Uncommon Ones

To me, the word "uncommon" is a strange one. It means "not common," which is sort of obvious. In the mid 1500's they said "not possessed in common." I suppose that explains why at some point the phrase became "uncommon." It still sounds odd to me, especially when used in a sentence with "not." Such as, "it is not uncommon to sneeze in the spring." Why not just say "it is common to sneeze in the spring?" But I digress...

In the plant world, most guidebooks use a classification system to indicate how likely you will be to find a certain plant. The classifications I have seen in several books progress as follows: common (or abundant), uncommon, rare, threatened, endangered, and extinct. Most of the plants I come across fall into that "common" category and that is fine with me; I don't really go out of my way to look for rare plants. On the other hand, I'll be the first to admit it is rewarding to find plants that are not "common." As I mentioned in a previous post (Finders Keepers), finding something special is probably just human nature.

In any event, here's a quick overview of the "uncommon" blooms I came across in 2014.

Giant Purple Wakerobin (Trillium kurbayashii) - Rare

Stumbling across this remarkable, rare native plant was a pleasant surprise indeed! It is supposed to be at home near the southern Oregon coast and northwest CA, but at the end of March, we found a small colony growing at Jackson Bottom Wetlands near the Tualatin River. The three large, dark purple flower petals stay straight up, unlike the white, curved, Western Trillium.

Henderson's Checker Mallow (Sidalcea hendersonii) - Rare

This attractive mallow was also spotted at Jackson Bottom Wetlands in late May.

Meadow Checker Mallow (Sidalcea campestris) - Uncommon

One of our regular walking/jogging parks near home is the Cooper Mountain Nature Park. They don't allow dogs, but it's a large, hilly park, with several miles of trails. We spotted this uncommon native in mid July just off the trail on an afternoon walk. 

Lindley's Clarkia (Clarkia amoena ssp. lindleyi) - Rare

This little spring bloomer is one of several named after William Clark of the Corps of Discovery. This particular sub-species is rare and was probably planted in an effort to keep it going. Seen at Jackson Bottom Wetlands in late June, 2014.

White Rock Larkspur (Delphinium leucophaeum) - Endangered

This was the most surprising find of 2014 if I had to rank them. See my earlier post about this unique plant. Finders Keepers.

Washington Lily (Lilium washingtonianum) - Uncommon

I've only seen a couple of these growing in the wild. One small cluster was seen on the Iron Mountain loop trail in July. The odd thing is that they look very similar to lily plants you would buy at the garden shop to plant in your yard. These natives are named after Martha Washington and can grow up to 8 ft. tall!

Northern Water Horehound (Lycopus uniflorus) - Uncommon

The Lycopus genus is in the Mint family, which has nearly 7,000 species. Needless to say, it took me a while to track this one down! The only place we have seen this plant blooming or otherwise was at Lacamas Lake near Camas, WA, in mid August. As the name suggests, it prefers shady, moist, areas, where we found it, along a three-mile long trail. The plant is about three feet tall, but the flowers are tiny, at 1/4 inch wide.

Wild Geranium (Geranium oreganum) - Uncommon

Over the past two years we have spotted this native beauty just a few times. They usually start blooming in spring and go until mid-summer, but we found this one in the Columbia Gorge near Oneonta Creek in August. The flowers are about 1.5 inches wide.

     

And last, but not least, I wanted to add this one just for grins. It's a common Bachelor Button (Centaurea cyanus) in a local field. It caught my eye because the colors mutated a bit and I have never seen one like this before. These guys are not native to our area and some consider them noxious, but I try not to discriminate here. The typical blue one is on the left, the mutated one on the right.

   

     

Links:

Native Plant Society of Oregon

Oregon Flora Project

Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest

Going Postal

When I was a kid, it seemed like stamp collecting was all the rage - at least with older adults of the day. Sure, I did have a stamp album that was about three inches thick with many blank pages and even more blank spaces to put the prized stamps as I acquired them. Well, as you can imagine, I was more interested in outdoorsy things, especially since we lived in a warm tropical climate. About 99% of the blank spaces stayed blank and then the album vanished from my radar.

