Natural History Wanderings

Mt. Rainier National Park reports currently blooming  on August 20, 2015:

Sitka Mountain Ash (Sorbus sitchensis) has lovely white blooms, but is probably better known for its bunches of bright red berries. These berries can look almost too-red-to-be-real, popping out of the surrounding foliage. The berries, which last well into winter, are an essential food source for birds and animals in the park. This year appears to be a particularly abundant one for Sitka Mountain Ash berries. This large shrub is found throughout the subalpine regions of the park.

Wildflower Reports

• Paradise: (8/19) sitka mountain ash berries, pearly everlasting, late: cascade aster, corn lily;
• High Lakes Trail/Reflection Lakes: (8/12) mountain bog gentian, pearly everlasting, sitka mountain ash berries; late: fireweed, cascade aster, corn lily; other: huckleberries in fruit, leaves turning color
• Sunrise: (8/6) pearly everlasting, yarrow, few paintbrush, pasqueflower seedheads, cascade asters (late), mountain bog gentians
• SR410/SR123 (8/6): pearly everlasting, fireweed (late), common st. johnswort

See photos at Mt. Rainier National Park.