Rosy Blooms

Columbine

Flower above

Leaves below

This columbine was found growing along the side of my house. I don't think it is native to the Pacific Northwest but it is unmistakably a columbine flower. In the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and the genus Aquilegia, this flower is pollinated by hummingbirds and long tongued butterflies.

Baldhip Rose

Rosa gymnocarpa

This cute little rose is scattered all over this area. Flowers in the rose family have started blooming this week. The baldhip rose (above) and the thimbleberry (below) are flowering along the edge of the woods and bring a smile to my face as I drive by them.

Thimbleberry

Rubus parviflorus

These lovely white flowers bloom amongst large maple-like leaves. The berries this plant produces are sought after by birds and bears in late summer and fall.

Reference: "Trees, Shrubs & Flowers to Know in Washington & British Columbia"

by C. P. Lyons and Bill Merilees

Discovering Baneberry

Baneberry

Actaea rubra

Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)

This plant is a rhizomatous perennial growing up to three feet tall. These pictures were taken at McLane Creek, WA in the middle of its blooming season. It generally grows in moist, shady places at lower elevations and is widespread in BC & WA. All parts of this plant are highly poisonous so don't eat it.

Although A. rubra appears to be quite bushy, each plant actually consists of one to a few erect, leafy stems. Each leaf is divided up to three times into leaflets of three which are sharply toothed and lobed. Neither the leaves nor the stem are hairy.

The inflorescence is a very soft looking cluster of many small white flowers on the end of a long stalk. They look fuzzy because of their very long stamen which protrude in all directions, each with a little ball-like anther.

References I used

"Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast" by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon

and

"Trees, Shrubs & Flowers to Know in Washington & British Columbia" by C.P. Lyons and Bill Merilees

Dogwood

Flowering Dogwood

Cornus nuttallii

Cornaceae (Dogwood Family)

Also known as "pacific dogwood" or "mountain dogwood", this plant is an inspiring site to see poking out of the woods here and there. The blooms are misleading because what looks like one flower is actually a collection of white petal-like bracts bordering a cluster of little flowers (that ball in the middle) which explains why those showy white "petals" have markings that match the veins of the leaves. Its a lovely plant; no wonder British Columbia chose its bloom as their official floral emblem.

Big Blooms!

Rhododendron

Ericaceae (Heath Family)

Rhododendron

The Rhododendron is Washington's state flower. Burfoot Park has a trail of Rhododendrons and here are a few of those that were in bloom at the end of April. Ideally, I would like to find this plant growing "in the wild" but I rarely see it unless it has been planted.

Trillium

Liliaceae (Lily Family)

Trillium Ovatum

There's Trillium everywhere now. Here's a patch of them growing amongst the Cleavers.  They litter the forest floor.

Chocolate Lily

Liliaceae (Lily Family)

Fritillaria lanceolata

These cool lilies were found growing along a slope at the forest edge not far from the beach alongside a great deal of Poison Oak. So, naturally, I had to be very careful while taking pics. I took about a dozen shot of these flowers and only got one I'm happy with. But it's a neat flower and I always seek it out in the spring. I should try planting some. 

Beauty in Bloom

Pacific Crab Apple

Malus Fusca

Rosaceae (Rose Family)

This gorgeous plant is in bloom right now all along the forest edge, towering over the shrubs and spring sprouts. It has five petals and numerous stamen which give it away as a member of the Rose family. The many ball-like clusters of flowers are eye catching, to say the least. I have one of these arching over my drive and it is a delight to see every day.

Keeping a close watch

Red-Flowering Currant

Ribes sanguineum

I keep practicing photographs of this flower because, although small, it is very open.  Clearly seen here is the pistol in the center with three stigmas and five stamen, one in front of each petal.  I got a pretty picture of this plant's leaf below.
Most plants in the Current family (Grossulariaceae) have lobed leaves like this and are palmately veined (this species has three main veins coming from the same point). I think these are lovely leaves!

