Natural History Wanderings

Late Summer Almost Fall Wildflower Report For Lassen National Park

I just spent two days at Lassen Park and was amazed at the amount of wildflowers still blooming.  Lassen is having a very late wildflower season. Lots of species and displays.  Many are right along the road.  I even managed to see Fawn lilies still blooming by snow melt.  There are many  flowers along the main road from about a mile south of the park to Kings Creek. It is worth the very short walk down to Kings Creek to see the meadow.  The best displays were in the higher elevations.  Some areas are definitely past peak but there are some flowers that have yet to bloom.

I also hiked out to Paradise Meadow.  Although past peak, there were many species in bloom and good displays along the trail by the creek and at the edges of the Meadow.  The far edge of the meadow and slightly up hill from the edge were many Corn Lily, Lupine and Arrowhead Groundsel still in bloom. I even found a few Sierra Lilies in bloom.

We stayed at the new cabins at Manzanita Lake which were quite nice and made for easy camping especially during the Thunderstorm we had last night.  A Flora of Lassen Volcanic National Park, California by Gillett, Howell and Leschke  was very helpful with plant ID’s.

Here are a some photos from the trip:

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Plant List from one mile south of park entrance heading north until about Kings Creek 9/11/11

Ranger Buttons

Arrowhead Grounsel

Bigelow’s Sneezeweed

White Rein Orchid

Yampah

Asters and/or Erigerons – White and Purple

Monkshood

Frog Orhci

Pearly Everlasting

Yellow Monkeyflower

Hikers Gentian

Paintbrush – 3 species

Sierra Corydalis

Grass of Parnassus

Western Burnet

Pennyroyal

Corn Lily

Thistle, Brownie (?)

Rabbitbrush

Brewer’s Angelica

Nude Buckwheat

Showy Penstemon

Mugwort

Western Eupatorium

Yarrow

Gayophytum sp.

Buckwheat sp. (yellow)

Phacelia sp.

Epilobium sp. (small)

Single Stemmed Groundsel

Goldenrod

Primrose Monkeyflower

Arnica sp.

Pussypaws

Stickweed

Balsamroot

Onion sp.

Shooting Star sp.

Red Heather

Fawn Lily

Tinker’s Penny

Kalmia

Cinquefoil sp.

Mt. Pride

Creambush

Western Columbine

Shasta Clover

Hawkweed

Marum-leaved Buckwheat

Snow Plant

Silverleaf Lupine

Narrow Leaf Lupine

and at least one other Lupine

Trail from Hat Creek to Paradise Meadow and Paradise Meadow Plant List 9/12/11

Pinedrops

Penstemon sp.

Pennyroyal

Lupine sp. (at least two species)

Rabbitbrush

Nude Buckwheat

Horkelia

Scarlet Gilia

Western Columbine

Asters and/or Erigerons Purple and White

Paintbrush (at least two species)

Mugwort

Rangerbuttons

White-veined Wintergreen

Yarrow

Arrowhead Groundsel

Larkspur

Primrose Monkey Flower

Hawksbeard

Small Polemonium

Brewer’s Angelica

Corn Lily

White-rein Orchid

Yampah

Musk Monkeyflower

Yellow Monkeyflower

Veronica

Chickweed sp.

Arnica sp.

Sierra Lily

Fireweed

Onion sp.

Bishop’s Cap

Butterflies

Hoary Common

West Coast Lady

Clodius Parnassian

Common Buckeye

Blue sp.

a white unidentified moth

All errors are mine and corrections welcome and appreciated