CHAPTER XXVIII.
BOTANY OF THE PRAIRIES.
Many of the flowering shrubs of Oregon and Washington have already been mentioned in the chapter on Forests. One of the first to blossom is the red flowering currant (Ribes sanguinerum), which puts forth its flowers before its leaves are fully expanded, like the Judas-tree of the Missouri Valley, which it resembles in color. There appear to be two or three varieties of this species, as the color varies from a pale rose color to a full crimson. The flower is arranged in clusters upon a slender stem, like the green blossoms of the garden currant; but is much larger, and of a different shape. The bush is highly ornamental when in blossom, and generally introduced into gardens for decoration. It flowers in March. East of the Cascades is a yellow species very similar. Both of these grow near streams, and in the edge of the forest.
Of the spirea, there are several species. The waxberry, with its tiny pink flowers and delicate leaves, is found in bottom-lands and on river-banks. In autumn the bottoms of the Columbia furnish thickets of waxberries, which, growing side by side with the wild roses, make a pretty contrast to the crimson capsules of the latter. In higher ground, yet subject to overflow, is found the Spirea tomantosa, or hardback, as it is commonly called, which grows in thickets, and bears a cluster of a purplish-pink color. But the most beautiful beautiful of the spireas is the kind known as sea-foam (S. Ariæfolia), which its great, creamy-white clusters really resemble. This grows along the river-banks, and in the shade of the forest's edge, and blooms in June and July, according to its locality. It sometimes grows to a height of twenty feet, in the shade, though usually about five or six feet high. The stems are very delicate, like all the spireas, and bend most gracefully with the weight of the clusters.
Side by side, usually, with the last-named spirea is the beautiful mock-orange (Philadelphus), with its silvery-white flowers crowding the delicate green leaves out of sight. Throughout Oregon this shrub is called syringa, to which family it does not belong. It is very ornamental, and blooms in June and July.
Of wild roses there are several species, and many varieties, from the dainty little "dime rose," of a pale pink color, to the large and fragrant crimson rose, which grows in overflowed ground. There are always some roses to be found, from June to December. It is usual to find the shrubs here mentioned growing in close proximity; and these, with the flowers of the woodbine (Lonicera Occidentalis), and the blossoms of various kinds of wild fruit trees, make a perfect tangle of bloom and sweetness along the river-banks in summer.
We have elsewhere spoken of the dogwood, which is as handsome as a magnolia-tree when in blossom; and of the wild cherries and other fruits whose flowers are sweet and beautiful. The Oregon grape, or holly-leaved barberry, bears a flower that is very ornamental, of a bright yellow color, in clusters a finger long. The leaves of this shrub are also very beautiful, which makes it desirable to cultivate. Its fruit is ripe in August, and is of a bluish-purple, like the damson plum.
In Southern Oregon, the Rhododendron maximum is one of the glories of the mountain-tops, with its immense branches of rose-colored flowers. It is occasionally seen in gardens. The buff-colored Azalea occidentalis is also confined to the southern and eastern portions of Oregon. It is said that the clematis grows east of the Cascades, but we have not seen it; and also the ilex-leaved mahonia. The wild grape (Vitis Californica) is another shrub or vine which is confined to the southern portion of Oregon. In the Rogue River Valley, in October, it is a striking ornament in the landscape; the foliage being turned a rich ruby-red color, and forming clumps upon the ground, or hanging pendent from way-side trees. It does not seem, however, to furnish much fruit.
Of field flowers, there are a great many in all parts of Oregon and Washington; beginning with the early spring to beautify the earth, and kind succeeding kind throughout the summer and autumn. There are, especially near the Columbia, where the soil which covers the rocks is often a thin, black mold, countless varieties and species of very minute flowers, so small frequently as to need a microscope to analyze them successfully; but of lovely shapes and colors. We have found within the range of an acre forty kinds of flowering plants in the month of July, half of them of this minute size.
