[Popcorn Flowers: The Genus Plagiobothrys in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]
Rusty Plagiobothrys, Rusty Popcornflower, Rusty Popcorn Flower
Plagiobothrys nothofulvus
The photo above shows a close-up of the flower of rusty popcorn flower found along the 3 Bench
Loop (above Doug's Beach), Columbia River Gorge, WA.........March 24, 2008.
The photo
at right shows the basal rosette of leaves of rusty popcorn flower as found along the 3 Bench Loop (above
Doug's Beach), Columbia River Gorge, WA........March 24, 2008. The similar Cryptanths lack this feature in the Gorge during flowering time.
Characteristics:
Rusty popcorn flower is a taprooted annual with
one to several stems arising from the base. The herbage is spreading-hairy
with the hairs of the stem shorter, softer, more curled and somewhat stickier
than those of the leaves. The leaves are all alternate with a basal tuft of
persistent leaves and a few progressively reduce leaves scattered on the stems.
The basal leaves range from 2-10 cm long and 5-20 mm wide, and they are largely
the same width through much of their length.
The racemes are often paired, beginning as a
tight coil and then elongating. The white flowers are relatively large and
showy, with individual petals ranging from 5-9 mm wide. The calyx is covered
with stiff yellowish, tawny hairs.
Habitat:
Rusty popcorn flower may be found on open slopes,
in fields and along roadsides.
Range:
Rusty popcorn flower is common in the Columbia
River Gorge and found west of the Cascade Mts. occasionally from western Oregon
south to northern Baja California.
In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found
between the elevations of 100'-1400' from Dog Mt. east to near the Dalles,
OR.
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Rusty popcornflower blooming on the northwest side of Chenoweth Table near The Dalles, Oregon............March 28, 2013. The photo at right was taken on USFS propertyat a rocky hill about one-quarter mile northeast of the junction of Highway 30 and Marsh Cutoff Road at Memaloose in the Columbia River Gorge on the same day. Rusty popcornflower is very similar in appearance to common cryptanth (Cryptantha intermedia), but that latter species lacks the basal rosette of leaves and especially lacks the rusty hairs on the calyces.
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Rusty popcornflower blooming on dry slopes above the east end of Hewett Lake about half a mile or so east of Major Creek, Columbia River Gorge......April 6, 2018.
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Rusty popcornflower beginning to bloom atop Mill Creek Ridge, Wasco County, OR......March 17, 2020.
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Close-ups of the maturing nutlets and calyces (post-flowering) of rusty popcornflower as seen in upland grasslands near Murrays Addition to the northwest of The Dalles, Oregon...........May 14, 2012.
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Rusty popcornflower as seen near the Wasco County Rock Quarry on USFS lands on Sevenmile Hill, several miles northwest of The Dalles, Oregon.........March 8, 2015.
Rusty popcornflower at peak bloom, creating a carpet of white flowers on the west-facing slopes of Tracy Hill, Catherine Creek, Columbia River Gorge.........April 8, 2014.
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Rusty popcornflower as seen along theMemaloose Loop Trail, Columbia River Gorge..........April 21, 2017.
Paul Slichter
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