My wildflower collection
History (opens in new window)
notes, comments, disclaimers, etc (at bottom of page)

(perpetually under construction)

#

Family

Genus

Species/Photo

Comments (common names, etc.)

008 Typhaceaea     Cattail family - two genera, 51 known species
    Typha   largely Northern Hemisphere wetland habitats
      T. latifolia broadleaf cattail
013

Aponogetonaceae

    Cape-pondweed family, one genus, 56 known species of aquatic plants,
    Aponogeton   native to Africa, south Asia, and naturalized in Australia. some species popular ornamental in water features and garden ponds
      A. distachyus water hawthorn, vieikos, cape pond weed

015

Alismataceae

   

water-plantains

   

Sagittaria

 

Arrohead, duck potato, swamp potato, Wapato

     

S. latifolia

produces edible tubers that have been extensively used by Native Americans
015A Tofieldiaceae     small, herbaceous plants, mostly arctic and subarctic - family established in 1995
    Triantha   False asphodel - Japan and NA. expect ongoing revisions to both genus and family
      T. occidentalis western false asphodel - reportedly (2021) carnivorous, catching insects with sticky hairs, enzymatic secretions on stem

020

Cyperaceae

    sedges, 90 genera, thousands of species
   

Eriophorum

  cottongrasses
     

E. scheuchzeri

Scheuchzer's Cottongrass
      E. angustifolium common cottongrass
023 Araceae     aka Arum family, flowers are spadix form, sometimes with spathe - see Calla-lily
   

Lysichiton

  Skunk Cabbages
     

L. americanus

Skunk Cabbage, Western Skunk Cabbage
028 Pontederiaceae     tropical and subtropical aquatic plants, 2 genera, 40 species known
    Pontederia   pickerel weeds
      P. crassipes common water hyacinth

038

Liliaceae     flower parts arranged in threes, with six petaloid tepals. Leaves linear, veins usually arranged parallel to the edges
   

Calochortus

 

tepals are in two series that differ in size and color.  Mariposas, cat's ears, star tulips

     

C. macrocarpus

 Sagebrush mariposa lily,
   

Clintonia

   Bluebead lilies, and other bead lily - named for distinctive fruit
     

C. uniflora

 Bride's bonnet, queen's cup, bead lily
   

Erythronium

   Fawn Liliy, dog's-tooth violet, adder's tongue, closely related to tulips
     

E. grandiflorum

 Glacier Lily, yellow avalanche-lily, yellow fawn-lily
     

E. oregonum

 Oregon fawn-lily, Giant white fawn-lily
   

Fritillaria

   Solitary, nodding, bell shaped flowers, bulbs have fleshy scales (please don't go looking for the scales)
     

F. affinis

 Chocolate Lily, Checker Lily
     

F. atropurpurea

 Spotted mountain lily, spotted fritillary
     

F. pudica

 Yellow bells, lemon bell, yellow fritillary
   

Lilium

   Large, often fragrant flowers, plants 1-6 feet tall, funnel shaped, wide range of colors
     

L. columbianum

 Columbia lily, (calling these a tiger lily is embarrassing to tigers and offensive to leopards)
   

Prosartes

   Fairybells, with pendent, or hanging, flowers
     

P. hookeri

 Drops of gold, Hooker's fairy bells
     

P. smithii

 Largeflower fairybells, fairy lantern, coast fairy bells
038H Melanthiaceae     aka bunchflower family, formerly considered part of the lily family, with many similarities.  Includes trilliums, beargrass, etc
    Toxicoscordion   Death camas - yes, they are poisonous but livestock avoid them because they are unpalatable
      T. paniculatum  Foothill death camas, sand-corn
      T. venenosum death camas, meadow death camas
    Trillium   includes wakerobin, toadshade, triflower
      T. ovatum Pacific trillium, western wakerobin, western trillium
    Veratrum   damp habitats across much of temperate subarctic Europe, Asia, and North America - False hellebores, corn lilies
      V. californicum California corn lily
      V. viride Indian poke, corn-lily, Indian Hellebore, false hellebore, green false hellebore, giant false-helleborine
    Xerophyllum    
      X. tenax bear grass, soap grass, quip-quip, Indian basket grass
040G Asparagaceae     asparagus family, includes yucca, bluebell, and hosta
    Agave   xerophytic succulent
      A. schottii Schott's century plant
    Brodiaea   Cluster lilies
      B. elegans Harvest cluster lily, elegant brodiaea, harvest brodiaea  
    Camassia   grows in the wild in great numbers in moist meadows
     

C. quamash

Camas
    Dichelostemma   closely related to Brodiaea
      D. capitatum Blue dicks
      D. congestum Ookow, fork-toothed ookow (Possibly a native american word for the plant)
    Leucocrinum   possibly only single species in genus
      L. montanum Sand lily
    Maianthemum   widespread across N Americ, Asia and Europe.  May be terrestrial, aquatic, or epiphytic.
      M. racemosum false Solomon's seal, Solomon's plume, false spikenard, feathery false lily of the valley, treacleberry
      M. stellatum star-flowered, starry, or little false Solomon's seal, star-flowered, lily-of-the-valley, or false lily of the valley
    Muscari   grape hyacinths
      M. armeniacum These may in fact be to different species, and not necessarily the one listed.
    Polygonatum   Solomon's Seal
     

P. biflorum

smooth Solomon's-seal, great Solomon's-seal, Solomon's seal
    Triteleia   Triplet lilies
     

T. grandiflora

largeflower triteleia, largeflower tripletlily, wild hyacinth  
      T. hyacinthina white brodiaea, white tripletlily, hyacinth brodiaea, fool's onion  
 
040H Amaryllidaceae     flowers arranged in umbels on the stem. includes onions, garlic, chives, amaryllis, daffodils, snowdrops  
    Allium   Onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek and chives  
      A. acuminatum taper-tip onion  
      A. cernuum nodding onion  
      A. siskiyouense Siskiyou onion  
      A. tolmiei Tolmie's onion  
      A triquetrum Three-cornered leek, three-cornered garlic, angled onion, onion weed - can become invasive  
040K Asphodelaceae     aloes, red hot pokers, daylilies  
    Asphodelus   Native to temperate Europe, Mediterranean, Africa, Middle East, India.  No western hemisphere examples  
      A. ramosus branched asphodel  
 
044 Iridaceae     Irises - perennial plants with bulb, corm, or rhizome.  Grow erect, grass-like leaves  
    Iris   your classic irises, flags, bearded iris, etc  
      I. missouriensis Rocky Mountain iris   
 
      I. tenax Oregon iris, tough-leaved iris,  
    Olsynium   bell shaped, six white, pink or lilac tepals in late winter to spring.  South and Western North America  
      O. douglasii Grass widow, Douglas' Olsynium, satin flower, blue-eyed and purple-eyed grass  
   

Sisyrinchium

  Blue-eyed Grass  
      S. angustifolium Blue-eyed Grass, stout blue-eyed grass  
      S. idahoense Idaho blue-eyed grass  
      S. montanum strict blue-eyed grass  
050 Orchidaceae        
    Calypso   A monotypic taxon - only a single species in this genus  
      C. bulbosa Calypso orchid, fairy slipper, Venus's slipper  
    Cephalanthera      
      C. austiniae phantom orchid, snow orchid  
    Coeloglossum   monotypic  
      C. viride Frog Orchid - species name is also listed as viridis.  My source listed it as viride  
    Corallorhiza    North American except for C.trifida.  Most species are leafless and rootless and believed to be parasitic or relying on mycorrhizal fungi  
      C. maculata  spotted coralroot  
    Cypripedium    slipper orchids  
      C. montanum  mountain lady's slipper  
    Dactylorhiza   marsh orchids, spotted orchids, many species in this genus hybridise so readily that species boundaries are vague  
      D. maculata spotted heath orchid  
      D. purpurella northern marsh orchid  
   

Gymnadenia

  damp meadows, alpine regions, and on chalk or limestone.  Europe and Asia  
      G. conopsea fragrant orchid  
    Orchis   mainly Europe, northwest Africa  
      O. mascula early purple orchid  
      O. rotundifolia roundleaf orchid  
   

Platanthera

   Butterfly or fringed orchids  
      P. dilatata  white bog orchid  
      P. elongata  denseflower rein rochid  
      P. sparsiflora  few flowered bog orchid  
      P. stricta slender bog orchid  
    Pseudorchis   monotypic - Europe and Northern Asia from Spain and Iceland to Kamchatka, and eastern Canada  
      P. albida  small white orchid  
056

Salicaceae

    Willow family - willow, poplar, aspen, cottonwood  
    Salix   Willows, sallows, and osiers  
     

