Mountain Plants of the Western Cascades

Posts Tagged ‘Campanula’

A large fritillary (Hydaspe I think) was one of four enjoying the flowers of mockorange (Philadelphus lewisii) once they emerged from the shade.

I don’t have time today to write a real report, and there weren’t any really exciting moments on my hike to Bearbones Mountain yesterday (July 27). I did add 5 species to my plant list and collected seed from a number of plants. As I scan them, I’ll add them to my seed gallery. It was a good day for butterfly photography, even though there weren’t many species, so I thought I would at least share some photos. I spent a good 45 minutes sitting (actually I was mostly teetering on a small ledge on a large rock) beside a perfectly blooming mockorange that was the focal point for all the butterflies in the area. Between the happy butterflies, the pleasant breeze, and the heavenly fragrance of the lovely flowers, I can’t imagine a better way to pass an afternoon. Read the rest of this entry »

This smooth douglasia (Douglasia laevigata), on the right side of this photo, clearly bloomed quite well, but, unfortunately for me, that was several weeks ago. It was growing in an exposed spot near the top of the cliff. Wolf Mountain can be seen not so far away in the top center of the photo. Fuji Mountain is behind it just to the left.

Ever since I discovered the most southerly population of Douglasia laevigata on Groundhog Mountain in the fall of 2010 (see Exciting Cliff at Groundhog Mountain), I’ve been wanting to get back to see the hidden cliff on the north end in bloom. The deep snow pack last year discouraged me from even trying, as the cliff plants would have been quite far along before the north-facing road melted out, and Douglasia is a very early bloomer. Two weeks ago I decided to give it a try, but, alas, I ran into snow before the turn onto Road 451 to Waterdog Lake, so I cut over to Moon Point instead (see Butterflies, Currants, Shooting Stars, and More). Yesterday (July 2), I was pretty confident I could get over to the west side of Groundhog, and I hoped that there might be at least of few flowers left on the Douglasia. Sabine Dutoit and Ingrid Ford and her sweet dog Bogy joined me. Read the rest of this entry »

Explorer’s gentian (Gentiana calycosa) growing out of a crack in the rock face at the base of the “east Tidbit”. Seeing this same plant well over a decade ago was what first made me wonder if these rock-loving gentians were really the same species as those that grow in wetlands in the High Cascades and elsewhere in the West.

On Friday (September 23), Nancy Bray, Ingrid Ford and her adorable dog Bogy, and I headed up to Tidbits to see the gentians. I had planned to get up there early in the season to see the many great plants that grow on the massive rock formations, but there are just too many places to visit. But although it was actually the first day of fall, there are still a few things to see. Thank goodness for the gorgeous gentians. They are somewhat like dessert after a great meal, saving the best for last, the final sweet treat that lingers with you and tides you over until the next flower season. There are not very many species of Gentiana in the Cascades, and they are never terribly common. Tidbits is one of the few places in the Western Cascades with a good show of gentians, so it is always worth a late-season trip. Read the rest of this entry »

Pine white sipping from the tiny tubular flowers of Ageratina occidentalis

Hunting season is one of my least favorite times of the year. I really resent being told it is unsafe for me to be up in the mountains. So I ignore that and go about my business, my only accommodation being that I wear brightly colored clothes. In many years of botanizing in last summer and fall, I’ve never run into a hunter actually hunting. Usually, I see them driving around, and I’ve had conversations with some who are camping or heading back to their cars. Well, there’s a first for everything.

I headed back up to Hills Peak yesterday (September 11), to check out the spots I’d missed on my two previous trips (click here to see previous posts) and to visit with the pikas one last time. Seeing a truck parked by the entrance to the pika slope, I started the day by parking just a bit farther up the road. From here, I walked through the woods to the wetland just south of Road 2153. I checked many of the numerous patches of the larger form of Mimulus primuloides to see if there were any stolons like there were on the small ones at the nearby wetlands and earlier in the week at Echo Basin (see Late Bloomers at Echo Basin & Ikenick Creek). I couldn’t find a single one. There were obvious runners in several patches of the small, hairy form on the south edge of the wetland. I don’t know what it means, but it is interesting, and I’ll keep paying attention to that feature in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

Sabine and I went to Lowder Mountain yesterday and had a very productive and enjoyable day (other than all the overgrown foliage being wet and soaking me for much of the day and lots of trees down on the trail). My main goal was to find a way to get a better look at the plants growing on the massive cliffs at the top—without killing myself. I was successful and found several open areas on the ridge farther west (thanks to GoogleEarth) and some places in the woods where I could go down a bit and get a better viewing angle at the nearby rocks. I was able to confirm 2 plants I had guessed by general gestalt from 100′ away with binoculars in the past. Both Dodecatheon pulchellum and Heuchera merriamii do indeed grow on those cliffs. The DODPUL was in seed but I was able to touch it. The Heuchera merriamii was in full bloom. Though still just seen from binoculars, I was a lot closer, and I’m now positive of the ID. In addition, I found Erigeron cascadensis, Trifolium productum, Epilobium glaberrimum fastigiatum, and an Arnica (not latifolia) on the rocks. And lots more Campanula rotundifolia, just coming into bloom. No more gentians however, although they were just starting at the rock garden on the ridge which is otherwise dried out.

Close up of Gilia capillaris

We made several other additions to the list elsewhere on the trail, but the big one was that Sabine’s sharp eyes spotted Gilia capillaris in the meadow where the trail has an intersection and you turn to go up to the top of Lowder. I was quite surprised to see it there among the more common belly plants like Galium bifolium, Navarretia divaricata, Phlox gracilis, Polygonums (cascadense and kelloggioides) and Gayophytums. It is quite common in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide. I saw it at all 3 sites I visited last week there. But I’ve never seen it in Lane County before, and it isn’t on the Lane County Checklist. I seem to remember being told that someone had seen it at Moon Point. I would have been much less surprised to see it there in southern Lane County than up at Lowder. It has such delicate linear leaves, I can’t imagine noticing it out of bloom. Now that it is blooming, we should keep our eyes open for it in open ground habitat in Western Cascade meadows. It’s a cutie! It’s usually white to ice blue, but there are some pinky purple ones at Abbott Butte.

Also, the bloom is especially great up at the top of Lowder. There are small snowbanks left in the woods on the outer edges of the giant meadow and moonscape area (still some Mertensia bella and Mitella breweri blooming in a recently melted area). The giant population of Polygonum newberryi (Aconogonum davisae) is starting to bloom (it smells wonderful!), the gazillion Eremogone (Arenaria) pumicola are going full steam, and there is a ton of Calyptridium and Nothocalais alpestris. The other meadows along the trail are largely filled with blooming thimbleberry and Ligusticum, but the Lilium columbianum, Aquilegia formosa, and Ipomopsis aggregata are very nice as well. The first Kyhosia bolanderi are opening in the tiny wetland so I suspect they are blooming now at Quaking Aspen as well. After all the bushwhacking, there was no time to go down there for a peek.