Posts Tagged ‘Castilleja’
A Very Early Spring at Loletta Peak
Looking southeast from the summit of “Loletta Peak,” there’s little evidence of fire. The sharp point of Mt. Thielsen can be seen 25 miles away. Nearby on the right side of the photo is north end of the Balm Mountain rdge. Spreading phlox is abundant all over the summit area.
Several plants of cliff paintbrush (Castilleja rupicola) grow in the gravel along the upper part of Coal Creek Road. These are the only ones not out of reach on cliffs, so it’s a good opportunity to photograph them safely.
After seeing a fresh Siskiyou fritillary (Fritillaria glauca) at Bristow Prairie;(see Lack of Snowpack at Bristow Prairie Leads to Very Early Spring), I realized this would be a good year to look at the much bigger population at “Loletta Peak.” Like Bristow Prairie, my access to Loletta Lakes and the nearby ridge I’ve dubbed “Loletta Peak” is on the north side of the Calapooyas where the snow lasts longer. One of the small silver linings of having no snow pack is that the road is already open when the very early flowering fritillaries come into bloom. After the only other snowpackless winter I’ve experienced in Oregon, I made the same trip on May 29, 2015 (see Another Exciting Day in the Calapooyas).
On May 20th, my husband, Jim, and I headed up Coal Creek Road all the way to the primitive campsite at the east end of the plateau that Loletta Lakes sit in. It is a short but steep climb up through the forest on the south side of the road to get up to the open scree of the ridge. Even though it was well before the road is usually even open, there was plenty in bloom on the ridge. I was disappointed that the fritillary flowers I spotted were already spent, but I hoped that once we reached the top of the 5900′ peak (only another 300′ higher), there might be some left. Thankfully, I found several fresh flowers on the gentle slopes of the summit though each only had a single flower.
2026 Botanizing Season Begins
A single harsh paintbrush (Castilleja hispida) plant was coming into bloom along the reservoir cliffs, with gold stars blooming nearby.
The forecast for March 7th was partly sunny and above 60°. While I’d seen one butterfly and some early flowers at home, I was anxious to get out to see many more, so I decided to put my work aside and head out Road 21 along Hills Creek Reservoir and through the Rigdon area for my annual season-opening trip. My usual early flower friends were all out, gold stars (Crocidium multicaule) being the standout, as usual. The Sierra gooseberry (Ribes roezlii) was just beginning to flower, and the Hall’s lomatium (Lomatium hallii) was also getting started. The clouds were breaking up, and I passed several California tortoiseshells as I drove along the reservoir, so it was really starting to seem like spring.
The gold stars were beautiful at the base and on top of “Ladybug Rock,” just 6/10 of a mile before Camper’s Flat campground. This is the biggest gathering place of California tortoiseshells on warm sunny days in March.
After my usual stops along the cliffs at the reservoir between mileposts 7 and 10, I stopped for lunch at Everage Flat. Last year, Kate Shapiro joined me for my first trip of 2025 (which I apparently never blogged about). While at Everage Flat, we spent quite a while removing Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), which was threatening to take over the wooded area at the north end. This is where there is a good-sized population of long-spurred piperia (Platanthera elongata). I was relieved to find less than a dozen Scotch broom still there, and I quickly dispatched those. The Forest Service is so understaffed and underfunded—especially for botany work—that volunteer effort is going to be needed to keep weeds under control. The skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) wasn’t even up yet, but I checked on the single plant of straggly gooseberry (Ribes divaricatum), and was happy to see a healthy branch, though with no flowers yet. The large Scouler’s willow (Salix scouleriana) was in full bloom by the road with lots of fly activity, but the few California tortoiseshells showed no interest in it.
The second year rosettes of varileaf phacelia (Phacelia heterophylla ssp. virgata) are quite beautiful before they send up the flowering stalk. These grow profusely along Road 21 at the north end of the reservoir as well as in one spot along the west side.