Large-flowered Bittercress

(Cardamine pulcherrima)

I thought this was a nice portrayal of this Bittercress. Looking at it's parts, I am surprised that there are five stamen even though there are only four petals. I also find it interesting how far the pistol protrudes from the rest of the flower.  It is sure to pick up lots of pollen!

Scouler's Corydalis

(Corydalis scouleri)

I don't normally take pictures of plants like this without zooming in on specifics but I wanted to illustrate the size of the plant. It is in the Bleeding Heart family (Fumariaceae) and that is obvious when comparing the general leaf structure with that of a Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa). However, this plant grows to a surprising 60-120 cm tall!! It has very different flowers from the Bleeding Heart, as well.

I found only one plant that had flowers just thinking about blooming. The corydalis is only just sprouting up everywhere and is still very young. These flowers do show similarities (in this stage) to the Bleeding Heart because of the way the petals are pinched and flattened. But when it blooms, it will be very different.  Of course, how they cluster together is very different, too. Bleeding hearts droop from the stem while the Corydalis form a raceme like the ever popular Foxglove.

Mima Mounds

Henderson's Shootingstar

Primulaceae (Primrose Family)

Dodecatheon hendersonii

While visiting Mima Mounds yesterday, I saw these Shootingstars everywhere. I forgot which variety the signs said they were and I neglected to closely observe the leaves. So this was a good reminder of what details are important to observe in the field. But the yellow ring, as seen in the picture below, is a good way to eliminate some varieties. So I'm 99% sure this is a Henderson's Shootingstar.  The yellow ring is in the wrong place for it to be a Jeffrey's Shootingstar; its growing in the wrong place to be a Poet's Shootingstar, and the petals have the wrong form for it to be a Desert or Few-Flowered Shootingstar. Will investigate its leaves next time.

Western Buttercup

Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)

Ranunculus occidentalis

This one could have been challenging to identify but I identified it with a botany class in the same location two years ago. So I'm sure of it. Plus, all the posted signs agree, as well. I don't find the buttercups particularly special but its good practice. I hope to create a flora one day.

Friendly Flowers

Salmonberry

Rosaceae (Rose Family)

Rubus spectabilis

I never considered this flower to be very photogenic but I got a really nice shot today. I think this is the prettiest picture I've gotten of this flower in two years.

Large-flowered Bittercress

Cruciferae (Mustard Family)

Cardamine pulcherrima

This is an awfully small flower to be called "large-flowered" but I guess it is pretty large compared to other flowers in the Mustard family. I think it is cool because of the rose colored veins in its petals.  I read that the veins are like a road map for insects leading them to the nectar. 

Heart-Leaved Springbeauty

Portulacaceae (Purslane Family)

Claytonia cordifolia

I get this flower confused with the Candy Flower (a.k.a. Siberian Miner's-Lettuce) but I think I've got it all cleared up now. The significant difference is the notched petals. This plant grows along the sides of trails where its wet and sunny. The more that sprout up, the more I smile while strolling down the trail.

Bleeding Heart

Fumariaceae (Bleeding Heart Family)

Dicentra formosa

This is my favorite plant of them all!! The leaves are everywhere and the blooms are sprouting all over McLane Creek. There's a lovely example of a bloom below. It is not the biggest, most obvious bloom in the forest floor but it is one of the most unique. 

Seed dispersal is done by the mighty ant. The seeds will develop in a pod and protrude from the opening until they burst out. These are tiny, glossy, black bead-like seeds. They are glossy because of a special coating that attracts the ants who store them and then forget about them. What a system!

Red-Flowering Currant

Grossulariaceae

  Ribes sanguineum

After a week of rain, we got a couple of days of sunshine and the Red-Flowering Currant blooms start to open. These flowers are a delight to see this time of year. Their bright colors really light up the edge of the woods. Maybe I will get to see some hummingbirds soon as they are attracted to these flowers.

(lovely)

Spring Flowers

Oaks Toothwort

Cruciferae (Mustard Family)

Cardamine pulcherrima

This is a really neat little flower. I must always remember that four petals usually points to the Mustard family. These have unique leaves combined with veiny flowers.  Also known as Large-Flowered Bittercress, it is only about 1/2" across.

