RHH's photos with the keyword: olsynium

These are the second wildflower to bloom in our area, but have not yet showed themselves.

This is the second wildflower to bloom in our area.

The first wildflowers are blooming. The very first is the Sagebrush Buttercup, not shown here. This, the Grass Widow, is the second, and the third is the inset, Yellow Bells. Spring is on the way.

These are some of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring here in Washington and we are eagerly awaiting the time when they do bloom. We had about eight inches of snow yesterday with more predicted for today and Sunday and we are more than ready for spring.

This is a Grass Widow, one of the first wildflowers to bloom here in the spring.

These are Grass Widows, some of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring in our area.

Today the posts are three native wildflowers photographed near our home, this Olsynium douglasii, Grass Widow.

I don't know how this wildflower got its name but it is known as the Grass Widow and is one of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring. We had photographed them earlier on the west side of the mountains but now they are blooming in our area, only the second wildflower to bloom here. .

We go for a walk nearly every day and the last weeks have been looking for spring wildflowers. This is the second we've found, a flower known as Grass Widow. They are everywhere in the area where we live.

This is the bud of a Grass Widow, a wildflower that grows all over Washington and is one of the earliest spring wildflowers, the second we've found blooming in our area.

These are the new shoots of he Grass Widow which in a few days will be covered with pink to blue flowers. They are one of the first signs of spring in our area.

These wildflowers were photographed on Pass Island in Deception Pass State Park in western Washington. They are among the earliest wildflowers to bloom in that part of the state.

The week of March 3-9 we were on the west side of the Cascades and went looking for the first wildflowers of spring, which are very late this year. We visited several locations and found a few wildflowers just starting to bloom at Pass Island. These are Grass Widows (I have no idea where the name came from) and there were just a few blooming. Pass Island lies in Deception Pass between Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands and is also between the two sections of the Deception Pass Bridge. It is a place we often go for early spring wildflowers and for the bridge itself. We found there not only these wildflowers but a few Spring Gold (Lomatium) and some Sea Grape (Mahonia) starting to open.

The week of March 3-9 we were on the west side of the Cascades and went looking for the first wildflowers of spring, which are very late this year. We visited several locations and found a few wildflowers just starting to bloom at Pass Island. These are Grass Widows (I have no idea where the name came from) and there were just a few blooming. Pass Island lies in Deception Pass between Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands and is also between the two sections of the Deception Pass Bridge. It is a place we often go for early spring wildflowers and for the bridge itself. We found there not only these wildflowers but a few Spring Gold (Lomatium) and some Sea Grape (Mahonia) starting to open.

The week of March 3-9 we were on the west side of the Cascades and went looking for the first wildflowers of spring, which are very late this year. We visited several locations and found a few wildflowers just starting to bloom at Pass Island. These are Grass Widows (I have no idea where the name came from) and there were just a few blooming. Pass Island lies in Deception Pass between Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands and is also between the two sections of the Deception Pass Bridge. It is a place we often go for early spring wildflowers and for the bridge itself. We found there not only these wildflowers but a few Spring Gold (Lomatium) and some Sea Grape (Mahonia) starting to open.

These are some of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring here in Washington and they are just starting to bloom now. We are hoping to get some reasonably dry weather and the opportunity to get out for some photos, but yesterday's attempt was rained out. This photo is from last year and was taken by my wife near the town of Medical Lake in eastern Washington. Once known as Sisyrinchium douglasii these are now Olsynium douglasii, named after the great Scottish explorer of the northwest, David Douglas.

Olsynium douglasii or Sisyrinchium douglasii is one of our earliest spring wildflowers. It seems to like dry rocky areas and this was photographed in just such a place, on Pass Island near Deception Pass.

Have no idea why these are called Grass Widows. Their botanical name is Olsynium (formerly Sisyrinchium) douglasii, and they are named after the famous North American explorer, David Douglas (whose biography I recently read). They are finished in our area but these were in prime condition in eastern Washington when we were there recently. Spring has been just a little later than here.