This was a new record for me—11 California tortoiseshells at once. There were also several alighting on my pants and my camera bag. Once one lands, everyone else wants to see what the fuss is about.
The highlight of the day had to be checking out the tortoiseshell gathering on “Ladybug Rock”. They rarely disappoint me on my first trip out. There were probably about 50 fluttering around on the sunny rock face. Only one little echo azure was also out, nectaring on gold stars. A little bit farther up the road, there’s a small creek that runs over the road bank. For some reason, that’s where I get the most attention from the butterflies. I spent almost half an hour “collecting” butterflies on my sweaty hand. I beat my previous record of 9 butterflies on one hand that I set in 2022 (see 2022 Botanizing and Butterflying Season has Begun!). I could try for two hands next year—but then I wouldn’t being able to photograph them!
My next stop was Camper’s Flat to check out the blooming white alders (Alnus rhombifolia) along the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. I also climbed up to the opening on the other side of the road to see the tiny-flowered meadow nemophila (Nemophila peduculata) and was very happy to see the first flowers of chickweed monkeyflower (Erythranthe alsinoides). I’ve spent the last few months working on a treatment for Phrymaceae for the Flora of Oregon, Volume 3. I’ve looked at lots of specimens of monkeyflowers online and in the OSU Herbarium as well as my photos and those on iNaturalist and elsewhere, but I was really looking forward to seeing living plants again. Their flowers are so delicate, they just don’t press well, and many of the important features can’t be seen well in photos either. It’s also really hard to see the vestiture—the hairs that cover the herbage and are often present in the flowers. There’s just no substitute for seeing the plants in the wild.
Most of the pollinators I saw were flies, like this one on a fresh sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus).
That was all pleasant botanizing and butterfly watching, but now it was time for the task I wasn’t exactly looking forward to. Last August, the Emigrant Fire was started by lightning and burned across an area over 33,000 acres south of Road 21, east of Staley Creek Road 2134, and much of the way up to the Calapooya Crest. I hadn’t been in the area since and was afraid of what I might find. Someone recently told me that the forest around Grassy Glade was devastated. I wasn’t sure if I could stand to see it yet, so I decided to head to Sacandaga Campground first, as it is right next to the northern end of the fire, and I hoped it would have been protected. There was no sign of burned trees all the way to the campground—yay! Rigdon Meadow was surrounded by green trees. I could see a desolate ridge to the east and was puzzled. Wasn’t that already burned in the Tumblebug Fire back in 2009? But then why is it still completely dead 16 years later? I had forgotten that most of the Emigrant Fire was actually in the footprint of the previous fire—the heavy fuel load of dead wood and brushy regrowth had fueled the explosive spread of the fire.
The view southwest across the Middle Fork of the Willamette River reveals only patchy burned forest at the north end of last year’s Emigrant Fire.
While most of the Sacandaga Campground was unscathed, Sacandaga Bluff was burned. The annuals and bulbs seemed to benefit from it. This seedling bluefield gilia (Gilia capitata) was probably three times bigger than any I have growing at home. There were lots of chickweed monkeyflowers as well.
When I climbed up the south end of the campground to “Sacandaga Bluff,” I was dismayed to finally see signs of fire. I had hoped to see all the early pollinators that enjoy the large manzanitas up there, but the manzanitas appeared to have been cut and strewn about. The fallen logs were burned black, and the standing trees were alive but charred at the base. Looking south across the river, most of the forest was green with only patchy brown areas, so it seems unlikely the fire crossed the river. I guessed the firefighters must have lit a backburn to protect the campground. A call to the Middle Fork Forest Service office this morning confirmed this. I looked around for signs of the rare Sierra cliff brake (Pellaea brachyptera) but couldn’t locate it. I hope that the fire was light enough to take out last year’s dead fronds without killing the plants, but I won’t know for a while. There was also no sign of the many-stemmed sedge (Carex multicaulis), also at the northern end of its range. On the other hand, the annuals and bulbs seemed to be coming up profusely, likely a little extra carbon stimulating their growth.
