Natural History Wanderings

Oregon Wildflowers reports

The wildflowers at Coyote Wall and the Labyrinth look wonderful right now. The most prevalent bloomers include: Pungent Desert Parsley (Lomatium grayi); Smooth Prairie Star (Lithophragma glabrum); and Grass Widows (Olsynium douglasii).

Other wildflowers currently blooming include: Small-Flowered Blue-Eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora); Oaks Toothwort (Cardamine nuttallii var. nuttallii); Yellow Bells (Fritillaria pudica); Columbia Gorge Desert Parsley (Lomatium columbianum); Oregon Saxifrage (Saxifraga oregana); Western saxifrage (Saxifraga occidentalis); Popcorn Flower (Plagiobothrys sp.), and Gold Stars (Crocidium multicaule) including an impressive profusion next to the trail in the Labyrinth.

The Grass Widows and Yellow Bells are especially profuse at higher elevations, e.g., near the junction of Atwood Road and Old Ranch Road.

Pungent Desert Parsley (Lomatium grayi) and Bigroot (Marah oreganus) are starting to bloom. Bigroot (Marah oreganus) is starting to bloom. A few patches of Poet`s Shooting Star (Dodecatheon poeticum) and Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sp.) were blooming at lower elevations.