Black Elfin Saddle Mushroom, Helvella vespertina

Found this specimen today growing in some wood chips next to the house.  To me it has to be the ugliest mushroom I have ever seen! But I suppose it has its niche in the local ecology.......

 

Puffball Mushroom, Lycoperdon pyriforme

These mushrooms are growing up through a gravel logging road near the summit of Bells Mtn in SW Washington.  I'm not sure of the species identification.

Here is a video of the same mushrooms that was made several weeks after the above picture was taken:

Shaggy Mane Mushroom, Coprinus comatus

I found these edible Mushrooms at Battle Ground State Park in SW Washington.

Hare's Foot Inkcap mushroom coprinopsis Lagopus

I found this mushroom in our front yard in SW Washington; it is about 1.5" across and semi-translucent.  ID credit goes to Jinx on the Houzz "Name that plant" discussion group.

Top view:

Bottom view:

Running Clubmoss, Lycopodium clavatum

I found this bright green, low growing plant along the trail between Grouse Vista and Silver Star Mountain in SW Washington.

East Fork Lewis River, SW Washington

Not really focused on NW Flora, but I wanted to share this picture taken on an overcast day last Fall just downstream of Lucia Falls.  A 2-second exposure makes for an interesting contrast in the flowing river water and the still pool in the foreground.  In Summer the water level is much lower and it is an easy walk over to the rock 'island' in the background.

Common Horsetail, Equisetum arvense

Early Spring view of a shoot emerging from a swampy area on Bells Mountain in SW Washington.

Pebbles atop ice pillars

Another hike up Bells Mountain in SW Washington in cold weather brought me to this sight.  A spring is flowing past a small island of dirt, and ice pillars have grown upward taking small rocks and twigs along for the ride.  The pillars are about 4" high.

Coral Fungi, Lentaria byssiseda

This ghostly white fungi is coming up through forest floor detritus and is abundant but quite small- for size comparison, those are Doug Fir needles adjacent to the fungi.  These specimens are growing near the summit of Bells Mountain in SW Washington.

Mushroom tree

While hiking the Bells Mountain Trail at about the 1.5 mile mark I came upon this still-standing dead Alder that was covered with Mushrooms.  In the background is an un-named creek that provides welcome cool water on a hot Summer day.

Large Cup fungi, Aleuria aurantia

While hiking on a logging road near the top of Bells Mountain in SW Washington, I came upon these startling orange fungi.  According to North American Mushrooms, they are edible but rather tasteless.

Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park

This picture has nothing to do with North West flora but I felt like sharing a couple of photos from a recent trip to Yosemite.  The first shows the awesome beauty of the Tuolumne River sliding over a granite staircase into a deep pool.

Here is a photo of Half Dome from the same trip.

Mountain Sneezweed, Helenium autumnale

This plant is growing in a wet marsh near Rainier, Oregon.

Wapato, Sagittaria latifolia

Also known as Arrowhead from the shape of the leaves, these pictures were taken near Rainier, Oregon in a marshy area near the Columbia River.  Wapato bulbs were collected, baked, and eaten by Indians in the Columbia River area.

Mt. Hood from Silver Star Mountain

The title says it all.....

Sitka valerian, Valeriana sitchensis

Yet another flower on the slopes of Silver Star Mountain in SW Washington.

Avalanche Lily, Erythronium montanum

Another resident of Silver Star Mountain in SW Washington.

Alpine Aster, Aster alpigenus

Scattered along the trail to the summit of Silver Star Mountain in SW Washington,  these small flowers are fairly abundant.

Oregon Iris, Iris tenax

Most Oregon Iris flowers are purple, as shown in the November, 8, 2008 blog post but a few are very pale- almost white.  This specimen is growing on Bells Mountain in SW Washington.

Bear-Grass, Xerophyllum tenax

Last week I took a hike up Silver Star Mountain, and near the summit the Bear-grass was putting on quite a display.

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