It’s hard to imagine the forests of Mount Rainier without vanilla leaf. Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylia) carpets the forest floor with its green leaves. “Achlys” means mist in Greek, perhaps referring to the way the spikes of vanilla leaf flowers float above their leaves. Look for it blooming throughout the low elevation forests of the park. What spring wildflowers are you finding in Mount Rainier National Park?

Remember, as snow begins to melt, please stay on trails to avoid trampling wildflowers just starting to grow!

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

Landscape Language

Spike (noun) – inflorescence with numerous flowers attached directly to a single stem

As summer approaches, time to brush up on the many types of wildflowers found at Mount Rainier National Park! Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla) is a common wildflower in the park. Its inflorescence, or flower structure, is in the form of a spike. Spikes have numerous blooms attached to a single stem. Vanilla leaf, which has three bright green leaves, is already growing at lower elevations in the park and the flowers should be emerging in the coming weeks. Have you observed vanilla leaf in the park in the past?

Landscape Language

Rhizome (noun) – modified roots

Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla) is a common plant in Mount Rainier’s forests. In spring, it emerges from seemingly empty forest floor to create a carpet of green leaves and in fall it dies back completely. This plant grows from rhizomes, a type of modified root. Rhizomes grow horizontally under the ground. Leaves emerge along the rhizomes, or if the rhizome is broken apart, new shoots can grow from the separated pieces. Rhizomes store starches and other nutrients during the summer, allowing the plant to go dormant in the winter and then regrow in spring. Even if nothing is visible growing above ground the rhizomes are still alive. Studies of vanilla leaf rhizomes have conservatively estimated that plants can be at least 14 years old on average!

Low elevation areas like Ohanapecosh have a wealth of blooming wildflowers, while subalpine areas remain mostly locked in snow. Look for common low elevation favorites like bunchberry, foam flower, and vanilla leaf, as well as the occasional gem like columbine and coral root.

For updates on what’s blooming where check out https://go.usa.gov/xwwjK

Landscape Language

Inflorescence (noun) – a flower arrangement Plants can have all sorts of interesting flowering arrangements, which is called their inflorescence, beyond the stereotypical single flower structure. An inflorescence can be a compound flower that bundles together many smaller flowers (bear grass), a flower surrounded by colorful bracts (magenta paintbrush), or even a spike of flowers that lack petals (vanilla leaf). Blooming plants have long ago figured out there is more than one way to do something!  

Is that a swarm of butterflies? At first glace you might think so but it is actually vanilla leaf! Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla) is a common plant in Mount Rainier's forests. Their bright green leaves are some of the first to emerge in spring. In fall, the leaves dry and fade, though some say the dry leaves smell more strongly of their namesake, vanilla.