Mountain Plants of the Western Cascades

Archive for March, 2010

It is officially spring!! The weather was lovely again yesterday, so Sabine and I headed out past Oakridge to see how things were coming along by Hills Creek Reservoir and some of our other favorite roadside botanizing spots along Road 21. It was almost 5 weeks since we were there, and we were surprised that the Crocidium multicaule (gold stars) was even more outstanding than in February when we thought it was the best we’d ever seen it. Almost every shelf on the cliffs was dusted bright yellow with a multitude of their adorable little daisy-like flowers.

Crocidium multicaule growing en masse along Rigdon Point Road

Upon opening the car door at our first stop along the cliffs, I was immediately taken with a lovely fragrance in the air. We concluded it must be coming from the few small cottonwoods that were leafing out nearby. Their resiny fragrance is a favorite of mine this time of year. But while taking some closeups of the Crocidium, I took a sniff and realized the sweet smell was coming from the flowers. Off hand, I can’t think of any composites with floral fragrance, although many have aromatic leaves. The smell is honey-like with a touch of spice. When I returned home and sniffed the Oregon grape blooming in my garden, I realized the Crocidium was quite similar, only not quite as strong. I had some doubts when, as I sniffed at each plant I photographed, some did not seem to be giving off much fragrance. Later in the day, however, we stopped at a roadcut along Rigdon Point Road. Again, the fragrance struck me as soon as I opened the car door and was delicious up close. No cottonwoods anywhere, nor anything else in bloom. Has anyone else noticed scented Crocidium? Read the rest of this entry »

Castilleja seedlings germinating while still inside the capsule

Several days ago, I was poking around under some of the cushion plants in my rock garden, searching for slugs. The little brats have been demolishing the new foliage on some of my little treasures. This is extremely frustrating. They tend to hide during the day under rocks or underneath plants with dense foliage. Then, while checking under an Eriogonum, I discovered a little capsule filled with tiny seedlings. Evidently some seeds hadn’t fallen out of the capsule when it landed.

When I brought it in to look at it under the microscope, I recognized the visible seed as that of a Castilleja (paintbrush). Last fall, I looked at a number of seeds I’d collected on my hikes before sending them off to the North American Rock Garden Society seed exchange or sowing them myself. The most unusual ones turned out to be from species of Castilleja. I’ve never noticed anything interesting about them when spilled in my hands. Under the microscope, however, the unusual mesh-like coverings are fascinating.

Seeds from a variable population at Hills Creek Reservoir that might be Castilleja hispida, C. pruinosa, or maybe even a hybrid swarm

Then I remembered that I had tossed some of the seeds and the remaining seed capsules under various suitable natives in the garden including penstemons and eriogonums. So this was one of those capsules. A couple of years ago, the first fall after I built a gorgeous new rock garden bed, I tossed some Castilleja hispida seeds under a Penstemon davidsonii. Last year, it not only grew, it flowered! It is emerging again now and looking quite healthy.

Castilleja plants are hemiparasitic—they need a host plant for at least some of their water or nutrition. They may germinate in a pot without a host, but do far better with one. I had tried growing them in pots, but apparently I didn’t plant them out soon enough, and they always died. Tossing the seeds in the garden seems not only more successful, it is much easier!