Native Flora - Washington

These are the autumn needles of a Subalpine Larch, a species of Larch that has a disjunct range in the North Cascades.

Supalpine Larch is a deciduous conifer that grows in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta with a small disjunct population in the Cascades of Washington. It grows at high altitudes (1,800 to 2,400 m, 5,900 to 7,900 ft). We went to see the larches at Cutthroat Pass mid-October and they were at their peak. We did not see them, though, until we reaches those higher altitudes at which they grow.

These Pacific Madrone trunks were photographed in Sharpe Park on Fidalgo Island in Washington. The insets show the leaves and flowers. The Pacific Madrone grows along the Pacific coast from Mexico to British Columbia.

These are the new leaves of the Pacific Madrone, photographed in Sharpe Park on the Pacific coast of Washington.

These Snowberries, the fruits of a native shrub, were photographed on a hike to Newman Lake in eastern Washington with other family members. It has been a tough week. Our trip to Canada next month to see our grandchildren there had to be cancelled due to covid restrictions. We had a windstorm Wednesday that left us and many others without electricity and we are still without - maybe for another four or five days. We have a generator and have had that running for three days but can only run the refrigerator, a small heater and our phone chargers s from that. The storm also blew down a tree across the road and all the debris from that is piled in our front yard with little hope of it being removed soon.

These Snowberries, the fruits of a native shrub, were photographed on a hike to Newman Lake in eastern Washington with other family members.

These Snowberries, the fruits of a native shrub, were photographed on a hike to Newman Lake in eastern Washington with other family members.

Snowberry is common plant here in the Pacific Northwest. I have to keep them cut back around the edges of our property. Both flowers and berries, however, are beautiful and worth a photo. This photo was taken on a hike at Newman Lake, Washington, with family members.

These Blue Elderberries were photographed at Hog Lake while on a hike there with family members. They are edible but we did not take the time to collect any.