There is a great hike in the vicinity of Iron Mountain in the Willamette National Forest. I first visited last year about this time with a group of hikers from the Native Plant Society of Oregon. I repeated part of that hike yesterday. The trail begins near US20 (at roughly 4000 ft elevation) and passes through a variety of plant associations, including coniferous forest and rocky meadows.
Delphinium,
Calochortus subalpinus,
Castilleja and other species created abundant color in the open meadows. There were also blooms in the forest understory including
Clintonia uniflora,
Maianthemum stellatum and
Maianthemum racemosum.
Another interesting botanical feature on this hike is a population of Alaska cedar (
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), a more northerly species that appears to occupy only relatively small areas in Oregon and northern California (Jensen and Ross 2005:
Trees to Know in Oregon). A few photos below:
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| Left: Clintonia uniflora (Liliaceae). Right: Castilleja sp. (Scrophulariaceae). |
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| Left: Maianthemum stellatum (Liliaceae). Right: Achlys triphylla (Berberidaceae). |
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| Left: Aquilegia formosa (Ranunculaceae). Right: Ipomopsis aggregata (Polemoniaceae). |
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| Left: Trifolium longipes (Fabaceae). Right: Phlox sp. (Polemoniaceae). |