S. lanata

Wolly willow - subarctic species native to Iceland  
069 Santalaceae     Sandalwood family includes small trees shrubs, herps and epiphytic climbers. Many are parasitic on other plants - mistletoes  
    Comandra   monotypic  
      S. umbellata bastard toadflax - hemiparasitic, obtains some nutrition through photosynthesis  
074 Aristolochiaceae     Piperales, medium to large sized bizarre flowers  
    Asarum   Wild gingers  
      A. caudatum Wild ginger  
077 Polygonaceae     knotweed, smartweed, buckwheat  
    Bistorta   Native throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere  
      B. bistortoides American Bistort  
    Eriogonum   wild buckwheat - flowers quite variable within each species, also M&F differences.  leaf shape, color and size are important
 
      E. caespitosum cushion desert wilde buckwheat, matted wild buckwheat  
      E. compositum arrowleaf wild buckwheat  
      E. diclinum Jaynes Canyon buckwheat  
      E. fasciculatum California buckwheat  
      E. heracleoides parsnip-flowered wild buckwheat  
      E. marifolium marum leaved buckwheat  
      E. nudum bare-stem buckwheat  
      E. ovalifolium cushion wild buckwheat - highly variable - flowers bright yellow to pink to white.  Foliage white to dusty green.  many varieties  
      E. parvifolium dune wild buckwheat, seacliff wild buckwheat  
      E. thymoides thyme wild buckwheat  
      E. umbellatum sulphur flowered buckwheat  
    Koenigia  

Taprooted annuals and perennials. Genus currently undergoing depolyphyletication

 
      K. daviaiae Davis' knotweed  
    Persicaria   knotweeds, smartweeds  
      P. maculosa spotted lady's thumb, Jesusplant, redshank  
      P. hydropiper water-pepper  
079 Amaranthaceae     Includes vegetables such as spinach, beet, sugar beet, chard, quinoa, and cañihua  
    Allenrolfea   fleshy, succulent, grow on sandy, often salty, alkaline soils  
      A. occidentalis iodine bush  
    Atriplex   the genus is quite variable and widely distributed, including desert and seashore plants, and halophytes  
      A. hymenelytra Desert holly  
    Grayia   siltbush and hopsage  
      G. spinosa Spiny hopsage  
    Gomphrena   globe amaranths  
      G. celosioides no common name found, cosmopolitan pioneer plant, originally native to tropical Americas, now widely naturalized  
080 Nyctaginaceae     four o'clock family.  Some species exhibit unusual characteristics - sticky bands on stems, self-pollinating flowers that don't open, able to withstand soils with high concentration of gypsum  
    Abronia   sand-verbenas or wild lantanas  
      A. latifolia Yellow sand-verbena  
085R Montiaceae     Cosmopolitan distribution  
    Calyptridium   native range Northern NA, Southern SA  
      C. monospermum one-seeded pussypaws  
      C. umbellatum pussypaws  
    Claytonia   spring beauty - Asia, North America and Central America.  Vitamin rich leaves can be eaten, edible tubers  
      C. lanceolata Lanceleaf Spring Beauty, western spring beauty  
      C. perfoliata    
      C. rubra Red-stem miner's lettuce, Erubescent miner's lettuce  
    Lewisia   Named for Meriwether Lewis, found in western North America.  Native Amerians ate roots of Lewisia  
      L. rediviva Bitterroot  
    Montia   Miner's lettuce, water chickweeds  
      M. parvifolia Streambank spring beauty  
087 Caryophyllaceae     pink or carnation family - widespread, cosmopolitan family includes dianthus, firepink, and campions  
    Cerastium   mouse-ears, or mouse-ear chickweeds  
      C. alpinum Alpine mouse-ear  
      C. arvense Field chickweed  
      C. fontanum common mouse-ear, starweed, mouse-ear chickweed  
    Honckenya   Monotypic, circumboreal  
      H. paploides sea sandwort, seaside sandplant  
    Silene   campion, catchfly, widely distributed, particularly in the northern hemisphere  
      S. acaulis moss campion  
      S. dioica red campion, red catchfly  
      S. parryi Parry's catchfly  
      S. uniflora Sea Campion  
091 Ranunculaceae     Buttercup family includes Delphinium (larkspur), Thalictrum (rue), Columbine, Anemone, and Clematis  
    Aconitum   aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, devil's helmet, etc. chiefly native to mountainous parts of Norther Hemisphere  
      A. columbianum columbian monkshood  
    Anemonastrum   Anemonastrum means "somewhat like an anemone"  
      A. deltoideum  Columbia windflower  
    Anemone   anemone, windflowers  
      A. coronaria  Poppy anemone, spanish marigold, windflower  
      A. patens  prairie pasqueflower  
    Aquilegia   Columbines, found throughout the Northern Hemisphere  
      A. flavescens  yellow columbine  
      A. formosa  western columbine, crimson columbine, five-barreled petunia  
    Clematis   cultivated since 1862 with new cultivars introduced frequently - Clematis, traveller's joy, virgin's bower...  
      C. ligusticifolia  Western clematis  
    Delphinium   Larkspur freely hybridize amongst different species creating difficulty in identification  Here are some photos of unidentified delphinium  
      D. andersonii Anderson's Larkspur  
      D. glauca mountain larkspur  
    Pulsatilla      
      P. occidentalis Western pasque flower (fruit only - flowers coming, someday)  
    Thalictrum   native mostly to temperate regions. Despite the common name 'Meadow Rue' it is not closely related to actual rue (Ruadceae)  
      T. occidentale  western meadow-rue  
096 Calycanthaceae     sweetshrubs, spicebushes, three genera, 10 known species  
    Calycanthus      
      C. occidentale California allspice, California spicebush  
104 Papaveraceae     Poppy family, cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates, mostly in the northern hemisphere.  
    Dendromecon   tree poppy, large shrub 2-10 feet tall.  California and Baja California  
      D. rigida bush poppy  
    Dicentra   bleeding hearts, and the now politically deprecated Dutchman's Breeches  
      D. formosa Pacific bleeding heart, western bleeding heart  
    Eschscholzia   tiny black seeds held in long pointed pods that snap open when ripe, frequently with enough force to fling seeds some distance  
      E. caespitosa  tufted poppy  
      E. californica  California poppy  
    Papaver   frost tolerant, temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America  
      P. nudicale Iceland poppy  
      P. radicatum Arctic poppy  
105 Brassicaceae     mustards or cabbage family.  Mostly herbaceous plants.  four petals, four alternate sepals.  two short stamens and four longer ones.  
    Cardamine   bittercress, toothworts  
      C. hirsuta hairy bittercress  
      C. nymanii lady's smock  
      C. pratensis cuckoo flower, lady's smock milkmaids, mayflower  
    Erysimum   wallflowers  
      E. arenicola cascade wallflower  
      E. asperum plains wallflower  
      E. capitatum western wallflower  
    Hesperis      
      H. matronalis Dame's rocket  
    Physaria   twinpods, bladderpods, lesquerella  
      P. spatulata alpine bladderpod  
      P. tenella Moapa bladderpod aka Lesquerella tenella  
    Raphanus      
      R. raphanistrum wild radish  
    Rorippa   yellowcresses - watercress has moved to genus Nasturtium  
      R. sinuata spreading yellowcress  
    Sisymbrium    scrappy plants that survive harsh climates and disturbed ground  
      S. altissimum  tall tumblemustard  
    Stanleya    Prince's plumes  
      S. pinnata  desert prince's plume  
    Streptanthus    twistflowers and jewelflowers  
      S. carinatus    
107 Capparaceae     caper family  
    Capparis   caper shrubs, caperbushes  
      C. micracantha    
107Q Cleomaceae     very closely related to Brassicaceae  
    Cleome   spider flowers, spider weeds, bee plants  
      C. platycarpa golden bee plant  
110 Sarraceniaceae     Pitcher Plants  
    Darlingtonia   monotypical  
      D. californica California pitcher plant, Oregon pitcher plant, cobra lily (discouraged)  
115 Crassulaceae     stonecrop family, thick, succulent leaves, xerophytic, Crassulacean acid metabolism  
    Rhodiola   often called stonecrops, some authors merge Rhodiola into Sedum.  High altitude and other cold regions northern hemisphere  
      R. rosea roseroot stonecrop  
    Sedum   succlents found primarily in Nortern Hemisphere. plants vary from annuals to shrubs.  400-500 species  
      S. divergens pacific stonecrop  
      S. lanceolata spearleaf stonecrop  
      S. villosum  hairy stonecrop  
114 Hydrocharitaceae     includes many aquatic species, both fresh and marine aquatics. primarily tropical  
    Egeria   3 species of aquatic plants native to warm-temperate South America  
      E. densa Large-flowered waterweed, Brazilian waterweed - problematic invasive species used in home aquariums  
 117  Saxifragaceae     herbaceous perennial flowering plants. predominantly northern hemisphere, but also Andes and South America  
     Boykinia   brookfoams - creeping perennials, highly lobed or toothed leaves. NA, Asia, Japan  
      B. major mountain brookfoam  
     Heuchera   alumroot, coral bells - mostly NA, one species native to Russian Far East  
       H. rubescens pink alumroot  
     Lithophragma   woodland stars  
       L. parviflorum small-flowered woodland-star  
       L. tenellum slender woodland-star  
     Micranthes      
       M. californica California saxifrage  
     Mitellastra   monotypical  
       M. caulescens leafy miterwort, slightstemmed m, star-shaped m, creeping m  
     Saxifraga   473 species, aka rockfoils. mostly perennial or biennial, may be succulent  
       S. aizoides yellow mountain saxifrage  
       S. caespitosa tufted saxifrage  
       S. hypnoides mossy saxifrage  
       S. oregana Oregon saxifrage  
       S. rhomboidea diamond-leaved saxifrage  
       S. rosacea rosy saxifrage (roses can be white, right?) irish saxifrage  
       S. stellaris starry saxifrage, hairy kidney-wort (I like that one!)  
     Tellima      
       T. grandiflora fringecup  
     Tiarella      
       T. trifoliata foamflower  
     Tolmiea      
       T. menziesii an unattractive brown flower that requires genetic analysis to distinguish it from its doppelganger T. diplomenziesii.  This could be either.  
117R Grossulariaceae     currents and gooseberries (for now)  
    Ribes   currents and gooseberries - recent developments place Ribes as the sole genus in the Grossulariaceae family.  
       R. aureum golden currant, buffalo currant  
       R. cereum wax currant  
       R. lacustre prickly currant  
       R. lobii gummy gooseberry, fuchsia-flowered gooseberry (though another gooseberry also claims this name), pioneer gooseberry  
       R. sanguineum red flowering currant  
       R. viscosissimum sticky currant  
117S Hydrangeaceae     characterised by leaves in opposite pairs, 4 petals  
    Philadelphus   mock-orange - 60 species  
      P. lewisii Lewis' mock-orange  
126 Rosaceae     rose family, includes 91 genera, ~5,000 species of herbs, shrubs and trees.  Traditional roses, fruit trees, berries and almonds  
    Amelanchier   serviceberry, sarvisberry, juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum.  temperate regions northern hemisphere  
      A. alnifolia serviceberry  
    Aruncus   closely related to filipendula and spiraea.  creamy white plumes of small flowers. appears in temperate regions of northern hemisphere  
      A. dioicus goatsbeard  
    Ceanothus   Some place this in the Rhamnaceae family.   genus native to NA, with greatest diversity on the west coast.  
      C. cordulatus mountain whitethorn  
      C. cuneatus buckbrush  
      C. integerrimus deerbrush  
      C. sanguineus redstem ceanothus  
    Chamaebatia   aromatic, capable of nitrogen fixation, dense tangle with sticky, strong-smelling resin  
      C. foliosa mountain misery  
    Cinquefoil   Cinquefoils have pretty much been distributed to a variety of genera.  I find at least three for this one, so I'm leaving it here.  
      C. glandulosa sticky cinquefoil  
    Comarum   formerly included in cinquefoils  
      C. palustre swamp cinquefoil, marsh cinquefoil.  aka cinquefoil palustris  
    Crataegus   Hawthorns, quickthorn, thornapple, may-tree, whitethorn, mayflower or hawberry - several hundred species of shrubs and trees  
      C. monogyna common hawthorn, native to Europe, NW Africa, W. Asia, widely naturalized  
    Dasiphora   more cinquefoils  
      D. fruticosa shrubby cinquefoil  
    Dryas   arctic and alpine regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.  Placement in Rosaceae is unclear - wait for announcement  
      D. octopetela mountain avens  
    Drymocallis   more cinquefoils  
      D. pseudorupestris cliff wood-beauty  
      D. convallaria cream cinquefoil  
    Elaeagnus   deciduous or evergreen shrubs or small trees, alternate leaves. flowers small, four-lobed calyx, no petals.  silverberry, oleaster.  member of Rosids, but may now be classed in family Elaeagnaceae  
      E. angustifolia russian olive  
    Fragaria   strawberries  
      F. vesca wild strawberry  
      F. virginica wild strawberry  
    Geum   avens  
      G. rivale water avens, purple avens  
      G. triflorum prairie smoke, old man's whiskers, torchflower, three-sisters, long-plumed purple avens, lion's beard, three-flowered avens (more?...)  
    Holodiscus   deciduous shrubs, native to Americas, British Columbia south to Bolivia  
      H. discolor Oceanspray  
    Horkelia   apparently recently re-assigned to Potentilla?   
      H. daucifolia carrotleaf horkelia  
    Luetkea   partridgefoot - mat-forming shrub, endemic to cold portions of western Northa America, and subarctic regions.  
      L. pectinata partridgefoot, lutkea  
    Malus   Crabapple  
      M. prunifolia Plumleaf crab apple  
    Potentilla   500 species, including more cinquefoils.  It's obvious more work needs to be done  
      P. anserina silverweed  
      P. breweri Brewer's cinquefoil  
      P. crantzii alpine cinquefoil  
      P. gracilis graceful, or slender cinquefoil  
126b     P. indica mock strawberry  
    Prunus   trees and shrubs including plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds  
      P. spinosa blackthorn - locally naturalized in the PNW, particularly the Willamette Valley  
      P. virginiana choke cherry  
    Purshia   bitterbrush or cliff-rose  
      P. tridentata antelope bitterbrush  
    Rosa      
      R. nutkana nootka rose  
    Rubus   bramble - raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, etc  
     

