As I mentioned on my home page, most of my life as a botanist has been spent in Oregon and Washington. I actually grew up in New Hampshire, but due to “plant blindness” I didn’t really start to learn plants until I was in the midst of my Botany degree. Because of this, I consider the Pacific Northwest my botanical home.
Oregon is home to over 4,500 species of plants, with a huge amount of biodiversity packed into the southwestern corner of the state, which is part of the California Floristic Provence. The CFP is a global biodiversity hotspot- one of two found in the United States (the other is in the Southeastern USA). Many plants in southwestern Oregon are endemic, being found nowhere else in the world. One reason for this is the serpentine soils found in the area, which plants require specialized adaptations to thrive upon.
It’s very hard to pick favorites among so many fascinating and beautiful species, but on this page I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite observations from the last couple years. Many of these genera have representative species in Ohio, and it is really interesting to compare them and think about their evolutionary radiations across North America.
Spring in the Columbia River Gorge Sidalcea hirtipes,
bristlystem checkerbloomCastilleja parviflora ssp. oreopola,
magenta paintbrushTolmiea menziesii, youth-on-age Delphinium distichum, meadow larkspur Erythranthe alsinoides,
wingstem monkeyflowerCamassia leichtlinii, great Camas Calochortus tolmiei, Tolmie star tulip Cypripedium montanum,
mountain lady’s slipperKopsiopsis hookeri, Hooker’s groundcone Collomia grandiflora,
large flowered CollomiaCastilleja elata, siskiyou paintbrush Calochortus howellii,
Howell’s mariposa lilyKindbergia oregana,
oregon beaked mossDrosera rotundifolia,
round leaved sundewCorydalis scouleri, Scouler’s corydalis Prosartes hookeri, hooker’s fairy bells Corallorhiza maculata ssp. occidentalis,
spotted coralroot orchidFritillaria affinis, checker lily Erythronium montanum, avalanche lily Lonicera involucrata,
twinberry honeysuckeXerophyllum tenax, beargrass (and Greta) Lilium columbianum, tiger lily Pulsatilla occidentalis, pasqueflower Chamaenerion angustifolium, fireweed Olsynium douglasii, grass widow Calypso bulbosa ssp. occidentalis,
fairy slipper orchidCorallorhiza striata ssp. striata,
striped coralroot orchidLithophragma parviflorum, prairie star Trifolium macrocephalum,
big headed cloverAphyllon uniflorum,
one flowered broomrapeTellima grandiflora, fringecup Lupinus rivularis, riverbank lupine Erythronium revolutum, coast fawn lily Asarum caudatum, western wild ginger Thalictrum occidentale,
western meadow rueDelphinium trolliifolium, cowpoison Frasera albicaulus, whitestem frasera Astragalus reventiformis,
Yakima milkvetchVancouveria hexandra, inside-out flower Platanthera elongata,
denseflower rein orchidNeottia banksiana,
northwestern twaybladeIsomopsis aggregata, scarlet gilia Darlingtonia californica, cobra lily Silene laciniata Hydrophyllum capitatum, ballhead waterleaf Sedum oregonense, cream stonecrop