From Sacandaga Bluff, you can see the Tumblebug Fire scar now reburned. It doesn’t look that different than it did 5 years ago (see On the Menu at the Butterfly Café) except the pocket of green that escaped the 2009 fire is mostly gone now. Note also how much less snow is on the ridge than in 2021 at the end of March.
Relieved that the fire damage there was not as bad as I thought, I headed up Staley Creek Road to take a look at the Staley Creek Gorge. No signs warning of closures or dead trees—that’s promising. No sign of burned trees. I started getting hopeful the area was spared. I was able to let some of my trepidation go as I arrived at the bridge across Staley Creek. There was a small burned area to the left of the far side of the bridge, but it was the least interesting area botanically. Whew! I didn’t have time to head all the way up to Grassy Glade (and I’ve now found out that the road is actually closed, though there were no signs), but I did drive up Road 2137 a tenth of a mile to inspect the small roadcut openings that are so floriferous in the spring. Much of the meadow area was fine with lots of gold stars in bloom and other species just emerging, but there was no sign of the perennial Howell’s pussytoes (Antennaria howellii), and the woods above were largely burned. This is the lowest elevation that I’ve seen this uncommon species. Perhaps it will come back from seed. All in all, I’m relieved that the area is not as damaged as I’d been imagining all winter. Hopefully, this summer won’t be too bad, but I’m bracing myself for more fires in the future.
Only a small area on the northeast side of the Staley Creek Bridge was burned. I had worried that the lovely Pacific yews (Taxus brevifolia) in the primitive camping area on the south side of the bridge were gone, but thankfully they were untouched.
This little meadow above the roadcut on Road 2137 did get burned. The largest dead tree in the middle of the photo was an impressive sugar pine. I’m very sad to lose that one.
Long-awaited Return to Abbott Butte
You can see Mount McLoughlin to the southeast from the summit meadow.
This cute bee is nectaring on tall sneezeweed (Helenium bigelovii), a southwestern Oregon species I’ve only seen in the Cascades near the Abbott Butte trailhead and at nearby Donegan Meadows.
In late June, I received an e-mail from Adam Schneider, another avid wildflower photographer, saying he was heading down to the Rogue-Umpqua Divide and did I have any suggestions for where to go. This is one of my favorite areas of the Cascades, and I used to try to get down there every year. But then I got busier with work, and every time I thought about going there was a heat wave or thunderstorms in the forecast or a nearby fire or smoke. Somehow a decade passed without a visit! Then when my old van became too untrustworthy to drive into the mountains, we got an electric vehicle. I’d been keeping an eye on charging stations, but as of summer of 2024, there still weren’t any on the east side of the Cascades that I could use to make the long trip. Adam’s e-mail prompted me to take another look, and I was thrilled to see a fast-charging station had been installed in Chemult last fall! Read the rest of this entry »
Butterflies at Patterson Mountain
Orange sulphurs hardly ever sit long enough for me to get a good photo, and when they do, they never open their wings. I watched several nectaring on pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) in one of the side meadows near the summit. It occurred to me that if I could record a video while they flew, I might actually be able to get a decent look at their bright orange dorsal side. You can see this in the slowed down (~1/7 speed) video below. This sulphur was accompanied by a couple of Edith’s coppers and what looks like some kind of a fly.
A clodius parnassian drinking from a mountain thistle (Cirsium remotifolium)
On July 22, I went up to Patterson Mountain in hopes of collecting seed of one of my favorite native plants, great polemonium (Polemonium carneum). It grows in abundance on the south side of the mountain, well off the trail. There is also a smaller population growing on the edge of the meadow near the Lone Wolf Shelter. My timing was good, and I came home with enough polemonium seed to share. I also found seeds of Scouler’s valerian (Valeriana sitchenis var. scouleri), another native that is growing well for me. Nothing particularly exciting happened, but I did enjoy watching butterflies, so I thought I’d share some photos and a video.
