[Wildflower Bloom Reports for the Columbia River Gorge: 2018]

Wildflower Bloom in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington

Memaloose Trail (State Park and USFS Properties south of Eastbound I84 Rest Area)

April 14, 2018

Serviceberry and oregon grape bloom around the base of the Chatfield Pinnacles, Memaloose Trail........April 14, 2018.

Carey's balsamroot, Cusick's serviceberry and shining Oregon grape bloom around the base of Chatfield Pinnacles along the Memaloose Trail, Columbia River Gorge..........April 14, 2018.

* Indicates the wildflower is currently in bloom.

Comprehensive Plant List for the Memaloose Area

Antlered Perfume: Evernia prunastri

Juniper Haircap Moss: Polytrichum juniperinum

Polytrichum Moss: Polytrichum pilferum

Elongate Racomitrium Moss: Racomitrium elongatum

Wallace's Spikemoss: Selaginella wallacei

Fragile Fern: Cystopteris fragilis

Licorice Fern: Polypodium glycyrrhiza

Imbricate Sword Fern: Polystichum imbricans ssp. imbricans

Ponderosa Pine: Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa

Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii

* Big-leaf Maple: Acer macrophyllum

Oregon White Oak: Quercus garryana var. garryana - Beginning to leaf out.

* Scouler's Willow: Salix scouleriana ? - Honey bees using catkins for pollen gathering.

* Long-anthered Woodrush: Luzula macrantha

Bristly Dog's-tail Grass: Cynosurus echinatus

* Leiberg's Blue Grass: Poa leibergii

Bluebunch Wheatgrass: Pseudoroegneria spicatum - Common away from the cultivated fields areas that were heavily grazed.

Medusahead Wildrye: Taeniatherum caput-medusae

Sagebrush Mariposa: Calochortus macrocarpus var. macrocarpus - Basal leaves.

Ookow, Ball-head Cluster Lily: Dichelostemma congestum

* Pale-anther Glacier Lily: Erythronium grandiflorum var. pallidum - Past peak bloom.

* Chocolate Lily: Fritillaria affinis - Nearing peak bloom.

* Yellow Bells: Fritillaria pudica - Fading out of bloom.

Bicolored Cluster Lily: Triteleia grandiflora ssp. howellii - Buds forming.

* Grass Widows: Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii - Fading out of bloom.

* Fairy Slipper: Calypso bulbosa

Heart-leaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum

Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum

Snow Buckwheat: Eriogonum niveum ? or Strict Buckwheat: Eriogonum strictum var. proliferum

Sheep Sorrel: Rumex acetosella

* Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata ssp. intermontana

* Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata

* Red Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia rubra ssp. rubra

* Line-leaf Montia: Montia linearis

* Jagged Chickweed: Holosteum umbellatum

* Chickweed: Stellaria media

* Upland Larkspur: Delphinium nuttallianum

* Plantain-leaved Buttercup: Ranunculus alismifolius var. alismifolius - Beginning to bloom.

* Western Buttercup: Ranunculus occidentalis var. occidentalis

* Shining Oregon Grape: Berberis aquifolium

* American Wintercress: Barbarea (orthoceras ?)

Oaks Toothwort: Cardamine nuttallii

* Little Western Bittercress: Cardamine oligosperma

* Spring Whitlow-grass: Draba verna

* Fringe Pod: Thysanocarpus curvipes

Leiberg's Stonecrop: Sedum leibergii - In bud.

Broad-leaf Stonecrop: Sedum spathulatum

* Dutchman Breeches: Dicentra cucullaria

* Fairy Poppy: Meconella oregana

Bulblet Prairie Star: Lithophragma bulbifera (now included as part of Lithophragma glabrum) - Past bloom.

* Smooth Praire Star: Lithophragma glabrum

* Small-flowered Prairie Star: Lithophragma parviflorum

* Peak Saxifrage: Micranthes fragosa - Fading.

* Northwestern Saxifrage: Micranthes integrifolia - Fading.

