Spring is happening fast. The early season wildflowers, like houndstongue and trillium, are bumping right up to blooms we usually associate with early May, like redbud and Indian potatoes.
A spring that quickly moves towards summer makes for a busy weeding season too…
Read MoreSpring in the Klamath Mountains is a celebration of flowers, capturing the magic of the region in beautiful blooms, glossy leaves, and powdery catkins. These plants provide crucial ecosystem resources, like nectar for pollinators and food for foraging, while also preventing erosion and improving soil health and water quality.
Read MoreThe catkin appears to be an example of convergent evolution; this reproductive mechanism evolved at least twice, once for the order Fagales (oaks, hazel, alder) and again for Salicaceae (willow, cottonwood).
Read MoreIris tenax ssp. klamathensis is an example of an endemic plant. Endemism is when an organism has a restricted range, found in only one region and not outside of that location. The Klamath Siskiyou biogregion is home to many endemic species because of its unique geography. And to me, the Orleans Iris is the flower shaped shining star that reminds me how special this place we live really is.
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