I certainly don't claim to be a stamp historian; but thanks to the Internet, my stamp interest quotient has picked up lately, so I gathered some interesting dates and milestones about postage stamps! Here's why: nearly every country in the world that issues postage stamps, has a wildflower series, or multiple issues featuring flora and fauna over many years! Now that's something to write home about!

Colorful U.K. Wildflower Issue

So briefly, here's how they came to be:

As you may have guessed, some of the earliest still life paintings feature plants and wildflowers. The simple ones go back to 70 AD, and from there improved over the decades until hitting their stride in the 1300's. From there, artwork depicting flowers took on a life of its own. Lowly artists created magnificent designs for their rich clients or for royalty.

It was not until the mid 1400's that technology of the day enabled printing books on paper. This became a game-changer for the botanical art world. Many of the first printed and bound books featured plants and flowers for botanists, doctors, religious leaders, and students.

Even before the printed book, humans had been sending letters to each other for personal, business, and political reasons. Just read a Shakespeare play! Typically these letters were delivered by private carriers, directly from the sender or agent to the receiver. So much of this was going on, that by the mid 1500's some countries recognized a need for a central postal service. In the U.K., the first King's Postmaster was appointed in 1517. Even in the "colonies" here, we had a rudimentary postal service in 1691.

So now we fast forward to 1800's in the United Kingdom. People had been using postal services with ink stamps, purchased as you go, so to speak. The breakthrough came in May of 1840 when the first "adhesive" stamp was issued in the U.K. It cost a penny and showed Queen Victoria (of course!). It was lovingly called "Penny Black" because of its single black color.

Then in 1847, the U.S. issued its first two stamps, a 5 cent one with Franklin and a 10 cent one with Washington. Fast forward again to 1962, and we have the first U.S. issued stamp that features a real wildflower. At least as far as I can tell with my limited philatelic knowledge.

Since then, several other U.S. issues have followed, with the "mother of all wildflowers" issue coming in 1992. This one features a mint, unused sheet of 50 stamps depicting wildflowers from each state and comes with a nice companion coffee table book that adds photos and information about the flowers.

     

     

As printing technology improved and postal services became more artistic and broadened their subject matter, wildflowers became icons of national pride for each country.

So, in a post filled with fast forwards, we come to 2015. What better way to express my love of wildflowers and nature than by making my own stamp!? You have probably seen home-made stamps on greeting cards or perhaps have your own. Mine features the Western Bistort, one of my favorite native plants here in the west. In summer, the stark white blossoms can cover entire hillsides at higher elevations. It also reminds me of many of my most enjoyable hikes with family and friends.

     

Now all I need to do is use these stamps before the rates go up again!

Wait, there's more....

If I said "the colorful blooms of summer are now just a distant memory," you would probably think I was about to try my hand at poetry. Well don't worry, I know my limitations and I won't subject you to that fantasy!

On the other hand I do just happen to have a backlog of wildflowers in my virtual bucket, waiting to be shared in this blog! Actually, there are many, so in the spirit of not lingering in the past to excess, I've compiled a small batch of my favorites in this post. I'm pretty sure these have not appeared here before, but I won't notarize that!

For you poets out there, I hope these blooms will inspire you during the next few months!

Large-Flowered Collomia (Collomia grandiflora)

This native plant can reach 40 in. tall, with fountain-like clusters of blooms at the top. The funnel-shaped flowers are about 1 in. long and have five petals. The flower color is a unique, flesh-to-salmon color not seen in many other plants. We spotted these at Jackson Bottom in late May.

