Beard Lichen, Usnea sp.

This 1/2" tall lichen is growing on a Asian Pear tree. There are many species of Beard Lichen and I am unable to get more specific than the Usnea family. Note the tiny water droplet on the spider web in the upper left.

Yellow Monkey-Flower, Mimulus guttatus

Monkey-Flowers like it wet and are found along streams and weeping rock faces.

Large-Leaved Avens, Geum macrophyllum

Groups of yellow, 1/2" flowers are found on top of this tall (to 3 feet) perennial.

The flora display is over and now it is time to make seeds.

Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale

This flower is all too familiar with those trying to maintain a weed-free lawn!

Siberian Miners Lettuce, Claytonia sibirica

This native plant has edible leaves and 1/2" diameter flowers.

Western Trillium, Trillium ovatum

Beautiful, three-petaled white flowers adorn this native Lily. The flowers appear early in the Spring and turn pink with age.

Juniper Haircap Moss, Polytrichum juniperinum

Looking like a 3/4" tall grove of trees, this moss looks similar to newly sprouted Western Red Cedars. The picture, below, shows a Western Red Cedar, Thuja plicata, with juvenile foliage, on the left and a Juniper Haircap Moss on the right.



This past weekend (5-7-2011) I found a patch of Juniper Haircap Moss growing under ideal conditions in the forest:

Lungwort Lichen, Lobaria pulmonaria

A gust of wind sent this 1" diameter Maple branch crashing to the ground and took this colorful lichen along for the ride

Oregon Iris, Iris tenax

Showy flowers make this one of my favorites.

Camas Lily, Camassia quamash

The flower spike of this plant can have many of the six-petaled flowers with bright yellow pollen open at the same time.

Deptford Pink, Dianthus armeria

This common, non-native plant has numerous 1/2" flowers and blooms late into Summer. It is named after Deptford, England and at a glance looks similar to Centaury which I will be adding to the blog at a later date.

Piggy-Back Plant, Tolmiea menziesii

This perennial likes moist shady spots and is found near the creek on our property. Here is what the flower buds look like - photo taken April 17, 2010

Fully formed flowers. This photo was taken in May, 2008

After the flowers have died back, capsules are full of tiny seeds for next year.  Photo taken June, 2016

Stream Violet, Viola glabella

This pretty flower is found in shady, moist areas and is easy to overlook as it grows close to the ground.Recent rain showers this morning (4-17-10) left water drops on the petals.

Pixie Cups, Cladonia fimbriata

The cool, wet weather has started to revive the Pixie Cup Lichen on our property. I mainly see them growing on rocks, which seems like an unfriendly place to live! The tallest Pixie Cup in the photo is only 3/4" high. The first picture was taken at f13. The second picture is a composite of 5 images that were taken a week later (after it had been raining) that have been stacked and blended with Photoshop CS4 to give an extended depth of field.