Natural History Wanderings

Oregon Wildflowers has a new report for Horse Rock Ridge in the Willamette Valley area:

Horse Rock Ridge is in full bloom!

The predominant flowers in the forest are Western Starflower (Trientalis latifolia) and Salal (Gaultheria shallon), along with Candyflower (Claytonia sibirica), Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), Oregon Wood Sorrel (Oxalis oregana), Woods Strawberry (Fragaria vesca), Spotted Coralroot (Corallorrhiza maculata), and Western White Anemone (Anemone deltoidea). There are also patches of Yellowleaf Iris (Iris chrysophylla) as you approach the meadows. Some Fairyslipper (Calypso bulbosa) is still blooming but past peak.

The meadows and hillsides are covered by profuse amounts of the following varieties: Menzies' Larkspur (Delphinium menziesii), Rosy Plectritis (Plectritis congesta), Western Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis), Meadow Death Camas (Zigadenus venenosus), Spring Gold (Lomatium utriculatum), Harsh Paintbrush (Castilleja hispida), Yellow Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus), Annual Agoseris (Agoseris heterophylla), Blue Flax (Linum bienne), White-Top Clover (Trifolium variegatum), Olympic Onion (Allium crenulatum) in rocky areas, Small-Head Clover (Trifolium microcephalum), and Baby Stars (Linanthus bicolor).

Other flowers blooming in the meadows include: Tolmie's Cat's Ear (Calochortus tolmiei), more Yellowleaf Iris near the forest, Black Raspberry (Rubus leucodermis), Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum), Slender Sandwort (Minuartia tenella), Slender Tarweed (Madia gracilis), Little Tarweed (Madia exigua), Sticky Cinquefoil (Potentilla glandulosa), Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa), Cut-leaf Daisy (Erigeron compositus) in some rocky areas, several isolated patches of Clustered Broomrape (Orobanche fasciculata), Chickweed Monkeyflower (Mimulus alsinoides) in seeps, and a few remaining Henderson's Shooting Star (Dodecatheon hendersonii) on their last legs… er… stems.