These are the groups of photographs for walking the wildflowers April 11, 2012 in order:
snowdrop
Viola
Oregon grape
Pond south
Camas foliage
Montia linearis
Golden currant
L. gormanii
Grass widow
Beetle
Seep
Yellow bell
L. macrocarpum
Peak saxifrage
Cutleaf fleabane
L. triternatum
Draba verna
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April 11, 2012, Wednesday – Viola, Yellow
An hour and forty minutes, 174 images, 63 keepers.
I arrived about three o’clock in hot light. It was overcast when I left at four-forty.
I tried to pay a little attention to the settings on the camera but I have no patience for it so I got a lot of bad images … again.
I do change the setting from macro to normal operation but I don’t always remember which setting it’s on.
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I gave some time to organizing a plant chronology … bringing my chronology of the bloomings up to date last night.
I knew I wanted to check the plants that I had seen in bud. But I saw in the chronology that the Prairie Stars, Lithophragma glabrum, and the violas ought to be in bloom. The violas are beside the south pond behind the region that was residential in the past. There were a few violas in bloom.
The first place I checked was near the fire hydrant. I thought it was about the place where Grant showed me Polemonium micranthum last year. The area was thick with Draba verna, whitlow grass. I saw some of its specks of white seemingly on foliage that I thought might be P. micranthum. I was disappointed.
I tried to improve my photo of a snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis. I failed to get an adequate front view.
The ponds are higher. I’m sure they are not nearly as high as they were last year but I can’t be certain. There are puddles and seeps everywhere. Camas, Camisia quamish, foliage is abundant in every damp spot. It’s not due to bloom for a month, according to its blooming time last year.
The willow is leafing out and is developing catkins. The catkins are yellow so this tree must be male. I just read that willows are dioecious. Female trees have green catkins. I’ll have to look for green catkins.
Areas of Whitlow grass where I was photographing last time out were flooded. I checked the places where I had seen buds on Narrow Leaf Miner’s Lettuce, Montia Linearis. I saw one bud showing white and attempted to photograph it. It’s near the water’s edge at the moment.
Buds on the earliest golden currant, Ribes aureum, are showing yellow.
I expected to find prairie stars, Lithophragma glabrum, but saw none. I was often deceived by Lomatium gormanii with exceptionally long stems. I think I got down to photograph L. glabrum twice only to find that it was L. gormanii. The first time I made use of the sit-down to rest and attempt some ‘history’ images of the unusually long stemmed L. gormanii but the images failed.
I saw a huge beetle scrambling through the grass … really traveling. I could kneel down beside him [on my not very adequate kneeling pad] attempt a few images and slide forward four or five feet and attempt a few more.
There were beautiful thin violet strips with the sun reflecting off him at some angles but I didn’t get them.
I choose rather dry routes across to the north pond thinking those would be good places to find L. glabrum but saw none.
On my way to check yellow bell hill I came to the major seep south of Highpoint Rock. It was thick with C. quamash foliage and blossoming Olsynium douglasii … and a yellow bell, Fritillaria pudica.
The foliage I had been watching at the base of yellow bell hill had not bloomed but there were two or three blossoms on the crest of the hill. I saw no yellow bells anywhere else. They will be all over the park, soon.
I had noticed the foliage of nine-leaf biscuitroot, Lomatium triternatum, everywhere and attempted photographs of some while I was down getting images of yellow bells.
I continued west along the seep checking the dry ground on each side for L. glabrum … and was surprised by a budding cutleaf-fleabane, Erigeron compositus. Several buds had lots of partially developed petals but I won’t call it ‘blossoming’ yet.
The E. compositus was on the south slope of an outcrop not far east of Long Rock Ridge. Slatsz Stump is in sight.
I drank my water and enjoyed a sit on slatsz’ stump for awhile.
I followed Long Rock Ridge back almost to the main path but turned east short of the path to follow another dry area, looking for L. glabrum.
