Ash Swamp Plants

In the Southeast corner of our farm lies a swamp with Oregon Ash trees and, in areas not covered with water all winter, various herbaceous plants. Pre-blooming photos taken March 29.

The Green False Hellebores, Veratrum viride, look so lush and promising. Surely they'll have spectacular flowers. But I know from past years, that is an illusion.

I had hoped to find the following plants in bloom and key them out. But I did not. Maybe next year. Howard Bruner came to the rescue with the name: Oenanthe sarmentosa, Pacific Water-Parsley

Another Howard Bruner id: Tellima grandiflora, Fringecup. Will try to get photos when they bloom.

Bruner id again: Ranunculus, probably repens

Trillium

Even Howard didn't know these next two. I'll try to get photos in bloom...

Following photos taken April 29, 2014

Pacific Water Parsley, Oenanthe sarmentosa

Veronica scutellata:  Marsh Speedwell

On June 3, the carpet of Green False Hellebore was turning brown. I never saw any sign of the unimpressive green flowers they are supposed to produce.

Other flowers were blooming, though. Monkey Flowers, Mimulus something, I'm guessing dentatus, Toothed Monkey Flower. Corrected names in photo captions.

Erythranthe guttata (Mimulus guttatus)

And lots of Woodland Buttercups, Ranunculus uncinatus.

By June 22, 2014, the swamp was dry.

But one area was covered in this thin-leaved plant with small 4-petaled flowers. Possibly water speedwell (a veronica) according to a friend who joined me in 2019. She was right.

Veronica scutellata, Marsh Speedwell

This will be a continuing swamp story as I learn and photograph more...

Finally, on June 21, 2019, I caught the Green False Hellebore, Veratrum viride, in bloom.

Most of the lower leaves were brown and dead. Apparently, it has a very short blooming season.

We have had virtually no water all of June, 2019, after a very wet winter, so the swamp is not even damp and the vegetation is thick.


I still don't know what this is but a friend says it is a veronica... Maybe Water Speedwell, Veronica anagallis aquatica. Close...

Veronica scutellata again: Marsh Speedwell.

And this is covering most of the ground that usually has water. I think it is Pacific Water Parsley. Yep.

Oenanthe sarmentosa, Pacific Water Parsley

 

Early Summer Flowers

On June 3, I toured the woods and fields to see what was blooming. Some same, some new. The wild roses, Rosa nutkana, were flowering and the bumblebees flying busily from one flower to the next.

The faithful Hedge Nettles were blooming.

And so were the not-so-lovely stinging nettles, Urtica dioica,. Their tiny white flowers hardly qualify as flowers.

Cow Parsnip was now enormous, towering well over my head.

Wild cucumber, Old Man in the Ground, Marah oreganus, does have pretty flowers, I'll admit. But I hate the way it crawls over and buries everything with its huge leaves.

Finally, on June 22, the lily along the path to the creek bloomed. It had been holding in bud for months. Lilium columbianum, Columbia Lily or Tiger Lily, open at last.

I found another one off trail with two flowers blooming at the same time. It was bent way over so I had to hold up the flowers to show an underside. Pretty things. Too bad they have such a hard time avoiding deer and slugs in our woods.

Still blooming on June 22 were the hedge nettles, Stachys sp. (I've given up figuring out the species.)

 Lots of Sidalceas line the edges of the fields. These light pink flowers are Sidalcea campestris.