# Oregon Wildflowers



## mccallen (Jul 10, 2009)

I just took a road trip down the Oregon Coast and there were tons of beautiful wildflowers.

_Epipactis gigantea_









_Lilium columbianum_




Some kind of Iris? Maybe douglassiana?




_Goodyera oblongifolia_




_Darlingtonia californica_ pitcher and flower








_Sequoia sempervirens_.




This is the biggest tree I've ever seen; for scale, I'm 6'3''. It's supposed to be 1800 years old and have a circumference of 55 feet.

I looked really hard for _Cypripedium californicum_, which I've always always wanted to see but couldn't find any  I was driving a non gravel road friendly car, so I had to do a lot of boring walking...with no reward in the end. I tried the area east of Gold Beach, Oregon in the mountains, the Hunter Creek area. If anyone has pictures I'd really love to see them. Better yet, if you know where any are I'd love to know in a PM in case I ever drive through during blooming season again.


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## JeanLux (Jul 10, 2009)

WoW!!! good pics!!! Thanks for posting!! Great epipactis: what size was that flower?

And the Sequoia :drool: That is one Tree :drool:

Jean


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## goldenrose (Jul 10, 2009)

:clap:  I sure do like that epipactis! 
I'd love to visit a sequoia!
Thanks for sharing your fantastic pics!


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## fbrem (Jul 10, 2009)

wow, those are some awesome images, thanks for sharing.


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## mccallen (Jul 10, 2009)

JeanLux said:


> Great epipactis: what size was that flower?
> Jean



Each flower was about 2 cm x 2 cm or so.
I'd say the average plant height was around 20-25 cm.

They were growing out of the little pockets where soil had accumulated in a big rock in the middle of a river. I fell in the water wading out to them.


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## likespaphs (Jul 10, 2009)

groovy.
thanks!
i dig on those Epipactis. are they invasive out there too or is that one native? (actually, i dunno where the species/genus is native anyways....)


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## mccallen (Jul 10, 2009)

likespaphs said:


> i dig on those Epipactis. are they invasive out there too or is that one native? (actually, i dunno where the species/genus is native anyways....)



I think that _Epipactis gigantea_ is native to the Western US. I know we also have _Epipactis helleborine_, which is definitely not native and comes from Europe. The first time I ever saw that one it was growing through the asphalt on the edge of a grocery store parking lot!


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## mccallen (Jul 10, 2009)

_Aquilegia formosa_, I think.


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## SlipperFan (Jul 10, 2009)

Thanks for sharing, mccallen -- that epipactus and sequoia are both awesome!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 10, 2009)

Very nice photos, thanks! I love the lily too. _Epipactis gigantea_ is native to the western US, and the genus is distributed throughout the northern hemisphere from western North American to Europe. Ross Kouzes has photographed many western wildflowers and posted shots on various forums. Here are some shots he took of _Cyp. californicum_ in Oregon some years ago. He used to have a blog, but I can't seem to locate it today.


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## mccallen (Jul 10, 2009)

Oh Man! Those are beeeeeeeautiful!
I know a few years back Spangle Creek Labs was offering seedlings; someday I'd like to try my hand.


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## NYEric (Jul 11, 2009)

THanx for sharing everyone.


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## Hien (Jul 11, 2009)

What a beautiful place to see, and the tree is amazing.
Thanks for showing the photos,to see your photos is almost as being there in person.


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## biothanasis (Jul 11, 2009)

Great photos!!! I love the Epip and the sequoia! 1800 years?? And who are we to cut such trees!!? grrrrrrr


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 11, 2009)

mccallen said:


> Oh Man! Those are beeeeeeeautiful!
> I know a few years back Spangle Creek Labs was offering seedlings; someday I'd like to try my hand.



I think these will become more available in the trade over the next decade as seedlings come into maturity. They are quite slow to flower from seed (so far) and even though they clump fast, plant size remains small for a long time. One good thing, they have been successfully over-winter in zone 5 (Ron Burch), so perhaps are bit hardier than one would expect. At least it is easier to grow than the other two western Cyps - C. montanum (very difficult) and C. fasciculatum (almost impossible).


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## mccallen (Jul 12, 2009)

Well, that seems like good news, I guess I'll just be patient!


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## montanum (Jul 18, 2009)

Hi All,
Just joined the forum and found this thread  Mccallen, your Epipactis pics are great! Love the color. I've never been down there at the right time... I always see their buds and then their ripe capsules, but never flowers :-( Someday I'll take a special trip to see them, Lilium bolanderi, Calochortus greenii and Calochortus howellii which all bloom around July 1.

Here's the address for my blog (it's even updated!): http://cypripedieae.blogspot.com/ 

Most of the Cyp cal photos are in May each year, if that's what you wanted to see.

Best,
Ross


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## Heather (Jul 18, 2009)

Welcome Ross!!


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## SlipperFan (Jul 19, 2009)

Welcome, Ross. Interesting blog and photos.


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## mccallen (Jul 20, 2009)

Yahoo! Thanks a lot Ross!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 21, 2009)

Good to see you aboard here Ross. This is a very active forum, so anything you post will be most appreciated.

Tom


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## Nic (Nov 28, 2009)

Nice photos, beautiful flower - has anyone grown these helleborines in open garden on the E Coast - Virginia to be more specific. I am tempted by the Japanese Epipactis thunbergii - I do well with Japanese things in general here.


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## Pete (Nov 28, 2009)

sweet pics, thanks for sharing


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## cnycharles (Nov 29, 2009)

very nice!


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## NYEric (Nov 29, 2009)

Heather used to work at a NE wildflower center PM her, she might be able to give you a lead.


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