oblanceolate or ovate in outline.

Wallace's Spikemoss: Selaginella wallacei

Lichen: Peltigera sp.

Western Maidenhair: Adiantum aleuticum

Gold-back Fern: Pentagramma triangularis

Licorice Fern: Polypodium glycyrhiza

Western Sword Fern: Polystichum munitum

Elk Sedge: Carex geyeri

Rush: Juncus sp.

Cheatgrass: Bromus tectorum

Idaho Fescue: Festuca idahoensis

Bulbous Bluegrass: Poa bulbosa

Bluebunch Wheatgrass: Pseudoroegneria spicatum

Medusa-head: Taeniatherum caput-medusae

Chocolate Lily: Fritillaria affinis - Pods present.

False Solomon's Seal: Maianthemum racemosum ssp. amplexicaule

Fairy Slipper: Calypso bulbosa

Coralroot ?: Corallorhiza sp. ?

Heartleaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum

Scabland Wild Buckwheat: Eriogonum spaerocephalum var. sublineare

* Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum

* Strict Buckwheat: Eriogonum strictum var. proliferum

Sheep Sorrel: Rumex acetosella

Curly Dock: Rumex crispus

Large-leaf Sandwort: Moehringia macrophylla

Western Columbine: Aquilegia formosa

* Hedge Mustard: Sisymbrium officinale

Shining Oregon Grape: Berberis aquifolium

Cascade Oregon Grape: Berberis nervosa

Broadleaf Stonecrop: Sedum spathulifolium (var. ?)

* California Poppy: Eschscholzia californica

Thinleaf Alumroot: Heuchera grossulariifolia var. tenuifolia

Fringecups: Tellima grandiflora

Merten's Saxifrage: Saxifraga mertensiana

Rusty-hair Saxifrage: Micranthes rufidula

Spreading Gooseberry: Ribes divaricatum ?

Red-flowering Currant: Ribes sanguineum ?

Mock Orange: Philadelphus lewisii

Cusick's Serviceberry: Amelanchier alnifolia var. cusickii

Wood Strawberry: Fragaria vesca ssp. bracteata

Oceanspray: Holodiscus discolor

Oregon Crab Apple: Malus fusca

Pacific Ninebark: Physocarpus capitatus

Sticky Cinquefoil: Potentilla glandulosa var. glandulosa

Sulfur Cinquefoil: Potentilla recta ?

Bittercherry: Prunus emarginata var. emarginata

Chokecherry: Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa

Antelope Bitterbrush: Purshia tridentata

Nootka Rose: Rosa nutkana ?

Rose: Rosa sp. - Not native ?

Himalayan Blackberry: Rubus armeniacus

Blackcap: Rubus leucodermis

Thimbleberry: Rubus parviflorus

Dewberry: Rubus ursinus

* Small-flower Deervetch: Acmispon parviflorus

Pea: Lathyrus sp.

Lupine: Lupinus sp.

* White Sweetclover: Melilotus albus

Black Locust: Robinia pseudoacacia ?

* Rabbitsfoot Clover: Trifolium arvense

* Red Clover: Trifolium pratense

Filaree: Erodium cicutarium

Deer Brush: Ceanothus integerrimus

Spreading Dogbane: Apocymum androsaemifolium

Bigleaf Periwinkle: Vinca (major?)

Narrowleaf Milkweed: Asclepias fascicularis

Poison Oak: Toxicodendron diversilobum

Fireweed: Chamaenerion angustifolium

* Annual Willowherb: Epilobium brachycarpum

* Queen Anne's Lace: Daucus carota

Columbia Desert Parsley: Lomatium columbianum

Biscuitroot: Lomatium macrocarpum

Barestem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule

Sweet-cicely: Osmorhiza sp.

Western Starflower: Lysimachia latifolia

Large-flowered Collomia: Collomia grandiflora

Silverleaf Phacelia: Phacelia hastata var. hastata

Dalmatian Toadflax: Linaria dalmatica

Common Monkeyflower: Erythranthe guttata

Barrett's Penstemon: Penstemon barrettiae

* Cutleaf Penstemon: Penstemon richardsonii var. richardsonii

* Common Mullein: Verbascum thapsus

English Plantain: Plantago lanceolata

Annual Bedstraw: Galium aparine

Orange Honeysuckle: Lonicera ciliosa

Blue Elderberry: Sambucus mexicana ssp. cerulea (berries are ripe)

Common Snowberry: Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus

Yarrow: Achillea millefolium

Pearly Everlasting: Anaphalis margaritacea

Balsamroot: Balsamorhiza sp.

* Bachelor's Button: Centaurea cyanus

* Diffuse Knapweed: Centaurea diffusa

Knapweed: Centaurea sp.

Rush Skeletonweed: Chondrilla juncea

* Chicory: Cichorum intybus

* Hall's Goldenweed: Columbiadoria hallii

Horseweed: Conyza canadensis

Gold Stars: Crocidium multicaule

* Oregon Sunshine: Eriophyllum lanatum (var. integerrimus?)

Rough-leaved Aster: Eurybia radulina

Blanketflower: Gaillardia aristata

* Hairy False Goldenaster: Heterotheca villosa (var. ?)

White Hawkweed: Hieracium albiflorum

Hawkweed: Hieracium (lachenalii or umbellatum ?)

* False Dandylion: Hypochaeris radicata

Prickly Lettuce: Lactuca serriola

Wall Lettuce: Mycelis muralis

* Common Dandylion: Taraxacum officinale

* Salsify: Tragopogon dubius


Animals Seen Along This Route:

California Ground Squirrels

Western Gray Squirrel

Red-tailed Hawk

Ruffed Grouse ?

Northern Flickers

Downy Woodpecker

Scrub Jays

Steller's Jays

House Finches

Dark-eyed Juncos

Western Fence Lizard (young juvenile)

Western Skink

Large blue dragonfly

Grasshoppers

Boxelder Bugs


View from the Twin Tunnels Trail, mid-Columbia River Gorge........October 13, 2010.

A view west from one of the view portals in the Twin Tunnels, old Highway 30 between Hood River, OR and Mosier, OR........October 13, 2010. Bingen, WA and White Salmon, WA can be viewed across the Columbia River.

Paul Slichter