E. Wahington

 I really enjoyed going to Eastern Washington. I liked experiencing a completely new environment, I was surprised with out different it was. it was much drier, and the species were very different than they are West of the Cascades. The Rain Shadow effect on this area is very apparent.

Velvet Lupin- Genus: flowering plants in the legume family.
It is a herbaceous perennial that grown believe 1-5 feet tall! The leaf blades are palmately divided into 5-28 leaflets or reduced to a single leaflet in some cases. The yellow legume seeds of lupins were commonly called lupin beans and were popular with the Romans. Lupin contains alkaloids that are teratogenic to livestock and cause congenital birth defects in calves. This has killed thousands of calves in Eastern Washington and Norther Oregon.

Antelope bush- is a nitrogen fixing shrub in the genus Purshia. It is a low deciduous shrub growing to a height of 1-5 meters. They have flowers that are pale yellow with five petals.

Bitterroot or Lewisia rediviva is an extremely drought-tolerant succulent which grows throughout the sage-steppe and surrounding pine-dotted areas. The plant is a perennial with fleshy taproot and a simple base, the flowering stems are leafless and 1-3 cm tall. A simple flower appears on each steam with 6-9 oval shaped sepals they range in color from whitish to deep pink or rose during May and June. The petals are oblong in shape as you can see above. It is a very beautiful flower growing in gravelly heavy soil. the roots were consumed by tribes and were eaten with sugar or salt. 

I believe this is some kind of buttercup, I just like the picture!

Time Desert Buckwheat- Slow growing perennials that can live over 100 years, you can estimate the age of individual plants based on the rings on their woody stems. 

 Wild/ hookers Onion-I pulled this plant out of the ground and it smelled exactly like a onion. It smelled for multiple hours and I was tempted to try it! There was no bulb under the ground it was just white and onion smelling. It is a perennial herb that can grow up to a foot tall, with rose colored flowers. They have 6 stamens, 3 chambered ovary. They are usually found in open rocky dry areas, which is exactly where I found it. 

 Woodland Star-lithophragma is the genus of this flowering plant. the petals of the flowers are usually bright white and have long lobes or teeth. 

horned lizard- from the family Phrynosomatidae, this lizard has a rounded body and a blunt snout. The spines on its back and sides are made from modified scales whereas the horns on the head are true horns.