Natural History Wanderings

Oregon Wildflowers reports Columbia Hills/The Dalles Mt. Ranch Wildflowers

(This report is for the loop between The Dalles Mountain Road and Highway 14.)

The most prevalent wildflowers are Bare-stem parsley (Lomatium nudicaule), Salt-and-Pepper (Lomatium piperi), Smooth Prairie Star (Lithophragma glabrum), Gold Stars (Crocidium multicaule), and Grass Widows (Olsynium douglasii), in that order.

We also saw Northwestern Saxifrage (Saxifraga integrifolia) especially on the Vista Loop, some Yellow Bells (Fritillaria pudica), and some Pungent Desert Parsley (Lomatium grayi).

The famous (and ubiquitous) Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) is just starting, as is some patches of Ballhead Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum capitatum var. capitatum).