Butter ‘n’ Eggs

That’s my preference. Not in margarine or bacon grease.

“Kill it; I don’t want anything moving,” I told a waitress once. Her name is Linda and I see her at the local breakfast joint. I doubt she’ll remember the brief exchange. She sweetly corrected me, “Over-hard, sweetie.”

I’m not discussing chicken or any other fowl eggs in this post. I would prefer not to discuss food beliefs or food politics. That’s not what this is about.

Butter ‘n’ Eggs/© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary’s College/Free Nonprofit Use. Fee for commercial use.

Butter ‘n’ Eggs (Triphysaria eriantha; not to be confused with Linaria vulgaris) is a native Pacific Northwest wildflower, primarily found in Washington, Oregon and California. It used to be classified Orthocarpus erianthus. Another common name here is yellow Johnny-tuck.

It blooms in February, March and April. Its leaves look a bit like thyme, don’t they? It isn’t all that unusual until you get to know it better.

It is a partially parasitic plant.It grows in meadows where it can siphon nutrients from the roots of grasses. Lucky for the West Coast, Butter ‘n’ Eggs is an annual. Unfortunate that it seeds itself readily and isn’t very picky about growing conditions.

©2014 Sandra R. Davidson

Referenced:

• http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2749133-encyclopedia-of-northwest-native-plants-for-gardens-and-landscapes
• http://plants.usda.gov/
• http://calphotos.berkeley.edu

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