I turned south to return to my car on the west side of Tall Pine Grove. I crossed the seep from south pond and was passing Lomatium Gormanii Rock when I decided to check it for L. glabrum. If it was a good place to find early grass widows, O. douglasii, it might be a good place to find early L. glabrum. It wasn’t.
But there was another E. compositus in bud. The Buds had not yet developed petals.
And there was a L. triternatum in at least partial bloom!
I got back to the car and there, in the crack where the asphalt met the concrete of the curb was an L. triternatum in full bloom.
Right beside it was this very strange, long, stringy plant with tiny white flowers that turned out to be the tallest whitlow grass that I have ever noticed.
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I am thinking that my search for the first plant of a species that blooms is interesting but not very useful. The term ‘outliers’ comes to mind. I probably need some notion of when most of the plants of a species are in bloom in order to make a useful ‘calendar’ for people who want walk the wild flowers.
This list of first blossoming is not science. It is rather casual observation. I don’t walk the park often enough and I never walk every environment in the park.
Grant Cummings slatsz & April slatsz
2010 2011 2012
Salt and pepper January 22 January 16 January 10
Buttercup February 08 January 16 March 14
Grass widow March 15 March 22 April 03
Yellow bell March 18 April 07 April 11
Violet March 25 April 11
Tufted phlox March 25 April 14 [not checked]
Bigseed biscuitroot . . . . . . . . March 26
9 leaf desert parsley March 29 April 14 April 11
Cutleaf fleabane March 29 bud – April 11
Snow drops . . . . . . . . April 05 April 03
Narrow leaf miner’s
Lettuce April 01 April 08 bud – April 11
Service Berry
Woodland star April 05 April 05
Saxifraga April 06 April 16 bud – April 11
Blue eyed Mary April 06
Whitlow grass April 08 April 01 March 27
Golden current April 10 bud – April 11
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| Snowdrop - Galanthus nivalis The Leaves look frost damaged |
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| Viola sp. I'm sure these are introduced but there are native violas |
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| Pacific willow, Salix lasiandra - catkins |
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| Berberis aquifolium, Oregon grape - buds |
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| South Pond keeps growing |
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| Camassia quamash foliage, common camas |
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| Montia linearis bud, Narow leaf miner's lettuce |
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| Ribes aureum buds, golden currant |
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| Ribes aureum backlit |
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| Lomatium gormanii, salt & pepper When the unusually long stems are erect they fool me |
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| Olsynium douglasii patch, grass widow |
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| He/she was slow enough I made a lot of exposures but only two usable |
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| This 'seep' leading down to North Pond, alongside Highpoint Rock, has lots of Lily family and camas The yellow speck is the first yellow bell, Fritillaria pudica That's my knee pad on the left. It's too thin but it's small and light to cary. |
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| The first Fritillaria pudica I saw was in the seep |
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| The Fritillaria pudica foliage I have been watching has not developed |
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| Lomatium macrocarpum, big seed biscuitroot The leves reach out, horizontally, early, then rase up, later |
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| Micranthes nidifica These plants are all over the park but the buds are usually quite red |
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| Erigeron compositus, cutleaf fleabane I was surprised to see these buds this early This is the south side of an outcrop just east of Long Rock Ridge. Slatsz stump is to the south. |
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| This Erigeron compositus is on Lomatium gormanii rock I supposed the first I saw in bud was an outlier so I was doubly surprised to see a second plant in bud. |
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| Lomatium triternatum, 9 leaf biscuitroot foliage I saw this foliage everywhere I walked. This was by Yellow Bell Hill. |
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| Lomatium triternatum blossom Another surprise on Lomatium gormanii rock. The leaves are too broad. Perhaps because they are early? |
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| An even greater surprise to find this Lomatium triternatum growing in the street |
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| I saw this Draba verna, whitlow grass, in deep grass by the fire hydrant when I was looking for Polymonium micranthum |
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| This Draba verna was growing in the street right next to the Lomatium triternatum I don't think I have ever seen Draba verna this tall |