R. laciniatus

cutleaf blackberry - naturalized Eurasian non-native
 
     

R. lasiococcus

dwarf bramble  
      R. neomexicanus New Mexico Raspberry  
      R. parviflorus thimbleberry  
      R. spectabilis salmonberry  
      R. ursinus trailing blackberry  
    Sorbus   whitebeam, rowan, mountain-ash, service tree  
      S. scopulina cascade mountain ash  
    Spiraea   spirea, meadowsweets or steeplebushes, hardy deciduous shrubs native to Northern Hemisphere, many small flowers clustered together  
      S. douglasii hardhack  
      S. japonica Japanese meadowsweet  
      S. splendens rosy spirea  
128 Fabaceae     legume, pea or bean family  
    Acacia   wattles or acacias  
      A. constricta whitethorn acacia  
    Acmispon   bird's-foot trefoils, deervetches, native to NA, west coast of Chile in SA  
      A. americanus American bird's-foot trefoil, Spanish clover  
    Astragalus   milkvetch, locoweed, goat's-thorn  
      A. purshii milkvetch  
      A. succumbens columbia milkvetch  
   

Calliandra

  subtropical to tropical regions of Americas.  powder-puff, powder puff plant, fairy duster  
       C. eriophylla fairyduster  
    Cercis   redbud  
       C. occindentalis western redbud  
    Cytisus   brooms  
       C. scoparius scotch broom  
    Dalea   prairie clover, indigo bush.  western hemisphere natives, Canada to Argentina, nearly half endemic to Mexico  
       D. ornata blue mountain prairie colver  
    Erythrina   Shrubs to small trees, tropical and subtropical regions worldwide  
       E. flabelliformis western coralbean  
    Hosackia   bird's-foot trefoil, deervetch  
       H. crassifolia big deervetch  
 128b   Lathyrus   peavines, vetchlings, sweet peas  
       L. latifolius broad-leaved sweet pea  
    Lotus   also includes bird's foot trefoils and deervetches.  
       L. pedunculata greater bird's foot trefoil  
    Lupinus   lupins and bluebonnets, mostly annuals, a few shrubs and one tree.  flowers in whorls on an erect spike  
      L. brewerii brewer's lupine  
      L. lepidus Pacific lupine  
      L. leucophyllus velvet lupine  
      L. nootkatensis nootka lupine  
      L. sparsiflorus coulter's lupine  
      L. succulentus hollowleaf annual lupine, arroyo lupine, succulent lupine  
    Medicago   medick, burclover  
       M. lupulina black medick  
    Melilotus   melilot, sweet clover, kumoniga  
       M. officinalis yellow sweet clover  
    Oxytropis   locoweeds  
       O. campestris field locoweed  
    Robinia   locusts  
       R. neomexicana New Mexico locust  
    Sophora   many small trees and shrubs  
       S. nuttalliana white loco (small shrub)
 
