Nature

Steller’s Jay Cyanocitta stelleri Mar – Oct A dark blue and black jay with a tall, shaggy crest and a harsh voice, common in Mt. Hood's conifer forests from… Subalpine Mariposa Lily Calochortus subalpinus Jun – Aug A small, creamy white mariposa lily with hairy, fringed petals that grows only in the Cascades from Mt. Adams to the Three… Tapered Matchstick Lichen Pilophorus clavatus Apr, Jun – Oct A tiny lichen of shaded forest rocks with short stalks tipped in black, like burnt matches poking out of the stone. Thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus Apr – Oct A thornless shrub with big, soft, maple-shaped leaves, crinkled white flowers and soft red fruit that birds and mammals eat. Threeleaf Foamflower Tiarella trifoliata Jun – Oct A shade-loving forest wildflower with airy sprays of tiny white flowers held above clumps of three-part leaves. Townsend’s Chipmunk Neotamias townsendii Apr – Oct Oregon's largest chipmunk, a dark, dull-striped resident of west Cascades forests that is often heard calling before it is seen. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura Mar – Sep A big, dark soaring bird with a small red head that rocks on wings held in a shallow V. It finds carrion… Twinflower Linnaea borealis May – Aug A trailing evergreen of the forest floor whose thin, forked stalks each hold a pair of nodding, pink, sweetly scented bells. Vanilla Leaf Achlys triphylla May – Oct A carpet-forming forest wildflower with one three-part leaf held flat like a small table and a fuzzy white flower spike. Dry leaves… Veiled Polypore Cryptoporus volvatus Apr – Jun, Aug Small, round, cream to tan conks on recently dead conifers, with a sealed pouch underneath that beetles enter to spread the spores. Vine Maple Acer circinatum Apr – Oct A sprawling small maple of the west-side forest understory, with round, many-lobed leaves that turn yellow and red in autumn. Washington Lily Lilium washingtonianum Jun – Jul A tall mountain lily with large, fragrant white flowers that turn pink to purple with age. Named for Martha Washington, not the… West Coast Reishi Ganoderma oregonense Jul – Nov A large shelf fungus with a glossy, lacquered red-brown top that grows on dead conifers and slowly rots their wood. Western Bunchberry Cornus unalaschkensis May – Sep A tiny dogwood of cool, moist forest floors, with four white bracts in early summer and a tight cluster of coral-red fruit… Western Fence Lizard Sceloporus occidentalis Apr – Sep A spiny gray-brown lizard that basks on sunny rocks and logs. Males flash bright blue belly patches and do push-ups to claim… Western Hemlock Tsuga heterophylla Jan, Mar – Nov A tall, shade-loving conifer with a drooping top and short, flat needles of two lengths, common in damp forests on Mt. Hood's… Western Maidenhair Fern Adiantum aleuticum Apr – Nov A lacy fern with shiny dark stalks and fan-shaped fronds that grows where waterfall spray, seeps and streams keep shady rock and… Western Rattlesnake Plantain Goodyera oblongifolia Apr – Oct A small evergreen orchid of the forest floor, easiest to spot by its dark green leaves with a white stripe down the… Western Redcedar Thuja plicata Jan, Mar – Nov A giant, shade-tolerant conifer of wet ground, with drooping, flat sprays of tiny scale leaves and stringy reddish bark. Western Sword Fern Polystichum munitum Year-round The large evergreen fern that carpets shady lower forests, with leathery fronds and a small hilt-like lobe at the base of each… White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys Apr – Jul, Sep A gray-breasted sparrow with a bold black and white striped crown, found in brushy openings from the lowlands to timberline. Woodland Beardtongue Nothochelone nemorosa Jul – Sep A leafy summer wildflower of mountain forests with loose sprays of rosy purple, tubular flowers and paired, sharply toothed leaves. Woodland Pinedrops Pterospora andromedea Jun – Sep A tall, sticky, reddish stalk with no green leaves, hung with small pale urn-shaped flowers. It gets its food through fungi linked… Yellow-bellied Marmot Marmota flaviventris Jul – Aug Oregon's largest squirrel, a stocky marmot of rock piles and meadows that whistles an alarm and spends most of the year hibernating.