Frittilaria

One of the first native flowers to bloom in late Winter or early Spring in our yard is the Frittilaria (F. meleagris). It is low to the ground and likes partial sun. Native American Salish living near the Columbia River used Frittilaria as food, both dried and cooked. We have seen these while hiking on the WA side of the Gorge. (4/20/2013)

Oregon Fawn Lilly

The Oregon Fawn Lilies (Erythronium oregonum) are blooming now in Western Oregon. Keep an eye out for these native plants on your next hike in the area. These are located in Rood Bridge Park in Hillsboro. Captured today while out for a trot with dogo.

Photo: 4/18/2013

Oregon Grape

Every school-age student in the state knows that the Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium) flower is the official flower of Oregon. Blooming in mid-April, it is one of the first native shrubs to arrive in the season and attract bees. The dark blue fruit although bitter, was eaten by native people in the area, mixed with salal berries to sweeten it; and the berries can be used to make a wine of sorts. You can find jars of Oregon Grape jelly in some local gift shops. The boiled roots were used as an early anti-bacterial.

You may find the plant listed as Mahonia aquifolium in some books. Mahonia refers to the nursery man Bernard McMahon who grew plants from seeds brought back to the East by Merriwether Lewis!

These plants are growing in our back field, along the fence line. (4/13/2013)

Western Skunk Cabbage

If you are hiking around western Oregon in April or May you are bound to run into some Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus). They are hard to miss due to their large size (up to 2 ft. high), bright yellow flowers, and distinct smelly odor! These cabbages thrive in shady marshes or swamps at low elevations. We spotted these on the Gales Creek trail in the Coast Range (4/12/2012).

Oregon Oxalis

This familiar ground cover is easy to spot along many woodland hiking trails in our area. It blooms in Spring and is native to Oregon, Washington, and northern California. Oregon Oxalis (Oxalis oregano) leaves have a sour flavor due to the oxalic acid in the plant. On a hiking outing in 1979, in the Mt. Hood area, we stopped to admire these plants and another hiker we did not know came up and picked some of the leaves and then offered some to our daughter, who was about 10 at the time! "Want a sour salad," he said. We all tried the salad and enjoyed the unique taste.

These photos were taken along the Wilson River trail, in the Coast Range. (4/06/2007)

Oxalis with False Lily of the Valley leaves

Oxalis with Bleeding Hearts

Pacific Trillium

Pacific Trillium (Trillium ovatum) in Noble Woods Park. These native, perennial plants are blooming all over western Oregon now, in shady, forested areas. Photo taken a few days ago. (April 3, 2013).

This trillium is also called Western Trillium and Western Wake Robin. The latter name derives from the timing of the arrival of robins in the Spring, along with the T. Ovatum bloom. The Pacific Trillium is common in our area, in forested, undisturbed areas. The mature plant has three large leaves and a flower with three oval shaped petals, hence the "ovatum" name. The leaves and flowers emerge from a potato-sized rhizome that takes seven years to bloom from seed.

Lewis and Clark had seen other trillium species in the East, but first came across T. Ovatum in April 1806, in the Columbia River Gorge. Research indicates that Native Americans used the leaves for a variety of ailments; the roots and berries are somewhat toxic however.

The Lady Bird Johnson Native Plant Database lists 36 different wild trillium species.

Curiously, the white petals turn purple as the flower matures. Typically this takes about a week.

Photo Courtesy LBJ NPD