Ecological Education - Gallery
Common Wildflowers, Lichens, and Mosses
of the Shrub-Steppe
The pictures in the following selection are from the booklet "Common Wildflowers of the Shrub-Steppe," published by the Arid Lands Field Institute, Washington State University at Tri-Cities, University Center for Professional Education.
..."Although this part of eastern Washington is often called a desert (receiving only 6-7 inches of rainfall a year at the lowest elevations), it is actually part of the shurb-steppe ecoregion and supports diverse wildlife and plant communities. The plants and many other native wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs can be found in natural, relatively undisturbed areas such as the Fitzner/Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE), the Saddle Mountains, and the Columbia and Wahluke Wildlife Reserves."...
The Arid Lands Field Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of and appreciation for the natural and human history of arid lands of Washington and Oregon through informal education and research.
Each item below is a thumbnail preview and picture title. Click on a title to view a larger version of the picture and accompanying explanatory text.|
Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
Blazing star (Mentzelia laevicaulis) Bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) Bottlebrush squirreltail (Sitanion hystrix) Carey's balsamroot (Balsamorhiza careyana) Douglas clusterlily (Brodiaea douglasii) Great Basin wild rye (Elymus cinereus) Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) |
Lupine (Lupinus species)
Needle and thread grass (Stipa comata) Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus species) Spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa) Sandberg's bluegrass (Poa sandbergii) Western wallflower (Erysimum asperum) White-leafed scorpion weed (Phacelia hastata) White sandverbena (Abronia mellifera) |