    Trifolium   clovers  
       T. campestre  hop trefoil, low hop clover  
    Ulex   gorse, furze, whin  
      U. europaeus Gorse  
 129  Geraniaceae     geranium family - herbs or shrubs, leaves usually lobed or otherwise divided - pelate, opposite, or alternate.  Flowers are symmetrical  
    Erodium      
      E. cicutarium redstem storksbill  
    Geranium   geraniums, cranesbills.  found throughout temperate regions of the world  
      G. richardsonii Richardson's geranium  
      G. robertianum herb Robert, stinky Bob, red robim, death come quickly  
      G. sylvaticum wood crane's bill  
      G. viscosissimum sticky geranium  
130 Oxalidaceae     wood sorrels, small family of herbs, shrubs and small trees, but mostly plants in the genus Oxalis  
    Oxalis   genus occurs throughout most of the world, again mostly known as wood sorrels  
      O. oregana Oregon wood-sorrel  
      O. pes-caprae Bermuda buttercup, African wood-sorrel, sour grass  
      O. stricta common yellow oxalis, yellow wood-sorrel  
132 Linaceae     herbacious annuals, woody vines, shrubs, and trees.  temperate to tropical  
    Linum   flowers mostly blue. fibre used to produce linen, seeds for linseed oil  
      L. lewisii Lewis' flax  
135

Zygophyllaceae

    bean-caper and caltrop  
    Larrea   evergreen shrubs native to americas.   
      L. tridentata creosote bush - creosote bush lives in clonal colonies, one estimated as old as 11,700 years  
    Tribulus   diverse climates and soils worldwide from 35°S to 47°N. some species cultived as ornamentals, some are noxious weeds  
      T. terrestris puncture vine, caltrop - seeds served as the design model for the ancient weapon by the same name.  widespread, invasive  
147

Euphorbiaceae

    Spurges - cosmopolitan global distribution, greatest species diversity in tropics  
    Euphorbia   genus has roughly 2,000 members including poinsettias, and Euphorbia empliphylla growing to nearly 100' in height  
      E. esula leafy spurge, wolf's milk  
      E. maculata milk purslane, milky spurge, spotted sandmat, milk purslane, etc.  aka Chamaesyce maculata  
      E. marginata smoke-on-the-prairie  
153

Anacardiaceae

    cashew family - cashew, sumac, poison oak, poison ivy, poison sumac  
    Rhus   sumac (non-poisonous type)  
      R. trilobata skunkbush, skunkbush S., fragrant S., squawbush, basketbush, ill-scented sumac, and so forth...  
158 Celastraceae     vines, shrubs, small trees, mostly tropical  
    Parnassia   Mount Parnassus is the mythological home of the muses music and poetry. open seepage areas, moist woods  
      P. asarifolia kidneyleaf grass of Parnassus, grass-of-parnassus  
165

Sapindaceae

    soapberry family includes horse chestnut, maples, lychee.  Many have a milky sap containing latex,  
    Acer   maples  
      A. circinatum vine maple  
    Aesculus   horse chestnut, buckeye  
      A. californica california buckeye  
168 Balsaminaceae     balsam family (not to be confused with balsam root), consisting of 1,000+ species of impatiens, and the monotypic genus Hydrocera  
    Impatiens   Imaptiens, jewelweed, snapweed, touch-me-not, patience. widely distributed in Northern Hemisphere and the tropics  
      I. capensis orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not  
      I. glandulifera policeman's-helmet, ornamental jewelweed  
175 Malvaceae        
    Fremontodendron   flannel bush  
      F. californicum California flannelbush  
    Iliamna   hollyhocks  
      I. rivularis streambank wild hollyhock  
    Malva   mallow  
     

M. sylvestris

   
    Sida   fanpetals  
     

S. abutifolia

spreading fanpetals  
    Sidalcea   checkermallows  
     

S. hirtipes

checkermallow  
      S. oregana Oregon Checker-mallow  
     

S. virgata

virgate checkerbloom  
   

Sphaeralcea

  globemallows  
     

S. ambigua

rose globemallow, pink form  
      S. laxa caliche globmallow  
     

S. munroana

orange globe mallow  
     

S. parvifolia

small-leaf globemallow  
182 Ochnaceae        
    Ochna   trees, shrubs, shrublets, tropical woodlands of Africa, Madagascar, Mascarene Islands, and Asia  
      O. integerrima Mai flower, very popular in southern Vietnam for the celebration of Tét spring festival  
187Q Hypericaceae     St. John's wort family  
    Hypericum   St. John's worts, goatweeds  
      H. perforatum Klamath weed - an introduced species and the story of its biological control  
      H. scouleri Schouler's St. Johns wort  
192 Fouquieriaceae     contains a single genus that includes ocotillo and the boojum tree  
    Fouquieria   wiki only the genus and does not have a separate article on the genus, since there's only the one...  
      F. splendens ocotillo  
198 Violaceae     Violets and pansies  
    Viola   mostly temperate Northern Hemisphere  
      V. canadensis Canada violet  
      V. glabella yellow violet  
      V. palustris alpine marsh violet  
      V. sempervirens evergreen violet  
      V. purpurea goose-foot violet  
199R Berberidaceae     barberry family, includes trees, shrubs, and perennial herbaceous plants  
    Achlys   vanilla leaf  
      A. californica aka A. triphylla as some believe the two are too similar to be separate species  
    Berberis   barberries - temperate and subtropical regions of the world except Australia  
      B. aquifolium oregon grape  
      B. repens creeping oregon grape  
    Vancouveria   inside-out flowers  
      V. hexandra white inside-out flower  
206 Loasaceae     Loasaceae are known to exhibit rapid thigmonastic astamen movement when pollinators are present  
    Mentzelia   blazing stars, stickleafs, evening stars, and moonflowers  
      M. veatchiana Veatch's blazingstar  
210 Cactaceae     Cactus - native to the americas except for one species from Africa and Sri Lanka. stems carry out photosynthesis  
    Carnegiea   monotypic  
      C. gigantea Giant Saguaro  
    Cylindropuntia   chollas - barbed spines, stems separate readily  
      C. echinocarpa silver cholla  
    Echinocereus   echinos = sea urchin, cereus = candle, aka hedgehog, but other genera use hedgehog as well.  
      E. coccineus mexican claret cup  
      E. triglochidiatus King cup cactus  
    Ferocactus   Barrel-shaped cacti, mostly with large spines and small flowers  
      F. wislizeni Arizona barrel, fishhook barrel cactus, candy barrel cactus  
    Stenocereus   columnar or tree-like cacti, Baja, Mexico, Arizona, Columbia, Costa Rica into Venezuela and West Indies  
      S. thurberi

Organ pipe cactus - night blooming, usually pollinated by bats.  Blossoms wither with the first rays of the sun