* Nesting Saxifrage: Micranthes nidifica - Fading.

* Rustyhair Saxifrage: Micranthes rufidula - Fading.

Mock Orange: Philadelphus lewisii - Beginning to leaf out.

* Cusick's Serviceberry: Amelanchier alnifolia (var. cusickii ?) - Beginning to bloom.

Ocean Spray: Holodiscus discolor - Beginning to leaf out.

* Common Broad-leaf Lupine: Lupinus latifolius x sericeus (L. latifolius var. thompsonianus) - Beginning to bloom.

* Bighead Clover: Trifolium macrocephalum - Beginning to bloom.

* Hairy Vetch: Vicia villosa - Beginning to bloom.

* Filaree: Erodium cicutarium

Poison Oak: Toxicodendron diversilobum - Beginning to leaf out.

Chervil: Anthriscus caucalis

* Columbia Desert Parsley: Lomatium columbianum - Fading out of bloom.

* Klickitat Desert Parsley: Lomatium klickitatense ?

* Biscuitroot: Lomatium macrocarpum (yellow-flowered form)

* Bare-stem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule

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

* Nineleaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium triternatum var. triternatum - Beginning to bloom.

Common Sweet Cicely: Osmorhiza berteroi

Yampah: Perideridia gairdneri (Perideridia montana)

Western Snakeroot: Sanicula crassicaulis

Sierra Snakeroot: Sanicula graveolens

Columbia Frasera: Frasera albicaulis ssp. nitida - In bud.

* Poet's Shooting Star: Dodecatheon poeticum - Fading out of bloom.

* Midget Phlox: Microsteris gracilis

* Ball-head Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum capitatum var. thompsonii

* Meadow Nemophila: Nemophila pedunculata

Silverleaf Phacelia: Phacelia hastata var. hastata - In bud.

* Puccoon: Lithospermum ruderale - Beginning to bloom.

* Slender Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys tenellus

* Henbit: Lamium amplexicaule

* Narrowleaf Paintbrush: Castilleja attenuata

* Harsh Paintbrush: Castilleja hispida var. hispida

* Large-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia grandiflora - Past their peak bloom.

* Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia parviflora

* Dwarf Owl-clover: Triphysaria pusilla

Bedstraw: Galium aparine

* Big Root: Marah oreganus

Common Snowberry: Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus - Beginning to leaf out.

Yarrow: Achillea millefolium

* Carey's Balsamroot: Balsamorhiza careyana x deltoidea

Bachelor's Button: Centaurea cyanus

Columbia Goldenweed: Columbiadora hallii

* Gold Stars: Crocidium multicaule - Fading out of bloom.

Woolly Sunflower: Eriophyllum lanatum var. lanatum

Scouler's Hawkweed: Hieracium scouleri (former var. cynoglossoides ?)

* False Agoseris, Prairie Dandelion: Nothocalais troximoides

* Western Groundsel: Senecio integerrimus var. exaltatus - Beginning to bloom.

* Common Dandelion: Taraxacum officinale


Animals Seen Along This Route Today:

Turkey Vultures

Red-tailed Hawks

Lewis' Woodpeckers

Northern Flickers

Ravens

Scrub Jays

Stellers Jays

Spotted Towhees

Dark-eyed Juncos

Ruby-crowned Kinglets

Yellow-rumped Warblers

Violet-green Swallows

Pacific Wrens

Western Tree Frogs

California Tortoiseshells

Julia's Orangetips

Fairy Longhorn Moths

Bumblebees

Hoover Flies


Carey's balsamroots blooming under the oaks along the Memaloose Trail, Columbia River Gorge.......April 14, 2018. - Meadows of western buttercups on the Memaloose Plateau, Columbia River Gorge........April 14, 2018.

Meadows of western buttercups on the Memaloose Plateau, Columbia River Gorge........April 14, 2018.

Wildflower bloom on the Memaloose Plateau, Columbia River Gorgel..........April 14, 2018.

Paul Slichter