Database of Palouse Forbs for Landscaping 
(sorted by flower color) 







Species Family flower color * mature height (inches) bloom starts bloom ends sun required soil moisture longevity sowing time transplant time
Aster occidentalis Asteraceae blue/purple 14-24 7/10 8/20 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Brodiaea douglasii Liliaceae blue/purple 12-24 4/29 5/23 full dry/mesic mod fall fall
Camassia quamash Liliaceae blue/purple 12-20 5/14 5/27 full moist mod fall fall
Clematis hirsutissima Ranunculaceae blue/purple 12-22 4/19 4/30 part/full mesic short fall spring
Collinsia parviflora Scrophulariaceae blue/purple 02-10 4/9 5/25 part/full dry/mesic annual fall no
Delphinium nuttallianum Ranunculaceae blue/purple 06-14 4/10 5/23 full dry/mesic short fall spring
Erigeron corymbosus Asteraceae blue/purple 08-16 6/22 7/22 part/full dry/mesic mod fall spring
Gentiana affinis Gentianaceae blue/purple 08-16 7/23 8/20 full mesic mod fall spring
Linum lewisii Linaceae blue/purple 14-22 5/20 6/20 full dry/mesic mod spring spring
Lupinus laxiflorus Fabaceae blue/purple 12-24 5/31 7/15 part/full mesic short fall spring
Lupinus leucophyllus Fabaceae blue/purple 12-22 6/10 7/20 full dry/mesic short fall spring
Lupinus sericeus Fabaceae blue/purple 10-22 5/31 7/15 full dry/mesic short fall spring
Mertensia longiflora Boraginaceae blue/purple 04-08 4/12 5/30 part/full mesic mod fall fall
Penstemon attenuatus Scrophulariaceae blue/purple 12-20 5/29 7/10 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Penstemon venustus Scrophulariaceae blue/purple 16-26 6/6 7/23 part/full mesic short fall spring
Sisyrinchium inflatum Iridaceae blue/purple 06-18 3/24 5/25 full mesic short fall fall
Viola adunca Violaceae blue/purple 02-08 5/6 6/12 part/full mesic mod fall fall
Collomia grandiflora Polemoniaceae orange 06-18 6/20 7/10 full dry/mesic annual spring spring
Antennaria microphylla Asteraceae pink 08-16 5/23 6/10 full mesic long fall spring
Apocynum androsaemifolium Apocynaceae pink 08-18 6/19 8/10 full mesic mod ? spring
Clarkia pulchella Onagraceae pink 04-12 6/6 7/10 part/full dry/mesic annual spring spring
Collomia linearis Polemoniaceae pink 04-14 5/29 7/7 part/full dry/mesic annual spring spring
Phlox longifolia Polemoniaceae pink 08-14 4/28 5/31 part/full dry long fall spring
Phlox speciosa Polemoniaceae pink 08-16 4/28 5/31 full dry/mesic long fall spring
Hydrophyllum capitatum Hydrophyllaceae purple 04-10 4/29 6/12 shade/part moist mod fall fall
Iris missouriensis Iridaceae purple 12-20 5/13 6/10 part/full moist mod fall spring
Geranium viscosissimum Geraniaceae purple/pink 12-20 5/13 7/24 full dry/mesic short fall spring
Besseya rubra Scrophulariaceae red 08-16 4/1 4/14 full mesic long fall spring
Castilleja miniata Scrophulariaceae red 16-26 6/23 9/14 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Gilia aggregata Polemoniaceae red 12-28 6/20 9/3 full dry biennial fall spring
Castilleja hispida Scrophulariaceae red/orange 10-20 4/12 7/25 full dry/mesic mod fall spring
Gaillardia aristata Asteraceae red/orange 12-22 6/10 7/24 full mesic mod spring spring
Allium acuminatum Liliaceae red/pink 04-10 6/12 7/1 full dry mod fall fall
Dodecatheon pulchellum Primulaceae red/pink 04-08 4/25 5/10 full mesic mod fall fall
Sidalcea oregana Malvaceae red/pink 14-40 6/28 7/15 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Achillea millefolium Asteraceae white 16-28 5/23 7/24 full dry short spring spring
Antennaria luzuloides Asteraceae white 06-14 5/20 6/22 full dry long fall spring
Astragalus canadensis Fabaceae white 08-20 6/22 7/25 part/full mesic short fall spring
Claytonia lanceolata Portulacaceae white 02-06 3/24 5/25 part/full mesic mod fall fall
Eriogonum heracleoides Polygonaceae white 08-16 5/13 6/13 full dry long fall spring
Galium boreale Rubiaceae white 12-18 5/31 6/28 part/full mesic mod spring spring
Heracleum lanatum Apiaceae white 40-80 6/13 6/30 part/full moist short fall spring
Heuchera cylindrica Saxifragaceae white 10-20 5/10 7/10 full dry short fall spring
Lithophragma bulbifera Saxifragaceae white 04-10 4/12 5/7 full dry/mesic mod fall fall
Lithophragma parviflora Saxifragaceae white 04-12 4/29 5/23 full dry/mesic mod fall fall
Penstemon deustus Scrophulariaceae white 12-24 5/31 7/9 full dry long fall spring
Perideridia gairdneri Apiaceae white 16-40 7/23 8/21 part/full mesic mod fall fall
Potentilla arguta Rosaceae white 20-30 5/31 6/25 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Veratrum californicum Liliaceae white 40-80 6/15 7/10 part/full mesic/moist mod fall fall
Zigadenus venenosus Liliaceae white 12-22 5/6 6/12 full dry/mesic mod fall fall
Arnica sororia Asteraceae yellow 12-20 5/13 6/25 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Balsamorhiza sagittata Asteraceae yellow 16-26 4/14 5/23 full dry/mesic long fall fall
Castilleja cusickii Scrophulariaceae yellow 08-18 4/15 6/20 full dry/mesic mod fall spring
Castilleja lutescens Scrophulariaceae yellow 10-20 4/15 6/20 full dry/mesic mod fall spring
Eriophyllum lanatum Asteraceae yellow 08-14 5/15 6/15 full dry short fall spring
Erythronium grandiflorum Liliaceae yellow 06-14 4/12 5/17 part/full mesic long fall fall
Fritillaria pudica Liliaceae yellow 04-12 4/1 4/15 full mesic short fall fall
Geum macrophyllum Rosaceae yellow 14-24 5/20 7/8 partial moist mod fall spring
Geum triflorum Rosaceae yellow 08-18 4/29 5/31 part/full mesic short spring spring
Helianthella uniflora Asteraceae yellow 20-30 5/31 7/10 part/full dry/mesic short fall spring
Hieracium albertinum Asteraceae yellow 12-22 6/20 7/10 full dry/mesic mod fall spring
Lithospermum ruderale Boraginaceae yellow 12-20 4/29 5/20 full mesic long fall spring
Lomatium dissectum Apiaceae yellow 24-48 4/9 6/6 part/full dry short fall spring
Lomatium triternatum Apiaceae yellow 12-22 4/1 5/31 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Penstemon attenuatus Scrophulariaceae yellow 12-20 5/29 7/10 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Penstemon confertus Scrophulariaceae yellow 12-20 5/31 6/28 part/full mesic mod fall spring
Potentilla gracilis Rosaceae yellow 16-26 5/3 7/2 full mesic mod fall spring
Ranunculus glaberrimus Ranunculaceae yellow 02-06 3/16 5/11 full dry/mesic short fall fall
Sedum stenopetalum Crassulaceae yellow 02-08 6/10 7/25 part/full dry short fall fall
Solidago canadensis Asteraceae yellow 24-68 7/21 9/22 part/full moist long spring spring
Solidago missouriensis Asteraceae yellow 12-24 7/15 9/5 full dry/mesic short spring spring
Thermopsis montana Fabaceae yellow 16-24 4/29 5/23 part/full moist short fall spring
Wyethia amplexicaulis Asteraceae yellow 16-26 5/13 6/28 full mesic long fall spring
Skinner, D.M; Warnick, P. 2006. Database of Palouse Forbs for Landscaping. Palouse Prairie Foundation. Moscow, ID.