 
219

Lecythidaceae

    woody plants native to tropical South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia  
    Couroupita   tropical south and central America  
      C. guianensis cannonball tree, cultivated in many tropical areas for fragrant flowers and large fruits  
224 Onagraceae     willowherb, evening primrose - widespread  
    Chamaenerion   willoherbs or fireweeds, occasionally included in Epilobium  
      C. angustifolium fireweed  
    Clarkia   almost all native to western North America. typically annual herbs, some formerly classified as godetia as reflected in some common names  
      C. amoena farewell-to-spring  
      C. pulchella ragged robin  
      C. purpurea winecup clarkia  
      C. rhomboidea diamond clarkia  
      C. unguiculata elegant clarkia  
    Epilobium    willowherb - herbacious plant with nearow, willow-like leaves  
      E. brachycarpum autumn willowherb  
      E. ciliatum fringed willowherb  
      E. densiflorum denseflowered willowherb  
      E. lactiflorum milk-flowered willowherb  
    Gayophytum   groundsmoke  
      G. humile dwarf groundsmoke  
    Oenothera   evening primrose, suncups, sundrops, not closely related to true primroses  
      O. albicaulis white-stem evening primrose  
      O. biennis common evening primrose  
      O. cespitosa gumbo evening primrose  
      O. elata aka O. villosa - Hooker's evening-primrose, tall evening-primrose  
    Taraxia   changes coming.  I can feel it.  
      T. subacaulis diffuse flower evening primrose  
227 Araliaceae     ginseng, varied morphology, predominantly woody habit, tropical simple umbels  
    Oplopanax   native to western North America and northeastern Asia  
      O. horridus Devil's club  
228 Apiaceae     umbellifers - celery, carrot, parsley etc.  Large family with 3,800 species in 446 genera.  
    Angelica   1-3 m tall, far north as Greenland, mosly in China  
      A. arguta Lyall's angelica  
      A. henderonsii Henderson's angelica  
    Anthriscus   chervils, Europe and temperate Asia  
      A. sylvestris cow parsley  
    Cicuta   water hemlock - highly toxic  
      C. douglasii western water hemlock  
    Daucus   Carrot  
      D. carota Queen Anne's lace, wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, European wild carrot - native to the old world, naturalized in the new world  
    Foeniculum   Fennel  
      F. vulgare common fennel  
    Heracleum   biennial and perennial, hogweed, cow parsnip  
      H. maximum cow parsnip  
    Lomatium   biscuitroot, indian parsley, desert parsley.  Native to NA and Mexico, used extensively for food by native Americans  
      L. cous cous biscuitroot  
      L. nudicaule barestem biscuitroot  
      L. triernatum nineleaf biscuitroot  
    Musineon   wild parsleys  
      M. divaricatum wild parsley  
229 Cornaceae      Dogwoods  
    Cornus    woody plants, mostly deciduous trees, shrubs, or subshrubs  
      C. sericea red osier dogwood  
      C. unalaschkensis bunchberry  
233 Ericaceae      heaths, heathers, rhododendron, various berries, some parasites  
    Arbutus   madrones, strawberry trees  
      A. menziesii Pacific madrone, madrone, madrona, arbutus - readily identifiable by its peeling red bark  
    Arctostaphylos   manzanitas  
      A. pungens pointleaf manzanita  
    Cassiope   native to arctic and north temperate montane regions  
      C. hypnoides cassiope  
    Chimaphila   formerly placed in family Pyrolaceae which is now a subfamily of Ericaceae  
      C. umbellata pipsissewa, prince's pine  
    Gaultheria   evergreen, small shrubs to small trees, widespread  
      G. shallon salal - Lewis and Clark reported the native name to be 'shallon', David Douglas interpreted their pronunciation as salal  
    Kalmia   Kalmia (formerly Loiseleuria)  
      K. procumbens trailing azelea aka Loiseleuria procumbens, Azalea procumbens
 
    Monotropa    native to temperate regions of Northern Hemisphere, myco-hetrotrophic parasites on subterranean fungi  
      M. hypopithys pinesap  
    Pyrola    commonly known as wintergreen (see glossary) native to northern temparate and arctic regions  
      P. aphylla leafless wintergreen (wintergreen=evergreen, so, P. oxymoron...)  
      P. asarifolia pink pyrola, bog wintergreen, pink wintergreen  
      P. minor common wintergreen  
    Sarcodes    monotypic, parasitic plant that derives nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi  
      S. sanguinea snowplant  
    Vaccinium    craneberry, blueberry, bilberry, lingonberry, huckleberry  
      V. myrtillus billberry  
      V. ovatum evergreen huckleberry  
      V. parvifolium red huckleberry  
      V. uliginosum bog billberry  
237 Primulaceae    

Primrose family (no relation to evening primrose) - see wiki article for detailed description

 
    Lysimachia   common names include primarily loosestrife, with a few starflowers and pimpernel. Recently absorbed trientalis  
      L. latifolia Pacific starflower - I'm finding evidence that L. latifolia and L. borealis may have merged.   
     

L. europaea

arctic starflower  
    Primula   The genus Dodecatheon originated from within Primula, its species are now included in Primula once again  
      P. austrofrigida tundra shooting star  
      P. clevelandii padre's shooting star  
      P. conjugens Bonneville shooting star, desert shooting star, slimpod shooting star  
      P. hendersonii Henderson's shooting star  
      P. pauciflora prairie shooting star  
      P. pulchellum aka P. pauciflora - dry habitats from subarctic to mexico.  This specimen was growing in a botanical garden in Akureyri, Iceland, labeled Dodecatheon pulchellum  
      P. tetandra alpine shooting star  
238 Plumbaginaceae     colmopolitan distribution, particularly associated with salt-rich steppes, marshes, and sea coasts  
    Armeria      
      A. maritima sea thrift, sea cushion, sea pink  
246 Gentianaceae     cosmopolitan distribution, wide range of colors and patterns  
    Centaurium   Distributed across Europe and Asia  
      C. erythraea common centaury, European centaury,  Naturalized in parts of NA, New Zealand, and eastern Australia  
    Gentiana   Gentians are notable for their mostly large trumpet-shaped flowers, which are often an intense blue hue  
      G. affinis pleated gentian  
      G. latidens Balsam Mountain gentian - rare, critically endangered, described in 2009, only found in the Balsam Mountain range of Western North Carolina  
    Gentianella   commonly known as dwarf gentians  
      G. detonsa fringed gentian, western fringed gentian, windmill fringed gentian  
247 Apocynaceae     dogbane family so named because some taxa were used as a dog poison. also includes milkweeds  
    Apocynum   dogbane, or Indian hemp  
      A. androsaemifolium spreading dogbane  
    Asclepias   milkweeds  
      A. speciosa showy milkweed  
      A. viridflora green milkweed, green comet milkweed
 
    Calotropis   Asia and North Africa  
      C. gigantea giant milkweed  
249 Convolvulaceae     bindweeds and morning glories  
    Evolvulus   dwarf morning glories  
      E. arizonicus Arizona blue-eyes  
    Ipomoea   morning glory, sweet potato, bindweed, moonflower, etc  
      I. ternifolia Bird's foot morning glory  
    Merremia   woodroses  
      M. hederacea Ivy woodrose, हेमाली, കുഡീചിവല്ലീ  
250 Polemoniaceae     phlox, jacob's ladder, gilia, etc.  
    Collomia   trumpets, mountain trumpets, trumpet flowers  
      C. grandiflora grand collomia  
    Eriastrum   woollystars  
      E. densifolium giant woolystar  
    Gilia   gilia  
      G. capitata bluehead gilia  
    Ipomopsis   some things that used to be gilia, other stuff  
      I. aggregata skyrocket, aka scarlet gilia, though it was stripped of its gilia title some years ago...  
    Leptosiphon   some Leptosiphons used to be Linanthus.  
      L. bicolor true babystars - I knew these back in their Linanthus heyday...  
      L. montanus mustang clover, whiskerbrush  
    Microsteris   controversally monotypic - some believe it should be a phlox, like it was before  
      M. gracilis slender phlox, midget phlox (politically deprecated)  
    Phlox   phlox, phloxes some are now cultivated  
      P. alyssifolia leafy phlox  
      P. diffusa spreading phlox  
      P. longifolia longleaf phlox  
      P pulvinata cushion phlox  
      P. stansburyi Cold desert phlox  
    Polemonium   Jacob's ladders  
      P. californicum California Jacob's ladder  
      P. carneum Oregon Jacob's ladder  
      P. pulcherrimum showy Jacob's Ladder  
252 Boraginaceae     forget-me-nots, stickseed, Cryptantha, hairy leaves contain cystoliths of silicon dioxide and calcium carbonate,  irritating to skin  
    Adelinia   Monotypic, the plant formerly known as Cynoglossum grande  
      A. grandis Hound's tongue  
    Amsinckia   fiddlenecks  
      A. lycopsoides bugloss fiddleneck, tarweed fiddleneck  
      A. menziesii

common fiddleneck, intermediate f, Menzies' f, ranchers f, fireweed f

 
      A. tessellata

bristly fiddleneck,  devil's lettuce

 
    Cryptantha   cat's eyes, popcorn flowers  
      C. celosioides butte candle - aka Oreocarya glomerata and at least five others.  Taxonomy appears a bit unstable  
    Hackelia   stickseeds  
      H. mundula pink stickseed  
      H. patens spotted stickseed  
    Lithospermum   gromwells, or stoneseeds  
      L. incisum fringed puccoon, showy stoneseed, narrow-leaved gromwell  
      l. ruderale western stoneseed, Columbian puccoon, western gromwell  
    Mertensia   one of several plants called 'bluebells'.  flower color can change with soil pH  
      M. lanceolata lanceleaf bluebells  
    Myosotis   forget-me-nots, scorpion grasses  
      M. arvensis Forget-me-not  
      M. scorpioides water forget-me-not  
    Onosma   mediterranean and western asia, dry sunny habitats  
      O. frutescens golden drop  
    Phacelia   phacelia, scorpionweed, heliotrope  
      P. crenulata

notch-leaved phacelia, cleftleaf wild heliotrope

 
      P. hastata silverleaf phacelia  
      P. mutabilis changeable phacelia  
    Pholistoma   Western North America, Oregon to Baja California, 3 species  
      P. aritum blue fiesta flower  
253

