Spring Wildflowers of the Western Washington Lowland Forest

Don’t let the title fool you. This is not a field guide, and it is far from a complete representation of spring wildflowers of the western Washington lowland forest. It really should have been called “Select Spring Wildflowers of the Western Washington Lowland Forest”, but that would have been one too many words in an already wordy title. Insert “That I Photographed This Year” after “Forest” and my desire to be perfectly clear about the subject would be completely fulfilled, and the title would be absurdly wordy. As well as this introduction is going I think that I am going to get out while I’m ahead. Oh, wait! Please also add “Native” before “Spring” to the expanded title described above. Alright? Good. Now, without further delay I present to you, select native spring wildflowers of the western Washington lowland forest that I photographed this year.

Here we see a nice little patch of May Lily, Maianthemum dilatatum, which is known for forming patches much larger than this. Another, horrible, common name for this plant is “False Lily of the Valley.” They do resemble Lily of the Valley of course, but that hardly makes May Lily a false version of it. May is in fact the flowering time of this species. They aren’t lilies though, but members of Asparagaceae, the asparagus family.

Candy Flower, or Siberian Miner’s Lettuce, Claytonia siberica. Claytonias are found across North America, with many members of the genus known as Spring Beauties. The leaves of Claytonias do make a good salad green, and though I haven’t tried it yet you can also cook and eat their tubers.

Enchanter’s Nightshade, Circea alpina is named for the Circe, the enchantress of Greek myth. The “nightshade” in the name is enigmatic however, as no one who is familiar with Solanaceae, the nightshade family, would mistake this member of Onagraceae, the evening primrose family, for a nightshade.

The delicate leaves of Pacific Bleeding Heart, Dicentra formosa, are a “sight for sore eyes” when they appear in March. In April their flowers provide an early nectar source for bees and hummingbirds. Several weeks later long, green seed pods protrude from the bottoms of the still-pink hearts.

The urn shaped flowers of Salal, Gaultheria shalon, are telltale signatures of Ericaceae, the heather family. They are buzz pollinated by bumblebees, which means that the vibration frequency of the bumblebees' wings shakes loose the pollen from the anthers inside the urn. When they stick their pollen-dusted, fuzzy little faces into the next flower to reach the nectar with their tongues some of the pollen sticks to the stigma, initiating fertilization.

The flowers of Salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis, have petals of the most exquisite magenta. This distinguishes them from most other members of genus Rubus (raspberies and blackberries), which have white flowers. Salmonberry is particularly fond of wet ground beneath Red Alder and Black Cottonwood, where they form dense thickets that can be taller than a really tall guy.

Thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus, is a gentle bramble. In fact its completely thorn-free stems make it hardly a bramble at all. I wouldn’t describe the broad, deep red raspberries dry, but their tiny drupelets are less juicy than others. This actually has the effect of concentrating their wonderfully sweet and tart flavor.

In May Western Starflower, Lysimachia latifolia, brightens the forest floor in the western Washington lowlands. The white to pink petals of their flowers have the curious habitat of varying in number, from five to nine, but most often in my experience six, as seen here, or seven. This perennial of family Primulaceae (Primrose) emerges from a small bulb, which is edible but nobody's favorite for flavor. A beautiful flower that could save your life in a wilderness survival situation.

Bald-hip Rose, Rosa gymoncarpa, has flowers just a centimeter or two across. While most rose hips are adorned with the persistent sepals of the flowers from which they grew, the sepals of this species are shed as the fruit matures. This brightener of shady places has rambling stems densely covered with soft prickles.

Nootka Rose, Rosa nutkana, has much larger flowers than Bald-hip, at 1.5 to 2 inches across. Their exquisite fragrance permeates the sunny forest edges they call home. The tall smooth stems of this wild rose are punctuated with two large thorns at each node.

Pacific Ninebark, Physocarpus capitatus, is named for its shreddy bark, “Capitatus” refers to the heads of white flowers. This many-stemmed shrub can grow taller than ten feet, and is often a component of impenetrable thickets in wet woods.

The vines of Orange Trumpet Honeysuckle, Lonicera ciliosa, crawl over sunny clearings and climb deciduous trees and shrubs in search of light. The tubular flowers are hummingbird pollinated, and form translucent red berries that are eaten by Finches, Flickers and other frugivorous birds.

The flowers of American Brooklime, Veronica americana, have the distinct appearance of all Speedwells. In some other species the flowers are too small to fully appreciate with the naked eye, but it’s worth kneeling in front of American Brooklime to admire their diminutive blooms. This is a relatively large Speedwell, especially when growing in the edge of brooks where it can reach two or three feet in length.

Cooley’s Hedge Nettle, Stachys cooleyae, is not a nettle. The bilabiate flowers, square stems and opposite leaves identify it as a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae. Another common feature of this family is an abundance of aromatic oils, but nobody is making tea or seasoning food with this musky-smelling mint. As an herbaceous perennial this plant would not make a proper hedge, but its rhizomatous spreading and stems up to nine feet tall, perhaps five on average, do enable to fill a lot of space.

Twinflower, Linnaea borealis, is a circumboreal species, growing in high latitudes across the northern hemisphere. In western Washington it now grows mostly in the mountains, but it thankfully persists in mature and old-growth forests in the lowlands. This member of the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliacea, is so small that it’s hard to tell that it’s a woody plant, but it is in fact a subshrub.

Piggyback Plant, Tolmiea menziesii, is one of several woodland Saxifrages, family Saxifragaceae, in this region. Cultivars of this species are grown in gardens, and even as house plants. I suppose this reinforces my feeling that it is a very attractive plant. Every spring I have another go at photographing it, but without a macro lens it’s hard to do the delicate little flowers justice.

Another woodland Saxifrage, and a favorite of many a naturalist and woods walker, is Trefoil Foamflower, Tiarella trifoliata. The tiny white flowers are hard to see in detail, but their beauty is in numbers, and how they sparkle like stars in the dark of the forest floor.

Thanks for joining me on this virtual plant walk. I have always had a strong affinity for plants, and in the last couple of years I have been trying to strengthen my botanical photography skills. I hope that you found some beauty in the photos I shared, learned a thing or two, and most importantly were inspired to get out and pay attention to wild plants wherever you live. If you are so inclined please do leave a comment below, and use the menu at the top of my page to explore more of my work.