[Wildflower Bloom Reports for the Columbia River Gorge: 2013] - [Wildflower Destinations in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]

Wildflower Bloom in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington

Crawford Oaks and Eightmile Creek drainage

Columbia Hills State Park from State Highway 14 (Crawford Oaks gate) east to the Devils Gap

March 2, 2013

White-flowered grass widows (Olsynium douglasii)

White-flowered grass widows as seen on vernally moist benches above SR 14 and east of Eightmile Creek in the Columbia Hills State Park..........March 2, 2013.

View east up the Columbia River from above Devils Gap, Columbia HIlls State Park........March 2, 2013. - View west towards Horsethief Butte and The Dalles from cliffs above Devils Gap, Columbia Hills State Park.......March 2, 2013. - View west towards Horsethief Butte and The Dalles, OR from lower portions of the Columbia Hills State Park........March 2, 2013.

Views of the eastern Columbia River Gorge from benches above Devils Gap in the Columbia Hills State Park..........March 2, 2013. The photo at right looks east upriver towards the Deschutes River. The central photo looks west downriver towards Horsethief Butte (at center right) and The Dalles (at center in the distance). The photo at right has the same view as the previous photo but was taken higher uphill with a good view of one of the ice age flood washed benches in the foreground at left.

Weather: Overcast with a light wind in the morning to moderate by mid-afternoon. Temperatures in the mid 40s.

* indicates a wildflower currently in bloom.

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

Earthstar Fungi: Geastrum saccatum ?

Scouring-rush Horsetail: Equisetum hyemale

Lace Lipfern: Myriopteris gracillima

Gold-back Fern: Pentagramma triangularis

Imbricate Sword Fern: Polystichum imbricans

Cheatgrass: Bromus tectorum

Giant Wildrye: Leymus cinereus

Medusahead: Taeniatherum caput-medusae

Big-leaf Maple: Acer macrophyllum - Terminal buds swelling.

Osage Orange: Maclura pomifera

Oregon White Oak: Quercus garryana var. garryana

Willow: Salix sp. - In bud.

Tapertip Onion: Allium accuminatum

* Yellow Bells: Fritillaria pudica

Panicle Deathcamas: Toxicoscordion paniculatum

* Grass Widows: Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii

Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum

Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata ssp. intermontana

* Common Chickweed: Stellaria media

Shining Oregon Grape: Berberis aquifolium

* Little Western Bittercress: Cardamine oligosperma

* Narrow Tansymustard: Descurainia incisa ssp. filipes (Descurainia longipedicellata?)

* Spring Whitlow-grass: Draba verna

* Scale Pod: Idahoa scapigera

* Fringepods: Thysanocarpus curvipes

California Poppy: Eschscholzia californica

Mock Orange: Philadelphus lewisii

* Smooth Prairie Star: Lithophragma glabrum

* Peak Saxifrage: Micranthes fragosa

Domestic Pear Trees: Pyrus communis

Evergreen Blackberry: Rubus laciniatus

Columbia Gorge Lupine: Lupinus latifolius var. latifolius (formerly var. thompsonianus )- Basal leaves emerging from ground.

Velvet Lupine: Lupinus leucophyllus var. leucophyllus - Remains from last year.

Hybrid Velvet Lupine: Lupinus leucophyllus var. leucophyllus x Lupinus sericeus

Small-flowered Lupine: Lupinus micranthus

Bighead Clover: Trifolium macrocephalum - Leaves appearing.

Filaree: Erodium cicutarium

Chervil: Anthriscus scandicina

* Gorman's Salt and Pepper: Lomatium gormanii

* Klickitat Desert Parsley: Lomatium klickitatense

* Biscuitroot: Lomatium macrocarpum - Cream-flowered form.

* Barestem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule - Beginning to bloom.

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

* Salt and Pepper: Lomatium piperi

Nineleaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium triternatum var. triternatum

* Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon conjugens

* Midget Phlox: Microsteris gracilis

Ballhead Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum capitatum var. thompsonii - Lots of leaves visible under the oaks.

Slender Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys tenellus - Basal leaves present.

* Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia parviflora - Beginning to bloom.

Common Monkey Flower: Erythranthe guttata

Annual Bedstraw, Cleavers: Galium aparine

Low Pussytoes: Antennaria dimorpha

* Carey's (Hybrid) Balsamroot: Balsamorhiza careyana x deltoidea ?- A few plants with ray flowers visible on the flower heads.

Western Hawsbeard: Crepis occidentalis - Basal leaves visible.

* Gold Stars: Crocidium multicaule

Gray Rabbitbrush: Ericameria nauseosa var. speciosa

Cushion Fleabane: Erigeron poliospermus


Animals Seen Along This Route:

Mule Deer herd

California Ground Squirrels

Red-tailed Hawks

Harrier

Ravens

Magpies

Scrub Jays

Northern Flicker

Lewis' Woodpeckers

Western Meadowlarks

American Robins

Western Bluebirds

Horned Larks

White-crowned Sparrows

Dark-eyed Juncos

Yellow-rumped Warblers

Violet-green Swallows

Bewicks Wrens

Canyon Wren


Paul Slichter