[Wildflower Bloom Reports for the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington: 2018] - [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 Historical State Park

Downhill from the Dalles Mt. Ranch Trailhead

May 2, 2018

Balsamroot bloom near the Dalles Mt. Ranch, Columbia Hills Historical State Park.......May 2, 2018.

View north across Carey's balsamroot slopes near the Dalles Mt. Ranch with the Columbia Hills on the skyline.........May 2, 2018.

Weather: Mostly sunny, calm in the morning with light winds after lunch time. Temperatures in the mid to high 70s.

* indicates a wildflower currently in bloom.

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

* Cheatgrass: Bromus tectorum

Bottlebrush Squirreltail: Elymus elymoides

Idaho Fescue: Festuca idahoensis

Giant Wildrye: Leymus cinereus

* Bulbous Bluegrass: Poa bulbosa

* Nevada Bluegrass: Poa secunda ssp. juncifolia ?

* Sandberg's Bluegrass: Poa secunda ssp. secunda

Bluebunch Wheatgrass: Pseudoroegneria spicata

Medusahead: Taeniatherum caput-medusae

* Big-leaf Maple: Acer macrophyllum - Fading out of bloom.

Creek Dogwood: Cornus sericea - Along creeks

California Filbert: Corylus cornuta var. californica

* Oregon White Oak: Quercus garryana var. garryana

Tapertip Onion: Allium accuminatum - In bud.

Sagebrush Mariposa: Calochortus macrocarpus var. macrocarpus

Yellow Bells: Fritillaria pudica - Fruits ripening.

* Bicolor Cluster Lily: Triteleia grandiflora var. howellii

* Panicle Deathcamas: Toxicoscordion paniculatum - Fading out of bloom.

* Heartleaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum - Beginning to bloom......both cream and yellow-flowered varieties.

Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum

Snow Buckwheat: Eriogonum niveum ?

Curly Dock: Rumex crispus

* Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata ssp. intermontana - Fading out of bloom.

* Common Chickweed: Stellaria media

* White Water buttercup: Ranunculus aquatilis

* Shining Oregon Grape: Berberis aquifolium

* American Wintergreen: Barbarea orthoceras

Spring Whitlow-grass: Draba verna -Seed heads.

* Tumblemustard: Sisymbrium altissimum

Fringepods: Thysanocarpus curvipes - Pods.

Mock Orange: Philadelphus lewisii

* Small-flowered Prairie Star: Lithophragma parviflorum - Fading out of bloom.

* Peak Saxifrage: Micranthes nidifica - Fading out of bloom along creeks.

Oceanspray: Holodiscus discolor

Glandular Cinquefoil: Potentilla glandulosa (var. ) - In bud.

* Bittercherry: Prunus emarginata var. emarginata

Chokecherry: Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa - In bud.

* Yakima Milkvetch: Astragalus reventiformis

* Prairie Lupine: Lupinus lepidus var. aridus - Beginning to bloom.

* Columbia Gorge Lupine: Lupinus latifolius var.latifolius (L. latifolius x sericeus)

Velvet Lupine: Lupinus leucophyllus

* Small-flowered Lupine: Lupinus micranthus

* Bingen Lupine: Lupinus sulphureus var. bingenensis

Alfalfa: Medicago sativa

* Filaree: Erodium cicutarium

Common St. John's Wort: Hypericum perforatum

* Chervil: Anthriscus scandicina

* Narrowfruit Biscuitroot: Lomatium brevifolium (L. triternatum var. brevifolium)

* Klickitat Desert Parsley: Lomatium klickitatensis (L. grayii )

Biscuitroot: Lomatium macrocarpum - Past bloom. Cream-flowered form.

* Barestem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule

* Nineleaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium triternatum var. triternatum

Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon conjugens

* Showy Phlox: Phlox speciosa

* Ballhead Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum capitatum var. thompsonii - Fading out of bloom.

* Tarweed Fiddleneck: Amsinckia lycopsoides

* Weak-stem Cryptanth: Cryptantha flaccida

* Yellow and Blue Scorpionweed: Myosotis discolor

* Blue Scorpion Grass: Myosotis stricta

* Slender Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys tenellus

* Attenuate Paintbrush: Castilleja attenuata

* Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia parviflora

* Common Monkey Flower: Erythranthe guttata

Moth Mullein: Verbascum blattaria

Common Mullein: Verbascum thapsus

* Corn Speedwell: Veronica arvensis

* Annual Bedstraw, Cleavers: Galium aparine

Teasel: Dipsacus fullonum

* Manroot: Marah oreganus

Blue Elderberry: Sambucus cerulea

Common Snowberry: Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus

* Long-spur Plectritis: Plectritis ciliosa

Yarrow: Achillea millefolium - In bud.

* Low Pussytoes: Antennaria dimorpha

* Carey's Balsamroot: Balsamorhiza careyana (or Balsamorhiza careyana x deltoidea) - Past their peak on the State Park.

Chicory: Cichorum intybus

Bull Thistle: Cirsium vulgare

Western Hawsbeard: Crepis occidentalis - In bud.

Gold Stars: Crocidium multicaule - Just finished blooming.

Gray Rabbitbrush: Ericameria nauseosa var. speciosa

Blanketflower: Gaillardia aristata - In bud.

* Pineappleweed: Matricaria discoidea - Beginning to bloom.

Columbia Goldenweed: Pyrrocoma carthamoides var. carthamoides - In bud.

Yellow Salsify: Tragopogon dubius


Animals Seen Along This Route:

California Ground Squirrels

Turkey Vulture

Golden Eagle

Red-tailed Hawks

Ravens

Northern Flickers

Lewis' Woodpecker

Western Meadowlarks

Spotted Towhee

American Robins

Western Bluebirds

Carnivorous Ground Beetles - mating?

Large Bombus bumblebee


Paul Slichter