Another Try at Groundhog Mountain
From high up on Little Groundhog meadow where the skyrocket (or scarlet gilia) and sticky cinquefoil were abundant, I got a great view of Diamond Peak to the east.
This lovely female Julia’s orangetip was nectaring on a rockcress (Boechera sp.), which might also serves as a host food plant for many whites, including orangetips.
After not reaching the wetlands at Groundhog Mountain the previous week (see Long Overdue Return to Warfield Bog and Hemlock Butte Wetland), Alan Butler, Dave Predeek, Don Wirtala, and I made another attempt on June 25th. This time, we headed in from the west starting on Road 2120, like I’ve been doing for a number of years. The first 4 or 5 miles were in good shape, and I was hopeful for a relatively easy drive up, but then we started to see lots of trees down on the road. Someone had cut some gaps, but we got out a number of times to move branches and small trees off the road. I was going to be leading a field trip for NPSO on July 12th, so I was hoping to make sure the road was clear for passenger cars. After a while, however, it became apparent that there were too many obstructions for me to get my car up this way, let alone to take a group. Having gotten most of the way up, however, Alan didn’t want to turn around and thankfully was able to slowly get his truck over, under, and around dozens of downed trees. Read the rest of this entry »
Long Overdue Return to Warfield Bog and Hemlock Butte Wetland
Warfield Bog was filled with beautiful buckbean in peak bloom. I’ve rarely had such good timing with buckbean because it blooms very early. It is also difficult to get close to as it grows in shallow water that is often quite mucky.
On June 18th, I accompanied Alan Butler, Dave Predeek, and Don Wirtala for a trip up to Groundhog Mountain. It was new for Don, and Alan was really looking forward to showing him this wonderful area of wetlands and rocky roadsides. We headed up Road 2309 from the north, Alan’s favored route, but alas, after enjoying the flowery roadcut area, we were stopped by a very large old growth tree that had fallen across the road. Alan didn’t feel like going all the way around the reservoir to come in from the west side, so we came up with a backup plan—something we should have already thought about this early in the season.
The roadcuts on 2309 on the way up to Groundhog Mountain were well along and drying out, but the harsh paintbrush (Castilleja hispida) and Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum) were still providing a lot of color. We thought it was interesting how the Oregon sunshine on the steep banks below the road were following the cracks down the slope.
Early Spring Bloom Begins at Elk Camp and Mistmaiden Meadow
Western springbeauty (Claytonia lanceolata) and glacier lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum) were following the melting snowbanks along the edge of the wetland at Elk Camp. Well worth the many miles of gravel road to see this gorgeous display!
On Saturday, May 24th, I finally got up into the mountains. So far this spring, I’d gone down to the Siskiyous, up to the Columbia Gorge, and made a few trips out to Rigdon. I had yet to get up high or drive on any real gravel roads. As dry as it has been in April and May, I really wanted to go somewhere fresh and moist. Elk Camp is only 4400′, but it feels higher and is level enough to retain lots of snow. I wasn’t sure I would make it there this early in the season, but Mistmaiden Meadow is right on the way, and if I couldn’t even get there, I figured I’d go to Tire Mountain—always a worthwhile trip. I knew that the roads would be clear up to Tire Mountain and Road 1912 as far as the intersection of Road 140 because mountain bikers can get on the extremely popular Alpine Trail there, and the outfit that drives shuttles of bikers up was advertising daily trips there. In fact, I think I saw 5 vans along the road. I normally would have avoided going up there on a weekend—and a holiday weekend at that—but the weather was gorgeous, and I didn’t want to wait any longer. Read the rest of this entry »
Collecting for the Annual Wildflower Show
There was plenty of water in Staley Creek, fueled by melting snow from the Calapooya Mountains above. After such a dry spring, however, the rocks and meadow areas were quite dry. Still, the rosy plectritis (Plectritis congesta) was blooming well, and we saw other annuals like the large-flowered blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia grandiflora) to its left.
