Download Wildflowers for Dummies

Wildflowers for Dummies
by
Andy Dappen
Late spring is peak wildflower season in the
Central Washington foothills. Following is a
baker’s dozen of the May bloomers commonly
seen painting the hillsides above the Columbia
River. Yes, we’re mixing metaphors but this is
Wildflowers for Dummies--we can get away
with a little witlessness. What else can we get
away with? How about an absence of
botanical jargon about how many pistils a
flower has, or whether it has inferior or
superior ovaries, or whether the sepals are
fused or non-fused. Mainly this is what we of
the post-literate society crave, a pictorial guide
to peg our most common bloomers.
We recommend that you copy our guidebook description of the hike to Ponderosa Ridge (in the
Sage Hills above Wenatchee). Copy this story, as well, and use it on the hike. You’ll find all these
flowers along the way. The hike to Ponderosa Ridge climbs 1800 vertical feet. Even in late May
or early June when the flowers at the trailhead have long gone to seed, most of the flowers
identified in this article will be blooming near the top of the hike.
Five Trail Saddle
Use our guidebook information to reach Five
Trail Saddle. At the saddle, poke around and
identify Arrow-leaf Balsamroot, Lupines,
Larkspur, Brodiaea, and Whitetop. Several
hundred yards farther along the trail from the
saddle you’ll find lots of Desert Parsley, Fiddleneck, and Phlox bordering the trail.
This is the view looking north at Burch
Mountain from Five Trail Saddle. Balsamroot
dominates the picture but you can also see
Lupines (blue) and Whitetop (yup, that would
be the white flower).
This picture, taken at Five Trail Saddle, shows
Balsamroot (yellow) and Lupines (blue). Balsamroots
are part of the Sunflower Family or, if you want to put
on academic airs, the Compositae Family. The roots
are like a woody carrot. Though tough and bitter, they
are edible and were eaten by Native Americans. The
Arrow-leaf Balsamroot, which grows like a massive
crop over our hills, prefers deeper soils while the
Hooker’s Balsamroot grows in rocky soil.
Next to Balsamroot, Lupine (the blue flower pictured)
is the second-most-common flower in our foothills.
Part of the Pea Family (Leguminosae), Lupines are
important nitrogen fixers for the soil. The flowers form
pea-like, but poisonous, seed pods. Several species
of Lupines inhabit the sagebrush steppe but
dummies have a hard time distinguishing them and
lump the Prairie Lupine, Dry-ground Lupine, Foothills
Lupine and more together with an authoritative
catchall phrase like, “Now this flower here is a
Lupine.”
Pretty but poisonous, the Larkspur (left) is a powerful alkaloid that has killed plenty of livestock in
its day. Part of the Buttercup Family, you may want to keep a little around for house guests who
outwear their welcome. Brodiaea (middle picture) is, regionally, one of the most common
members of the Lily Family (Liliaceae). It has an edible bulb that was commonly dug by early
settlers and Indians. Whitetop (right) is an invasive weed that is part of the Mustard Family and is
spreading rapidly throughout the region. It grows well in salty and disturbed soils. Each plant can
produce up to 5,000 seeds which are then spread easily by hikers, dogs, livestock, vehicles, and
wind. The seeds can remain viable in the soil for three years.
Various species of Desert Parsley (or Lomatium)
inhabit our hills. These members of the Parsley
Family (Umbelliferae Family) have distinctive,
umbrella-shaped flowers.
Some of the Desert Parleys have fleshy, tuberous roots that the Native Americans ground into
flour and used to bake a bread-like biscuits. The flowers above are Bare-stem Desert Parsley.
We’ve given you the bird’s eye and ant’s eye view of the flower.
Fiddle-necks (above), with their small yellow flowers and their hairy stems, are not our most
attractive flower. This member of the Borage Family grows best in disturbed soil beside trails,
roads, and over-grazed pastures.
Phlox is another common flower found in the same habitat as
Lupine and Balsamroot. Various species grow in a tight
cluster to form a flame of color (Phlox means fire in Greek).
That color can vary from pink to purple to lilac to white.
Several species of Phlox, like this one, named Cushion Phlox,
make good wildflowers for home rock gardens. The palmshaped leaf in the upper portion of this picture is a Lupine.
Coyote Canyon
About a third of a
mile north of Five
Trail Saddle, the trail
rounds a little ridge and traverses the north-facing slopes
of a steep-sided raw. The draw (a stone’s throw below) is
choked with shrubs (e.g., Oregon Grape and
Serviceberry). Locals refer to this area as Coyote
Canyon. Look for bitterbrush along the trail. Many of the
flowers already mentioned will be found and, because the
slopes here are north-facing, many of these flowers will
be found blooming later in the month.
The Bitterbrush in
bloom on the right side
of the middle picture
has thousands of
small, yellow flowers.
These flowers exude a
lovely, sweet smell—
so it must be the acrid
taste of the small,
three-lobed leaves
from which this plant
derives its name. The plant, part of the Rose Family, is a very important wintertime food source
for deer. Bitterbrush and Balsamroot are usually found together, like salt and pepper… or
Starbucks and WiFi.
The Jeep Trail Switchbacks
About 1.25 miles from Five Trails Saddle, the trail intersects and old Jeep road. A new trail has
been built that climbs more gradually using switchbacks. The switchbacks intersect the Jeep road
numerous times. Follow the trail and within several hundred yards you’ll see False Dandelions.
About .6 miles up these switchbacks (elevation 2050 feet) you enter a lithosol zone. That’s a
smart way of saying ‘rocky soil.’ Look for Linear-Leaf Daisies here in the rocky soil.
The False Dandelion (Sunflower Family) on the left has thin, grass-like leaves. Unlike the weed
that grow in people’s backyards, this flower belongs here and is not an aggressive weed. The
Linear-leaf Daisy (Sunflower Family) grows in a tight, attractive cluster, often in rocky soil.
Farther along (elevation 2450’), the trail traverses southwest-facing slopes that are thick with
Death Camas (below, left), a showy member of the Lily Family. Soon afterwards (elevation
2575’), you pass the first tree (a Ponderosa Pine), and then you start passing a mixture of
Douglas Firs and Ponderosa Pines. Amid the trees, look for Dwarf Waterleaf (below, right), an
unusual purple flower with water-rich leaves belonging to the Hydrophyllaceae Family.
Book Recommendation
Nonscientific types who want a wildflower book that isn’t too technical and relies on good photos
to identify our local flowers might consider Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary by
Ronald J. Taylor (Mountain Press Publishing Company).