A Wildflower Paradise

Springtime heralds the arrival of a huge array of wildflower blooms in Ashland and Southern Oregon. Most visible are the broad swaths of purple appearing on Grizzly Peak courtesy of the Woolly Vetch (vicia villosa) bloom.

Though non-native and originally planted as a cover crop, Woolly Vetch has become widespread in the meadows and foothills of the region. The annual color show begins in late April and runs well into May as the explosion of purple begins in the lower elevations and moves upward as the weather warms.

Less visible from a distance but still a wonder to behold are the hundreds of other wildflowers that come into bloom from Spring to Summer. Many, such as Red Bells (fritillaria recurva), Henderson’s Shooting Star (dodecatheon hendersonii) and Grand Hound’s Tongue (cynoglossum grande) can be found on an easy stroll through the hillsides of Litha Park. Others such as Wally Basket (triteleia laxa), White Hyacinth (triteleia hyacinthine) and many dozens of others can be found further afield in places like Upper and Lower Table Rocks just west of Medford. Owned and managed by a partnership of  The Nature Conservancy and the BLM. Easy hikes take you to the tops of these flat-topped remnants of ancient lava flows, providing panoramic views of the Rogue Valley.

Also, very near Ashland, is the relatively new Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument which was established in 2000 to protect and manage its vast array of plants—many quite rare, insects (a rare diversity of butterflies), wildlife and nearly 200 species of birds. Within the monument, one can find untold numbers of wildflower blossoms throughout the season.

A number of publications are available for wildflower identification, but our favorite is “Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest” by Rogue Valley author Phyllis Gustafson and including excellent photography by Mark Turner of the more than 1200 plants identified. Its organization—by color, petal count and flower type—makes it extraordinarily simple to identify the wildflowers you come across.