2011-08-05 Tualatin Wildlife Preserve

A very pretty little spot with good walking trails and nice fields. Very pretty in the spring. I was looking for, but didn't find, Brodiaea coronaria.

Did find some colorful thistles.


Giant yellow Senecio like thing.


Some really character-laden Quercus garryana, Oregon White Oak.


With their very interestingly colored galls. Oak galls are formed when a tiny native wasp lays an egg in the thin bark of the tree. The egg/larvae excretes chemicals that tell the oak to build a certain structure around the larvae. It's like chemical mind control that just makes the tree build a house. Once the larvae matures, it leaves it's little gall never to return.


A less-than-impressive mint.


But en masse, a little color goes a long way.