 Verbenaceae

    verbena, vervain, mainly tropical containing trees, shrubs, and herbs. heads, spikes, clusters of small flowers, aromatic  
    Glandularia   vervain or verveine, native to Americas and Asia  
      G. canadensis rose mock vervain  
254

 Lamiaceae

    mint family, includes savory herbs, medicinal herbs, cosmopolitan distribution, ~7,000+ species  
    Agastache   giant hyssops  
      A. urticifolia Nettle-leaf giant hyssop  
   

Lamium

  dead-nettles, several very successful weeds naturalised across much of the temperate world  
      L. purpureum purple deadnettle  
      L. amplexicaule henbit deadnettle  
    Monarda   bergamot, bee balm, horsemint, oswego tea - endemic to North America  
      M. fistulosa wild bergamot  
    Monardella   grown for highly aromatic foliage, some species used for herbal teas  
      M. odoratissima coyote mint  
    Prunella   self-heals, heal-all, allheal, used in herbal medicine  
      P. vulgaris common self-heal  
    Salvia   one of several genera commonly referred to as sage  
      S. columbaria chia  
    Scutellaria   skullcaps scutella=small dish, tray, or platter, referring to the shape of the calyx  
      S. antirrhinoides snapdragon skullcap, nose skullcap  
    Stachys   hedgenettle, betony, lamb's ears  
      S. mexicana coast hedgenettle  
    Thymus   aromatic perennial herbaceous plants and subshrubs native to temperate regions in Europe, North Africa, and Asia  
      T. praecox wild thyme  
256

 Solanaceae

    nightshades, includes a number of agricultural crops (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers.  Some are highly toxic  
    Solanum   large, diverse genus containing potato, tomato, eggplant, and poisonous species as well  
      S. dulcamara bittersweet nightshade, blue bindweed  
      S. furcatum forked nightshade  
      S. umbelliferum blue witch nightshade  
257

 Scrophulariaceae

    figworts, cosmopolitan distribution, majority temperate areas  
    Verbascum   mulleins  
      V. blattaria moth mullein (yellow and white varieties)  
      V. thapsus common mullein  
258

 Bignoniaceae

    Bigonias (not to be confused with Begonias) or trumpet vines. Cosmopolitan distribution but mostly tropical  
    Chilopsis   monotypic - releated to catalpas, called desert willow because of its willow-like leaves, but no relation to actual willows  
      C. linearis desert willow  
261

 Orobanchaceae

    broomrapes, a family of mostly parasitic plants  
    Aphyllon   broomrape - genus could also be Orobanche  
      A. purpureum aka. Orobanche uniflora - white variety  
    Bartsia      
      B. alpina velvet bells, alpine bartsia  
    Bellardia   OK, this is a little weird, and possibly in flux  Bellardia is a genus it two different families. revisit in a few months...  
      B. viscosa yellow glandweed, sticky bartsia  
    Castilleja   paintbrush, indian paintbrush, prairie fire. hemiparasitic on roots of grasses and other herbacious flowering plants  
      C. arachnoidea cobwebby paintbrush  
      C. exserta purple owl's clover. escpbota,  exserted Indian paintbrush  
      C. foliolosa wooly indian paintbrush - various colors  
      C. hispida harsh indian paintbrush  
      C. pilosa parrothead indian paintbrush  
    Orthocarpus   root hemiparasites, capable of photosyntehsis but extracting water and minerals from host plants  
      O. cuspidatus Toothed Owl's Clover  
    Pedicularis   lousewort - believed to be responsible for lice infestations in livestock when ingested.  
      P. densiflora indian warrior lousewort  
      P. groenlandica elephanthead, elephantella, elephant's head lousewort  
      P. racemosa sickletop lousewort, parrot's beak, leafy lousewort  
    Rhinanthus   rattles, Europe, northern Asia, North America  
      R. minor yellow rattle  
264 Lentibulariaceae     carnivorous plants - butterworts (pinguicula) and bladderworts (utricularia)  
    Pinguicula   sticky, glandular leaves lure, trap, and digest insects  
      P. grandiflora large-flowered butterwort  
      P. vulgaris common butterwort  
    Utricularia   Bladderworts - carnivorous plants capture small organisms in bladder-like traps  
      U. aurea golden bladderwort  
266

 Acanthaceae

    Acanthus family, most tropical herbs shrubs, or twining vines  
    Justicia   large genus within Acanthaceae.  native to warm, tropical to warm temperate regions of Americas, India and Africa  
      J. californica Chuparosa  
   

Asystasia

  tropics of Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Guinea  
      A. gangetica var. micranthe - Chinese violet, coromandel, creeping foxglove - widespread  
268 Phrymaceae     nearly cosmopolitan distribution, but concentrated in Australia and western North America - Monkeyflowers and Teasle!  
    Erythranthe   Monkey-flowers and musk-flowers  
      E. cardinalis scarlet monkeyflower  
      E. guttata common monkeyflower  
      E. lewisii Lewis' monkeyflower  
    Mimulus   More monkey-flowers  
      M. bolanderi Bolander's monkeyflower  
      M. calycinus Kaweah River bush monkeyflower - now listed as Erythranthe calycinus  
      M. nanus Dwarf monkeyflower  
      M. nasuta shy monkeyflower  -  now listed as Erythranthe nasuta  
269

 Plantaginaceae

    snapdragons, foxglove, penstemon, veroncia  
    Chelone   turtleheads  
      C. glabra white turtlehead  
    Collinsia   chinese houses, blue eyed marys  
      C. tinctoria sticky chinese houses  
    Digitalis   foxgloves  
      D. purpurea foxglove, common foxglove, purple foxglove  
    Keckiella   keckiella, a few species called beardtongues or penstmons  
      K. breviflora bush beardtongue  
    Linaria   toadflax  
      L. dalmatica dalmatian toadflax  
      L. purpurea purple toadflax  
      L. vulgaris common toadflax, yellow toadflax, butter-and-eggs  
   

Nothochelone

  monotypic - looks very much like a penstemon, but just enough 'off' to be suspicious  
      N. nemorosa woodland beardtongue  
    Penstemon   penstemon, beardtongue  
      P. serrulatus  Cascade beardtongue, serrulate penstemon  
      P. grinnelli Grinnell's beardtongue  
      P. parryi Parry's beardtongue  
      P. rupicola cliff beardtongue  
      P. rydbergii Rydberg's penstemon  
      P. speciosus royal penstemon  
      P. utahensis Utah penstemon  
      P. venustus venus penstemon  
    Plantago   plantains (no relation to the cooking banana plantain thing), fleaworts  
      P. lanceolata ribwort plantain, narrowleaf plantain  
    Veronica   speedwells  
      V. americana american speedwell  
      V. arvensis corn speedwell  
      V. chamaedrys germander speedwell  
      V. cusickii Cusick's speedwell  
      V. fruticans rock speedwell  
      V. regina-nivalis snow queen (aka Synthyris reniformis)  
      V. wormskjoldii alpine speedwell  
270

 Rubiaceae

    coffee, madder, bedstraw  
    Galium   600+ species of galium - bedstraws  
      G. normanii slender bedstraw  
      G. saxatile heath bedstraw  
271

 Caprifoliaceae

    cosmopolitan distribution, weigela, honeysuckle,  
    Dipsacus   Teasle  
      D. fullonum teasle  
    Linnaea   monotypic  
      L. borealis twinflower  
    Lonicera   honeysuckle  
      L. ciliosa orange honeysuckle, western trumpet honeysuckle  
      L. hispidula pink honeysuckle, California honeysuckle, hairy honeysuckle  
      L. involucrata twinberry honeysuckle, black twin-berry, twinberry, bearberry  
    Valeriana   Wiki redirects Plectritis to Valariana, wildflowersearch.org currently retains plectritis  
      V. congesta shortspur seablush (aka Plectritis congesta)  
      V. sitchensis Sitka valerian  
    Symphoricarpos   snowberry  
      S. albus common snowberry  
272 Adoxaceae     Moschatal family  
    Sambucus   Elderberries  
      S. cerulea blue elderberry  
      S. racemosa red elderberry  
275

 Cucurbitaceae

    gourd family - squash, melons, cucumber, luffa, etc  
    Marah   cucumbers, cucumber gourds  
      M. oregana coastal manroot, Oregon manroot, western wild cucumber  
276

 Campanulaceae

    Bellflower family - Campanula, Lobelia, Platycodon, bellflowers, harebells  
    Campanula   bellflowers, harebells  
      C. piperi Olympic bellflower  
      C. rotundifolia scotch bluebell  
      C. scouleri Scouler's harebell, pale bellflower, Scouler's bluebell  
280

 Asteraceae

    Formerly known as the composites, large family - 1,900 genera and 32,000 species  
    Achillea   Yarrows  
      A. millefolium Yarrow  
    Agoseris   mountain dandelion, false dandelion  
      A. aurantiaca orange agoseris  
    Ambrosia   ragweeds  
      A. dumosa burrobush  
    Amphiachyris   southern great plains, a few farther east  
      A. dracunculoides prairie broomweed  
    Anaphalis   mostly central and southern asia, one species in NA, pearly everlasting  
      A. margaritacea pearly everlasting  
    Baccharis   sometimes referred to as 'brooms' but not at all related  
      B. pilularis coyote bush  
   

Balsamorhiza

  Balsamroots. native to western NA  
      B. careyana Carey's balsamroot  
      B. hookeri Hooker's balsamroot  
      B. sagitta arrowleaf balsam, arrowleaf balsamroot  
    Centaurea   thistle-like plants found only north of the equator.  centaury, centory, starthistles, knapweeds  
      C. cyanus bachelor's button, cornflower (corn flower refers to a weed growing in fields of corn in the broad sense i.e. grains)  
      C. diffusa white knapweed (also available in pink...)  
     