Of the plants peculiar to the North-west which bear handsome flowers, the Camas family is prominent. The Camasia esculenta, or edible camas, of whose roots the Indians make bread, grows about eighteen inches high, and bears at top a bunch of star-shaped flowers, of a beautiful lavender color, with a golden centre. The leaves grow from the root, and are lanceolate. The places where they are most abundant usually are called "Camas prairies," and they form a feature of Eastern Oregon and Idaho. They are also plentiful in Western Oregon. The flowering season is about the middle of May, near the Lower Columbia. There are several species of the camas, one of which is poisonous, as noticed above.
It would be impossible to any but a thorough botanist to give a complete list of the flowering plants native to this country. We shall, therefore, briefly notice those which are most common, and which we have had an opportunity of observing. Commencing with the spring, we have the purple iris; mimulus luteus (yellow); yellow lily (Golden Erythronium); white, blue, purple, and yellow lupines; wild pea (Vicia); white daisy; California yellow poppy (Oenothera Biennis); pink oenothera; verbena; brodiea, belonging to the family of Camas—two varieties—both purple, one of them very beautiful, found near Albany; silene, commonly called a pink, very elegant; tobacco pouch (Cypripedium), white, shaded with gray; Indian pink (Castelia brevifolia), scarlet, or orange red; shooting star (Dodecathem media), several colors; larkspur; flax flower (Linum); boys and girls (Cyno Glissum), pink and blue on the same stem; orange lily (Lilium Canadense); red ear-drop (Delphinium nudicaule) white dew-bell (Cyclobothra alba); red columbine; Lilium Washingtonium, the great white lily of the Wallamet Valley; pink convolvulus; golden coreopsis; Phlox, Clarkia; Anemone; sunflower; golden red; (Salidago); aster; dicentra, white and scarlet; Collomia grandiflora, salmon color; Dichelostona congesta (poison camas), purple; Hesperoscardum grandiflora, a white flower, marked with green, very delicate; hossackia bi-color, white and yellow; and others whose names are unknown to us, or which have been forgotten.
Of flowering grasses, and delicate flowering vines that run on the ground in the woods, there are several; but their botanical names are unknown, and they have no common names except in two instances. One of these is a spicy, little, running vine called Oregon tea, common in all woods; and the other is a beautiful myrtle which is found about Puget Sound, in the shade of the giant trees. Of ferns and mosses, there is an endless variety in the woods, and on the rocks of Western Oregon and Washington.
The prevailing colors of wild flowers in Western Oregon are purple, yellow, and white, with a fair proportion of pink or red. In Eastern Oregon, there are still fewer red flowers. Blue flowers are very rare in any portion of this country, as, we believe, they are everywhere. We remember to have seen some lovely blue flowers growing in the sands between Wallula and the first crossing of the Touchet, but we did not get any of them. Buff or salmon color is still rarer, the Collomia being the only one we remember seeing. Yet with all the different shades of the common purple, yellow, white, and red, with their differing forms, a great deal of beauty may be expressed; and the prairies of Oregon and Washington, east and west, present a delightful bouquet of tints in the summer months.
Very few flowers of the Wallamet Valley are fragrant; while, on the contrary, very many of those found east of the Cascades are highly perfumed; as they are also in Southern Oregon, where the blue violet, quite scentless near the Columbia, is deliciously fragrant. Of the early spring flowers common to the Atlantic States and to this country also, are the yellow violet; adder's tongue, or dog-tooth violet; spring beauty, and buttercup. But the spicy wintergreen, with its crimson berry, is unknown; as is also the May apple, and other delights of childhood. A vine resembling the checkerberry is said to grow near the coast, but we never saw it.
The soil and climate of Oregon and Washington is highly favorable to the growth of flowers; and we may find in the gardens here, flowers from almost every clime, growing in more or less perfection. From the plenitude of moisture, they continue to blossom very late in the season; a bouquet of roses, and a dozen other varieties of elegant flowers, being often gathered at Christmas. Frequently, gardening can be resumed in February, which gives a large proportion of the year to the enjoyment of one of the purest and most wholesome of pleasures.
The United States Exploring Expedition collected, in the year 1854–5, three hundred and sixty species of native plants, of which one hundred and fifty are peculiar to the prairies of Oregon and Washington.