Category: wildlife

Sticky Geranium (Geranium viscosissimum)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date June 30, 2020

Do you know about the Sticky Geranium (Geranium viscosissimum)? It is a major food source for deer and elk, as well as for black and grizzly bears. Moose prefer its leaves and flowers during the spring and summer over other food sources. The word viscossissium means sticky. Its root can be dried and pounded into a fine astringent powder, and can be used to stop external bleeding. It is pollinated by flies, butterflies, and native bees. The roots and leaves of Sticky Geranium were used by the Blackfeet, Okanagan, Colville, Sanpoil, Nlaka’pmx and other indigenous peoples as a cold remedy, a dermatological aid, and treatment for sore eyes.

wildlife

Woodland Star (Lithophragma)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date June 25, 2020

Do you know about the Woodland Star (Lithophragma)? It will require a sharp eye to spot these beauties, which have tiny flowers, long, slender stalks, and basal leaves. Woodland Star, also known as Prairie Star, are frequent in the sagebrush and Ponderosa pine ecosystems. They are bloom buddies with the Arrowleaf Balsamroot and Sagebrush Buttercup and prefer areas that are sunny and have dry soil. Eight different species of the Woodland Star can be found in the sagebrush and Ponderosa pine ecosystems.

wildlife

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date June 23, 2020

Do you know about Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)? This flower nods when it first blooms, but when it’s ready to disperse seeds, it raises its head upward to disperse long, purplish filaments into any light breeze that happens by. Also known as Old Man’s Whiskers, this was a little-known plant before Meriweather Lewis noted it in his journal on Wednesday, June 8, 1806. As an early bloomer, Prairie Smoke provides vital nectar for insects emerging from hibernation. The bulb of the Prairie Smoke is also edible.

wildlife

Pinedrops (Petrospora andromedea)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date June 16, 2020

Do you know about Pinedrops (Petrospora andromedea)? Pinedrops are a flower that breaks all the rules. You will see no green on this plant. This saprophyte has no chlorophyll to turn sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into the food it needs to grow. It opens a window into what is happening in the WWW (aka Woods Wide Web) that flourished out of sight in the forest sub-floor. Instead it takes – or as some might say, steals or hijacks – what it needs from a vast underground Mycorrhizae web consisting of a fungus that connects to the root systems of its host plant to form a symbiotic relationship. The fungus provides its host with additional water and nutrients while the host provides the fungus with carbohydrates from photosynthesis. In the case of Pinedrops, the host is predominantly Ponderosa pine. So look to the thick decomposing needle beds around Ponderosa pines to find this plant. It can grow four feet high, so it’s hard to miss. The previous year’s growth dries to a deep rich brown color. This plant is bi-annual and blooms every other year. Pinedrops is also known as Coyote’s Arrow.

wildlife

Lanceleaf Springbeauty (Claytonia lanceolata)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date May 19, 2020

Do you know about the Lanceleaf Springbeauty (Claytonia lanceolata)? The petals of the Lanceleaf Springbeauty may be white or pink, but both colors have dark pink veins in each petal. This flower grows up from a spherical corm, a fleshy taproot, similar to the crocus or iris. When eaten raw, the corm has a pleasant, radish-like taste. When boiled, it takes on the texture and taste of a baked potato. It prefers a position of full sun, and has trouble growing in the shade.

wildlife

Desert Shooting Star (Dodecatheon conjugens)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date May 12, 2020

Do you know about the Desert Shooting Star (Dodecatheon conjugens)? The word dodecatheon means ‘twelve gods’ in Latin. This wildflower, which prefers sunny, dry soil, blooms during the same part of the season as the Arrowleaf Balsamroot and the Desert Buttercup. Desert Shooting Stars do not produce nectar, but pollination is accomplished by bumblebees foraging for pollen through a method known as “buzz pollination.” A bumblebee arrives at the flower, grasps the fused anthers with its feet, and hangs upside down. Then, it buzzes its wings at a specific frequency, causing the anthers to vibrate, showering pollen onto the bee’s thorax.

wildlife

Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnipolia)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date May 1, 2020

Serviceberry bloom close-up

Do you know about the Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnipolia)? A member of the rose family, the Serviceberry is the first shrub to bloom in Spring. The dark blue berries and leaves are eaten by a variety of animals. Many indigenous peoples mixed the berries with fat and meat from buffalo or other animals, and used the mix for pounding into cakes and drying. These shrubs were a real game changer for Lewis and Clark, who originally had to use boats to transport large barrels of salted meat and fish on their journey west. Also called Juneberry, the fruit was used to make pies, jelly, and wine.

You may have noticed those clumps of thin twiggy branches in some large serviceberry shrubs. These are the result of being infected by the fungus (Apiosorina collinsii) and are commonly referred to as… ‘Witches broom’.

Pictured:

1) A Serviceberry shrub in bloom

2) Serviceberry bloom close-up

3) Witch’s broom in bloom

4) Witch’s broom close-up

wildlife

Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date April 16, 2020

Arrowleaf Balsamroot, ("Oregon Sunflower")

Do you know about the Arrowleaf Balsamroot? This plant is the first member of the composta/composite family to bloom in the Dishman Hills in the Spring. Each petal is actually a single floret bearing one enormous petal and several minute ones, giving the illusion of a ring of petals. All parts of this plant are edible. Its roots were boiled, dried, or ground for medicine. Its young leaves were eaten raw as a salad and its seeds roasted and ground into flour. Everything you see above the ground is connected to a very thick and long taproot.

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

wildlife

Spring Whitlow Grass (Draba verna)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date April 16, 2020

Do you know about Spring Whitlow Grass (Draba Verna)? Spring Whitlow Grass is a member of the mustard family. The word verna comes from the Latin word vernus, meaning spring. It is thought that these flowers originated in Europe and naturalized to the Americas by European settlers. You will need very sharp eyes to spot this plant’s tiny flowers – see the pine needle for scale. Each of its four petals are deeply divided, giving the appearance of eight petals. They can often be found in the disturbed margins of trails. Spring Whitlow grass was the first plant to be observed to determine the importance of self-pollination to mutation and the creation of local strands.

Spring Whitlow Grass

wildlife

Yellow Bell (Fritillariai pudica)

Post author By Dishman Hills
Post date April 16, 2020

Do you know about the Yellow Bell (Fretillaria Pudica)? What looks like six petals is really three petals and three similar sepals. Sepals are individual leaf-like structures, collectively known as the calyx, that fold over and protect the bud of the flower from damage and weather while developing. Yellow Bells are native to the Western U.S. and Canada. Its small bulbs were eaten fresh, steamed, or boiled and could be dried and stored as a winter food source. David Douglas, the botanist best known as the namesake of the Douglas Fir, first encountered this flower near the Spokane River in 1826.

The Yellow Bell