Leela collected a few of the abundant paintbrush along the side of Hills Creek Reservoir. We looked at the wide degree of variation between plants. While most are undoubtedly the common harsh paintbrush (Castilleja hispida) with its wide well-lobed leaf blades, there were quite a number with narrower leaves and no lobes at all. They also had pointier calyx teeth than typical C. hispida. These may be hybrids of frosted paintbrush (C. pruinosa), more common in the area at higher elevations.
The 46th Annual Mount Pisgah Arboretum Wildflower Festival was on May 18th this year. On Friday, May 16th, I accompanied Leela Hickman on a trip to the Rigdon area south of Oakridge to collect for the wildflower show, a joint project of the Emerald Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon and the botany department at Lane Community College. With the current state of chaos in the government, Leela is now the only botanist in the Middle Fork District of the Willamette National Forest. In fact, she’s one of only a few botanists left in Willamette National Forest. It’s a sorry state of affairs, but don’t get me started….
It was a very pleasant day, though somewhat cloudy, so there weren’t many butterflies. We found a number of interesting plants I hoped might be in bloom that weren’t normally displayed at the show, including Marshall’s saxifrage (Micranthes marshallii), Rattan’s blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia rattanii), Howell’s violet (Viola howellii), many-stemmed sedge (Carex multicaulis), field pussytoes (Antennaria howellii), and the easily overlooked slender woolly-heads (Psilocarphus tenellus). I also got to show Leela some special spots in the district. She was all prepared with containers, water, and a cooler to store them in so they would still look good a couple of days later. Read the rest of this entry »
Long-awaited Return to McCord Creek Falls
Thimbleberries blooming in front of McCord Creek Falls
White shootingstar was in perfect bloom in the damp areas of the cliff.
My first visit to McCord Creek Falls was on a trip led by Russ Jolley, the author of the classic field guide, Wildflowers of the Columbia Gorge. It was way back in 1997, on a field trip organized by the now-defunct Emerald Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society. I immediately fell in love with the place because part of the trail is cut into one of those amazing vertical cliffs that grace the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. While I have a lot of favorites, plants that have adapted to survive the brutal conditions of life in rock crevices have to be my favorite favorites. You have to respect anything that tough. And the contrast of the colorfully flowered and delicate-looking plants with the hard and craggy rocks appeals to the artist in me. Over the next 13 years, I made the long trip north 10 more times. But somehow it just dropped off my radar. I guess I got too busy to drive all the way up there because my last trip there was in 2010 (see Late Bloom at McCord Creek Falls). Read the rest of this entry »
Another Great Wildlife Day at Hills Peak
This shallow pond disappears fairly soon after the snow melts, so this was probably only the second time I’d seen it with any water in it. It might not look like it at first glance, but it was teeming with life.
I was hoping to see the tiny flowers lesser bladderwort (Utricularia minor), a rare carnivorous plant, but I only turned up one of them.
On July 14, I braved another hot day to head back up to Hills Peak, where I had just been a week and a half before (see Exploring a New Wetland Near Hills Peak). Accompanying me were Angela Soto and her partner Daniel. As on the previous trip, I wanted to go somewhere that would be reasonably easy and close to water, given the heat. The area around Hills Peak is the perfect place for relaxing exploration and is a great place for wildlife as well as plants.
I also really wanted to see and photograph the flowers of little elephant’s head (Pedicularis attollens), an east-side species that is rare on the west side of the Cascades. It hadn’t started blooming in time for my first trip, but I hoped it would be out by now. And since it was the first time Angela or Daniel had been to this interesting area, I wanted to show them a number of the easily accessed wetlands along with the rocky crags of Hills Peak itself. Read the rest of this entry »