Skunk Cabbage

Araceae (Arum Family)

Lysichiton americanum

Also known as "Swamp Lantern", this plant grows all over just about every marshy, wet piece of land in the Pacific Northwest. There is a period where the skunky odor dominates the lowlands, but it isn't an altogether unattractive plant.

Red-Flowering Currant

Grossulariaceae (Currant Family)

Ribes sanguineum

This one is sprouting wild around the edge of my greenbelt.

Western Trillium

Liliaceae (Lily Family)

Trillium ovatum

Growing wild all over the forest floor, these will get really big by summer.

Salmonberry

Roseaceae (Rose Family)

Rubus spectabilis

I don't find this flower as photogenic as most.

Like me, it is prettier in person.

It will produce the first edible berries of the season!

Stream Violet

Violaceae (Violet Family)

Viola glabella

A modest but beautiful little bloom. 

It might be easily overlooked if it didn't bloom so early in the season.

Early sprouts

Bleeding Heart

(Dicentra Formosa)

This week on my nature walk I saw this plant sprouting leaves all over the place. I thought it might be the Pacific Bleeding Heart but without flowers, I get it confused with the horrible Herb-Robert which is an invasive weed that poisons native plants. I could tell for sure by just smelling its roots but I was afraid. You see, when I sniff the roots of an Herb-Robert, my nose runs like a faucet. I didn't want to deal with that. But now that I look at this pic I took, I recognize the stem is smooth and not obviously hairy. Bleeding hearts have smooth stems and Herb-Robert has hairy stems. So it must be the Bleeding Heart leaves that are sprouting everywhere!! This is my favorite plant!! It has the most beautiful leaves of any plant I've seen. 

Priest Point Park

Capitol View

Water View

We visited the water side of Priest Point Park on a typically rainy day. If I had a super cool camera then I could have gotten a great pic of the capital but it was just too far in the distance for my camera. That's okay, looking away from the capital yielded a nice, cloudy water view.

Pretty Snowy Willow

Snowy Weeping Willow

I took this photo a month ago when the snow accumulated a lot. I thought it very beautiful.

First Snow

Christmas Tree '08

This was Brandon's first year to decorate the Christmas tree.  He was really excited about it this year and is proud of it.  I probably could've done him more justice by taking a better picture but I'm no photographer.

Snowy Pine

This pine tree grows on my property but I have not been successful in identifying it.  It is not a native pine but it is pretty cool.  And whenever it snows I always have to take a picture of it.  Not just when it has snow on it but when it is actively snowing.  The pictures don't come near to portraying the beauty I see.  I should take up painting. Perhaps then I could express it better than my photographs.

Snowy Willow

This weeping willow tree grows near that pine.  It is not a native either but it is so neat! This was the tree that inspired my picture taking today.  It looks so wicked cool!!

Fungus Fest

Smooth lepiota

I am not yet skilled at identifying fungus and reserve the right to be human.  But I read and researched my field guides and think I'm getting closer to correctly identifying these mushrooms.  The above being identified as smooth lepiota (Leucoagaricus naucinus) was found growing from a rotting fallen western redcedar in the greenbelt around my house.

Woolly Inky Cap

My attention was drawn to what appears to be a variety of Inky Cap (Coprinus flocculosus) because of the fringe coming off the cap which I thought was some sort of identifying feature but I now think, based on my reading, that it may more likely be scaly remains from the veil which is sort of shedding off.  The textured area around the base is also remains from the universal veil as is the ring in the picture of the smooth lepiota.

White Crested Coral Fungus

As always is one of my favorite fungi: the coral fungus (Clavulina cristata).  I look this one up every time I see it thinking it is in the Ramaria family but never feeling quite right about it.  Today, I researched it in some other texts and found this far more accurate description as White Crested Coral Fungus.  This is a very interesting type of fungus and was found in great quantity growing under the western redcedars in the greenbelt around my house.  My jaw dropped at how much there was in the semi-open area of the forest floor.  The rotting bark from fallen branches and leaves provides an incredible environment for this type of coral fungus.