A sea creature in inland WA?
Guest blogger Aaron Theisen knows a decent amount about the Columbia Highlands' rarest and coolest plants, and a lot about how special these wild places are. He introduces us this week to a unique plant that has only been on the botanists' books for about 75 years.
Okanogan flameflower is a rare species found only in the Columbia highlands.
The Columbia Highlands provide refuge to a variety of rare and threatened wildlife, from predators to plants. Although wolves, bears and other imperiled fauna grab most of the headlines, the flora of the Columbia Highlands also deserve our attention.
Clinging to thin, rocky soils at middle elevations in the highlands, the Okanogan flameflower (Talinum okanoganense; syn. Talinum sediforme, Phemeranthus okanoganensus) looks more like a wayward sea creature than a plant. T. okanoganense is a small, prostrate or mat-forming perennial with short succulent stems and miniature blue-green succulent leaves. Pink or white saucer-shaped flowers bloom singly on short stems. The leaves, which bear a resemblance to fellow Purslane family members, such as the well-known bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva), are usually deciduous, disappearing after the flowers bloom in early summer, but are occasionally semi-evergreen.
Rare enough to have been catalogued only 75 years ago, T. okanoganense is endemic to, or found only in, the Okanogan Highlands of Washington and southern BC; the Bodie Mountain and Jackson Creek Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs) encompass the plant’s US range. Although T. okanoganense thrives in an environment that permits few natural competitors, encroachment by ORV use and human development threaten its existence. Designation of the Jackson Creek and Bodie Mountain IRAs as Wilderness would ensure that future generations of explorers may discover and enjoy this rare gem.