This database of landscaping characteristics for Palouse native forbs was compiled by David M. Skinner and Paul Warnick, April 15, 2006. It is a spreadsheet which allows one to sort by various plant characteristics such as family, flower color, mature height, bloom time, sun requirement, soil moisture requirement, longevity, and planting time. For further information on each species, refer to "Characteristics and Uses of Native Palouse Forbs in Landscaping" and "More Palouse Forbs for Landscaping", or to the individual species in the Palouse Prairie Foundation plant database. Much of the data has been compiled from personal observations and data collection from plants growing on the Palouse. For some species and parameters, we had to rely on other sources. For those, the spreadsheet may not exactly reflect plant performance on the Palouse, but should still give a reasonable facsimile thereof. We will endeavor to obtain more accurate data in the near future for those species.

References:

Hitchcock, C. Leo, Arthur Cronquist, Marion Ownbey, and J.W. Thompson. 1969. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA. 5 vols.

Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Univ. of Washington Press. Seattle, WA.

St. John, Harold. 1963. Flora of Southeastern Washington and of Adjacent Idaho. 3rd edition. Outdoor Pictures. Escondido, CA.

USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2006. The PLANTS Database, 6 March 2006 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA.
Palouse Prairie Foundation
P.O. Box 8952
Moscow, ID 83843
palouseprairie.org