This last week I've had the chance to discover some native wildflowers I'd never seen before.
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Shooting Stars (Dodecatheon meadia)
Shooting Stars can be found in a wide range of habitats, from wetlands to semi-arid prairies. They range in color from white to the lovely magenta you see above. This picture was taken without a filter or enhancement. Can you believe that color?
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| Douglas' Golden violet (Viola douglasii Steud.) |
Unlike the shooting star, the Douglas' Golden Violet (Viola douglasii Steud.) has a very limited range: Oregon and the northern 2/3s of California. They grow in relatively sterile soil but despite that, the hardy roots sustain the plants after the blossoms wither when the ground becomes hard and crusty.
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Pacific Hound's Tongue (Cynoglossum grande)
This is a native Forget-me-not, not to be confused with a varietal that's actually an introduced species from northwestern Africa. The Pacific Hound's Tongue has white heart-shaped appendages in the center of the flower to help distinguish it from its invasive cousin. Some Native Americans were known to grate up Pacific Hound's Tongue roots to use as a burn dressing or as a treatment for stomach aches.
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| Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) |
Though it's a member of the lily family, the Blue Dicks are sometimes called wild hyacinths. Unbelieveably, the Native Americans dug up the corms of these plants to eat. They were a critical source of starch to their diet. Who thought to do that, I'd like to know. Blue Dicks are often among the first plants to emerge after a fire because the corms can lie dormant for a decade or more to wait for space to grow.
I've become more interested in native plantings of late, so I was excited to find four such lovely examples of indigenous plants along my walks / hikes. I'm looking forward to being able to plant more native species in my own garden. Last year I planted a single milkweed plant that supported about a dozen monarch caterpillars throughout the season. How the parent butterfly even found my one plant in a tiny corner of my garden is amazing. It has inspired me to plant more native plants so I can do my little part in support our natural and native ecosystem, from insects and bees to birds.
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