B. solstitialis

Star Thistle  
      C. stoebe spotted knapweed  
    Centromadia   North America  
      C. fitchii Fitch's tarweed  
    Chaenactis   pincushions and dustymaidens  
      C. stevioides Steve's dustymaiden  
    Cichorium   chicory, endive  
      C. intybus common chickory  
    Cirsium   plume thistles  
      C. arvense Canada thistle, lettuce from hell thistle  
      C. palustre marsh thistle  
      C. scariosum elk thistle, meadow thistle  
      C. vulgare bull thistle, spear thistle  
280e   Erigeron   fleabane - name possibly derived from belief that dried plants repelled fleas  
      E. divergens spreading fleabane, diffuse daisy, branching fleabane  
     

E. poliospermus

purple cushion fleabane  
      E. subtrinervis threenerve fleabane  
    Eriophyllum   woolly sunflower, western NA  
      E. lanatum Oregon sunshine  
      E. staechadefolium seaside woolly sunflower  
    Geraea   desert sunflower  
      G. canescens desert gold, hairy desert sunflower, desert sunflower  
    Grindelia   gumweed  
      G. integrifolia Puget Sound gumweed, Willamette Valley gumweed  
      G. squarrosa curlycup gumweed  
    Helenium   sneezeweeds  
      H. bigelovii Bigelow's sneezeweed  
    Helianthus   sunflowers  
      H. annuus Common sunflower  
      H. cusickii Cusick's sunflower, turniproot sunflower  
      H. pauciflorus stiff sunflower  
      H. tuberosus Jerusalem artichoke, sunchoke  
    Hymenoxys   rubberweed, bitterweed, native to the Americas  
      H. aculis stemless hymenoxys, stemless woolybase  
   

Jacobaea

     
      J. vulgaris tansy ragwort  
    Lactuca   commonly known as lettuce  
      L. muralis aka Mycelis muralis - Wall lettuce - european native invading shady disturbed areas of the PNW and New England  
    Madia   tarweeds, native to western NA, southwestern SA  
      M. elegans common madia  
      M. gracilis grassy tarweed  
      M. sativa coast tarweed  
    Onopordum   cottonthistle native to southern Europe, north Africa, Canary Islands, Caucasus, sw and central Asia.   
      O. acanthium Scotch cottonthistle - not native to north america, widely naturalized  
   

Psilostrophe

  sneezeweed - mostly SW US and Mexico  
     

P. cooperi

western paperflower  
280r  

Rafinesquia

  plumeseeds, western US, northwest Mexico  
      R. californica California chickory  
      R. neomexicana desert chickory  
    Ratibida   prairie coneflowers  
      R. columnifera prairie coneflower  
    Rudbeckia   coneflowers, black-eyed-susans, all native to North America  
      R. hirta black-eyed-susan  
    Senecio   ragworts, groundsels - the genus is one of the largest genera of flowering plants  
      S. vulgaris common groundsel  
    Solidago   goldenrods, native to North America  
      S. arguta goldenrod  
      S. lepida elegant goldenrod, western Canada goldenrod, western goldenrod  
    Sonchus   sow thistles, hare thistles, considered invasive, noxious weeds in many areas  
      S. asper spiny sow-thistle, native of Europe, North Africa, western Asia - naturalized as an invasive weed almost everywhere else.  
    Symphyotrichum   commonly called asters  
      S. drummondii Drummond's aster  
      S. foliaceum leafy aster  
      S. laeve smooth blue aster  
    Thymophylla   Pricklyleaf  
      T. pentachaeta parralena, fiveneedle pricklyleaf  
    Tragopogon   salsify, oysterplant, goat's beard  
      T. dubius yellow salsify  
    Zinnia      
      Z. acerosa white zinnia  
      Z. grandiflora golden eye, plains zinnia, rocky mountain zinnia, yellow zinnia  

Notes:

All photographs are my own and covered by copyright.

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Disclaimer:

This collection is not intended as a reference document, it is my personal wildflower collection and is not a definitive tool for plant identification.  While I have been as responsible as possible in the identification of the flowers in this collection, I am not a botanist and do not claim to have any particular expertise in plant identification.  Before disputing an ID, be sure to check the location of the specimen.  Malva sylvestris doesn't grow in the US.  The photo was taken in Greece.

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Columns:

  • # - APG III Classification number.  APG III is a mostly molecular-based system of plant taxonomy that organizes plant families from simplest to most complex.  This is sometimes referred to as evolutionary sequence, assuming plants evolve from simple structures, becoming more complex over time.
  • Family - high level classification of monophyletic groups of genera of related plants.  The family names link to a wikipedia article describing the basic attributes of each family. 
  • Genus - collections of more closely related species, ideally from the same clade - The genus links to a wikipedia article that describes the basic attributes of the genus
  • Species - the basic level of plant taxonomy.  Species can be subdivided into subspecies and varieties.  Those are treated individually at the detail level.  The species link to my photographs of the species.
  • Comments - common names and descriptions of plants in each category.  Some of the common names are ridiculous, others are redundant, but are included to illustrate the value of an organized approach to name assignment.

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Mini-Glossary:
  • M&F - male and female - some species have different male and female flowers, sometimes separate male and female plants.
  • monotypic - singular, only one - a monotypic genus has only one known member species.
  • NA - North America
  • PNW - Pacific Northwest
  • SA - South America
  • Wintergreen - archaic term for evergreen
  • Wort - many plants contain a 'wort' suffix.  Wort is an infusion used for medicinal purposes, or in the case of beer, the prefermentation blend is called wort.  So, liverwort would be used to create a treatment for liver ailments, but lousewort doesn't seem to treat lice.  Don't take this as a reliable reference for any particular use.  Sandwort - not sure what the message is there. Moneywort - can't begin to imagine.  Many plants are highly poisonous. Medicinal or recreational use, external or internal,  should be carefully considered.
  • Many common names are descriptive of the form of the plant - a birdsfoot would be a branching structure similar to the foot of a bird. Use your imagination - sometimes those names get transferred to other related species that lack the described characteristic.  

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As of late, scientific names seem to be less stable than in the past. Understanding that there are likely hundreds of thousands of flowering plants scattered over the 57 million square miles (148 million square km) of land, it is then understandable that one plant might be 'discovered' in isolation and given different names in different regions.  This consolidation has been happening for centuries now.  The advent of molecular level comparison techniques is bringing about a wholesale re-organization of the world as we know it.  As relationships are being better understood, species are moved from one genus to another, whole genera are moved to different families, some genera are disbanded and their species distributed to multiple genera, and family lines are redrawn.

Thinking that common names are the way to go is perhaps short sighted, at best.  Many common names apply to vastly differing plants with no relation to one another.  Some common names are transliterations of archaic scientific names, some are based in folklore or natural medicine, and can be frankly misleading. A scientific name, no matter how frequently it has changed, leaves a trail of documentation that can be readily traced.  Common names are fine if you are able to also locate and share the precise scientific name when required.  In this collection, most plants are labeled as they were when posted.  Sometimes the classification doesn't match the label because the photo was labeled either from an old source or recent change.  It's always worth verifying.  I do not, however, plan to make this list my life's work - keeping it up to date with the latest whims of taxonomy.  Nope.  Not happening.