     

Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea)

Centaury is native to Europe, but has naturalized itself throughout the west. I have a soft spot for these tiny plants because they grow profusely in our field after the high grass is mowed. The tiny pink flowers are about 1/2 in. wide, in clusters about six inches off the ground. If you weren't looking down at the ground you might miss them. They have been used in tea and thought to be high in antioxidants.

Dense-Flowered Willow Herb (Epilobium densiflorum)

There are scores of willow herb plants in the Northwest, and some are just considered weeds. This one rises above the crowd though with its long stalks and numerous blossoms. We found these natives growing at Jackson Bottom in late August.

Cape Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)

These odd looking orange blooms are hard to miss. They are native to the Northwest and thrive in wet, shady areas, such as near rivers and lakes. The curious name comes from the appearance of the leaves when underwater. The leaves and stems can be ground up to treat skin irritations. Also called Spotted Jewelweed and Orange Balsam. 

Along the Lacamas Lake trail in mid-August

California Tree Poppy (Romneya coulteri)

You are correct if you guessed this guy is not native! It grows mostly in southern California and northern Mexico. However, we found this one growing in full sun on Holly Hill Road by a mailbox! (9/07/2014) Looks like it did well in our hot, dry summer weather this year (2014). The blooms are striking, measuring 4 - 5 inches across and look like crepe paper. It is also called "Fried Egg Plant!"

     

Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus latifolius)

Unlike the native Steppe Sweetpea, this one is not native. But you have probably seen in growing along our county roads and in other disturbed areas. I found these at the Wortman Park disc golf course in Newberg in early September. They are weeds by most accounts, but they do have a certain appeal.

Pea with shy spider.

Curlycup Gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa)

There are over 100 gumweed variations worldwide and in our area there are at least four. We found acres of these blooming at Jackson Bottom in late August. Positive ID is tricky, so they might be the native Willamette Valley Gumweed (Grindelia integrifolia). Indigenous peoples have used gumweed for rashes, burns, and pulmonary problems, as well as chewing gum due to the plant's resin. Livestock won't eat gumweed, so ranchers consider them as troublesome weeds.

Happy New Year 2015

Fog at Bald Peak State Park, January 2014

Now that the December holidays are behind us, it's time to throw out the extra eggnog, put all those decorations away, and finish up the leftover fruitcake; or save it for next year! It's also time for me to start making a new calendar of the best wildflower places to visit, starting in early Spring. As most of you know, our Northwest area has many climate/geographical zones, making for a huge variety of flora to track down. Good thing I'm still a youngster!

One of my goals for this year is to explore new areas in the Northwest, both for hiking and photography. Well, we could throw in biking and disc golf as well, as all these activities are things I enjoy doing outdoors. I don't really have a wish list of specific wildflowers to find, but there are a few specific areas I want to visit this year, such as Northeast Oregon and the Northern Cascades in Washington. But then, any area that has flowers is a possible candidate for a visit.

Another goal I have is to get my wildflower journal website up and running. Such a website would allow me to index and cross-reference the plants and flowers on my ever growing list. This blog would still be ongoing, but it would live under the website as well. So, we'll see how that goes - my theory is that in winter I'll have the time to build it. But we all know how those kind of plans sometimes go astray.

In closing, I would like to let you know about a local, timely, and interesting plant-wildflower-themed exhibit at the Washington County Museum, here in Hillsboro. It's called "In the Footsteps of David Douglas," and presents a small view of his plant studies in the Northwest, circa 1825-1833. The exhibit shadows Jack Nisbet's recent book, "David Douglas, A Naturalist at Work," which I read last year. Mr. Nisbet will give a free talk about David Douglas on February 11. See link below for information.

The exhibit also features several local artists work of native wildflowers and plants and will be in the museum until May.

Exhibit wall and portrait of Mr. Douglas and Mr. Nisbet

Map of plant discoveries

Pacific Madrone by Rene Eisenbart

Links:

Washington County Museum

David Douglas Wiki Page

Jack Nisbet's Web Page