Natural History Wanderings

Flora Northwest has a new wildflower update for the Columbia River Gorge:

February 18, 2013: Memaloose Trail (Memaloose Overlook to Lone Pine Hills). Gold stars (Crocidium multicaule), Columbia desert parsley (Lomatium columbianum), pungent desert parsley (Lomatium grayi), salt and pepper (Lomatium piperi), grass widows (Olsynium douglasii) and the first western buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis) were observed near Memaloose today. The Columbia desert parsleys are much bigger and more numerous today, although they are still just coming out of the ground. The grass widows are much more numerous, perhaps 100 per acre rather than the couple per acre in weeks past. They will be peaking in about 2-3 weeks unless there is a big change in the weather.

See all  of their reports for 2013 for the Columbia River Gorge at: Wildflower Bloom in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington for 2013.