Now, the real question - why do I, or anyone for that matter, care about the obsessive-compulsive identification of plants?  Defining our environment is a natural human trait.  We're all about how big, how high, how many.  On a deeper level, understanding the components of our environment help us understand what plants are good to eat, which are poisonous to livestock our ourselves.  We need to know which weeds will choke out our crops, which move in to repair a damaged environment, which are representative of a balanced environment.  Biodiversity is important as climates change, as they have for billenia (see what I did there?).  We are stewards of our ecosystem.  We observe it to understand what is changing and why it is changing.  The loss of a species to extinction may be the inevitable outcome of an ever changing environment.  It may also be a warning signal of systemic environmental abuse.  It's important to understand the difference.  

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This collection represents more than 45 years of wildflower photography and 60 years of wildflowers as a hobby.  Enjoy it for what it is.

This collection is not limited to a specific area or region.  While the greatest concentration of flowers come from Oregon and Washington Cascades and west, the greater west coast down into California and over into Arizona is also represented.  I do like to travel, so there are images that range across North America, as well as a few images from Iceland, Europe and SE Asia.  Not every plant was captured in bloom stage.  That will presumably happen at a later date, though not every blossom is worth the effort.  Just sayin'...

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Each photo page consists of a title with the plant genus and species, a 'back' link to the main list, and small thumbnail photos of the plant.  Click on the small photo to see a full screen version.  Click on the title to return to the thumbnail page, click the 'back' link to return to where you were (approximately) in the list.

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Things I need to remember when taking wildflower pictures

  • Include foliage - many times leaf shapes can go a long way in confirming identity.  Pretty difficult to prove a diamond-leaved saxifrage without a picture of those diamond shaped leaves. Many times the flowers are separated from the foliage by a great distance, or leaves around the flowers are different from the rest of the plant.  Besides, everyone wants to know what 'lettuce from hell' looks like.
  • Get a picture of the plant in context - surrounding plants, rocks, dirt.  it's all important.  Include geographic features if possible - a waterfall in the background, a mountain peak, Mt Rushmore...
  • Scale - macrophotos make small flowers look huge.  That's OK as long as there's something that will help you remember that this particular flower was 3/16ths of an inch and not 2.5 inches (like this one - these flowers are about 2mm or 0.08 inches across)
  • Take a look around!

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No Id(ea) - here are miscellaneous collections that I can't accurately identify, for various reasons, like, defining characteristics aren't visible, etc. I keep them here just in case I learn something that allows me to move forward with identification:  Delphiniums (larkspur)

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Equipment - over the years I've been through a number of camera and optical systems.  Most of these were taken with Canon equipment - Canon 20D and 7D with EFS 17-85mm and ef 100 f/2.8 macro.  Then more recently a Canon R5 with 24-102mm and an RF 100L f/2.8 macro.  The oldest photos were shot with a Yashika TL-ElectroX with a 50mm lens and extension bellows. Other pieces of equipment have figured in over the years, and it's possible a shot or two included here were taken with some iteration of an iPhone.

Additionally, I take advantage of the additional depth of field afforded by a small aperature and an artificial light source, especially for tiny subjects - an old Canon MR-14EX ring lite that allows me to zoom in to view the tiniest details as small as the blooms on Euphorbia maculata, that don't exceed 1mm in width.

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Books are frequently written off as obsolete, yet nothing compares to the random access nature of a book.  Leafing through the pages it's easy to scan huge volumes of material that can quickly send you down the path to successfully identifying a specimen.  Here's a list of most of the books in my collection.  The beauty is that wildflower books never really go out of date - the flowers look the same as they have for the last millennia, at least.  Names may change, but it's an easy extra step to identify the current nomenclature.

Bibliography:

Anderson, Gunnell, and Goodspeed. Wildflowers of the Mountain West. Utah State University Press. 2012.

Carter, Jack L., Carter, Martha A., Stevens, Donna J. Common Southwestern Native Plants - An Identification Guide. 1st Ed. Silver City, NM. Mimbres Publishing. 2003.

Craighead, John J., Craighead, Jr., Frank C. and Davis, Ray J. Field Guide Rocky Mountain Wildflowers From Northern Arizona and New Mexico to British Columbia. 1st Ed. Cambridge, MA. The Riverside Press Cambridge. 1963.

Epple, Anne Orth. A Field Guide to the Plants of Arizona. Guilford, CT. Globe Pequot Press. 1995.

Farrar, Jon. Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains. 2nd Ed. Iowa City, IA. University of Iowa Press. 2011.

Ferris, Roxana S. Death Valley Wildflowers. 2nd Ed. Death Valley, CA. Death Valley Natural History Association. 1983.

Fischer, Pierre C. 70 Common Cacti of the Southwest. Tucson, Az. Western National Parks Association. 1989.

Hitchcock, C. Leo and Cronquist, Arthur. Flora of the Pacific Northwest, An Illustrated Manual. 3rd Ed. Seattle, WA. University of Washington Press. 1976.

Hitchcock, Cronquist, Ownbey, Thompson. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest, Parts 1 through 6. Seattle, WA. University of Washington Press. 1969.

Jensen, Edward C. and Ross, Charles R. Trees to Know in Oregon. Oregon State University Extension Service and Oregon Department of Forestry. 1994.

Jepson, Willis Linn. A Manual of the Flowering Plants of California. Berkely and Los Angeles, CA. University of California Press. 1925.

Jepson, Willis Linn. The Jepson Desert Manual - Vascular Plants of Southeastern California. Edited by Burce G. Baldwin, Steve Boyd, Barbara J. Ertter, Robert W. Patterson, Thomas J. Rosatti, Dieter H. Wilken, Margriet Wetherwax, manging editor. Berkley, CA. University of California Press. 2002.

Kirkpatrick, Zoe Merriman. Wildflowers of the Western Plains, A field Guide. Lincoln, NE. University of Nebraska Press. 1992.

Kristinsson, Hörður. A Guide to the Flowering Plants & Ferns of Iceland. 2nd Ed. Reykjavik, IS.  Mal Og Menning. 2005.

Lamb, Susan. 100 Common Wildflowers of Central California. Tucson, AZ. Western National Parks Association. 2006.

Larson, Gary E. and Johnson, James R. Plants of the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains. 2nd Ed. Brookings, SD. South Dakota State University College of Agriculture & Biological Sciences. 2007.

Malcolm, D. Shetland's Wild Flowers A Photographic Guide. 2nd Ed. Lerwick, Shetland. The Shetland Times Ltd. 1992.

Mason, Georgia. Guide to the Plants of the Wallowa Mountains of Northeastern Oregon. Eugene, OR. Special Publication of th Museum of Natural History. University of Oregon. 1975.

Orr, Robert T. and Orr, Margaret C. Wildflowers of Western America. New York, NY. Alfred A Knopf, A Chanticleer Press Edition. 1974.

Peck, Morton Eaton.  A Manual of the Higher Plants of Oregon. 2nd Ed. Portland Oregon. Oregon State University Press. 1961.

Pojar, Jim and MacKinnon, Andy. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast - Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Redmond, Wa. Lone Pine Publishing. 1994.

Rickett, Harold William. Wildflowers of the United States, Volume Five Parts One and Two, The Northwestern States. New York, NY. Publication of the New York Botanical Garden. McGraw-Hill Book Company. 1971.

Russell, Tony. Smithsonian Nature Guide - Trees. 2nd Ed. New York, NY. Dorling Kindersley. 2012.

Scott, Michael. Scottish Wild Flowers. 2nd Ed. Glasgow. HarperCollins Publishers. 2000.

Shaw, Richard J. and Shaw, Marion A. Plants of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Helena, MT. Wheelwright Publishing. 2008.

Shahzade, Arthur. Wildflowers of California's Central Valley and Neighboring Sierra (including a bit of botany). Visalia, CA. updated 2004.

Sisk, Robert L. and Tysdal-Sisk, Jan. Common Plants of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Medora, ND. Theodore Roosevelt Nature and History Association. 2000.

Spellenberg, Richard. Sonoran Desert Wildflowers - A Field Guide to Common Species of the Sonoran Desert, including Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Saguaro National Park, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Ironwood Forest National Monument and the Snoran Portion of Joshua Tree National Park. 1st Ed. Helena MT. Globe Pequot Press. 2003.

Weber, William A. Rocky Mountain Flora. 5th Ed. Boulder, CO. Colorado Associated University Press. 1976.

Welsh, Stanley L. Flowers of the Canyon Country. 3rd Ed. Salt Lake City, UT. University of Utah Press. 1986.

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Additional resources - online tools such as

  • Wildflower Search - search a database covering US plants using a wide range of parameters. Includes links to other tools and databases
  • Google Lens - a smartphone AI based photo recognition tool.  A good place to start when you have no idea.  The results are no less that amazing, most of the time.  Other times it'll send you on a wild goose chase.
  • There are a number phone based apps that cover local areas that can be helpful.

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if you wish to communicate with me, do so at the following email address