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Kamiak Butte, a quartzite steptoe, stands distinctively about 1000 feetabove the Palouse hills between the towns of Colfax, Palouse, andPullman. The Whitman County Park at Kamiak Butte provides thecommunities of Washington StateUniversity and the Palouse region with easy access to native flora.The plant diversity on Kamiak Butte is great because the north slope iscovered by forest communities centered on grand fir, Douglas fir, andponderosa pine and the south slope is a steppe community. A hiking trailin the county park extends through portions of the various forest andsteppe vegetation communities. |
The flora of Kamiak Butte as we know it now has 181 kinds or species of vascular plants. They are members of 46 families and include flowering plants (angiosperms, including monocots and dicots), conifers (gymnosperms), and ferns (pteridophytes). The most common coniferous trees of Kamiak Butte are Douglas fir, in the forests of the north slope, and ponderosa pine, which is especially prominent on the ridge. The short switchback trail from the parking lot to the ridge is lined by two of the most common shrubs of the butte: Physocarpus (ninebark) and Holodiscus (ocean-spray). Amelanchier alnifolia (service-berry) is the most prominent shrub, especially during spring when it has flowers with long white petals, on the grassy south slope. The most common grasses of the steppe vegetation of the south slope are the native Agropyron spicatum (wheatgrass) and Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue) and the introduced European weeds Bromus brizaeformis (rattlesnake brome) and Bromus tectorum (cheat grass).
For additional information on the plants of Kamiak Butte or the Pacific Northwest, please inquire at the Marion Ownbey Herbarium or examine some of the materials listed in the bibliography.
Larry Hufford
Director, Marion Ownbey Herbarium
22 July 1997
Abrams, L. 1940-1951. Illustrated flora of the Pacific States: Washington, Oregon, and California. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford. 3 volumes --Technical keys and descriptions of the plants of the west coast states. Many of the scientific names used in this book are not up-to-date and numerous plants have been found in this region since its publication, but it remains the only reference work that covers the entire west coast region.
Daubenmire, R. 1970. Steppe Vegetation of Washington. Washington Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 62: 1-131. --This is a classic study of steppe vegetation that includes information relevant to Kamiak Butte and the Palouse region.
Daubenmire, R. and J. B. Daubenmire, 1968. Forest vegetation of eastern Washington and northern Idaho. --Descriptions of the forest communities in this area.
Fiely, J. R. 1979. Floristic Study of Kamiak Butte. M.S. Thesis, Washington State University. --This is the primary reference for the flora of Kamiak Butte. In addition to a species list for the butte, it provides information on the weeds, relictual species, plant communities, and paleogeography of Kamiak Butte.
Gaines, X. M. and D. G. Swan, 1972. Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas. Camp-Na-Bor-Lee, Davenport. --Useful descriptions of the physical characteristics of the weeds of eastern Washington are provided. Each plant is shown in a color illustration.
Gilkey, H. M. 1957. Weeds of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State College, Corvallis. --Although many of the scientific names used in this book are not up-to-date, it has some of the most useful information on weeds of our area. Each plant is well illustrated by simple line drawings.
Hitchcock, A. S. (revision by A. S. Chase), 1950. Manual of the Grasses of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D. C. --Technical keys and descriptions of all of the known grasses in the U.S. The book includes line drawings of each genus.
Hitchcock, C. L. and A. Cronquist, 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Univ. of Washington Press, Seattle. --This is the most recent taxonomic treatment of the flora of the Pacific Northwest. It include technical keys to the plants and numerous, helpful illustrations.
Niehaus, T. F. and C. L. Ripper, 1976. A Field Guide to the Pacific States Wildflowers. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. --This 'Peterson Field Guide' has detailed line drawings that can be used to identify plants of the Pacific coast states. The emphasis of the book is primarily on plants of the coasts and mountains of the Cascades, Sierra Nevada and coastal ranges.
Piper, C. V. and R. K. Beattie, 1901. The Flora of the Palouse Region. --This is one of the earliest floras prepared for any part of the Pacific Northwest and was writtern by two of the first botanists at Washington State University. The book may be largely of historical interest because the scientific names are not up-to-date and many more plants than are listed are known to be part of today's flora of the Palouse. It provides good descriptions of the plants.
Pohl, R. W. 1978. How to Know the Grasses. Wm. C. Brown Co. Pub., Dubuque. --Technical keys and information on grasses.
St. John, H. 1956. Flora of Southeastern Washington and of Adjacent Idaho. Students' Book Corporation, Pullman. --A set of technical keys and descriptions of plants by a botanist who worked at Washington State University from 1920 to 1929. The book may be largely of historical interest because the scientific names are not up-to-date and the circumscriptions for the kinds of plants that St. John recognized differ from that often used today. The book has a good introduction that includes brief summaries of the physiography, climate, life zones, and flora of the area.
Strickler, D. 1993. Wayside Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest. The Flower Press, Columbia Falls, Montana. --Excellent photographs of selected flowers of the Pacific Northwest. Each is accompanied by a brief description of the plant.
Taylor, R. J. 1990. Northwest Weeds. Mountain Press Pub. Co., Missoula. --Excellent photographs of many weeds of the Pacific Northwest along with a paragraph of information on each. This is the most recent, general book that includes information on the weeds of the Palouse region.
Taylor, R. J. and G. W. Douglas, 1995. Mountain Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Mountain Press Pub. Co., Missoula. --Another of Taylor's field guides that has exceptional photographs and information on plants of the Pacific Northwest. Descriptions of diagnostic features of the plants and information on their habitats is included. Some of the forest and ridge plants of Kamiak Butte can be found in this book.
Whitney, S. 1989. A Sierra Club naturalist's guide: the Pacific Northwest. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. --The Sierra Club naturalist's guides provide basic information on topics such as biology, geology, and climatology of various regions. Each is very well written and organized. They are delightful to read for those who are interested in understanding better the natural world. The Pacific Northwest volume include information on plant biology and communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho.