Neither ground ivy nor veronica? - Ask Extension
I visited Silver Falls last week (3/18/26) and found, in addition to the amazing falls and lush, wet, green-growing rock faces, three tiny spring flow...
Knowledgebase
Neither ground ivy nor veronica? #926530
Asked March 22, 2026, 8:53 PM EDT
I visited Silver Falls last week (3/18/26) and found, in addition to the amazing falls and lush, wet, green-growing rock faces, three tiny spring flowers enchanting. Two I’m confident I’ve identified: a yellow violet, and Nuttall’s toothwort. The third is coming up in my searches as ground ivy, which I think is just wrong, or possibly (low confidence) veronica, which I think is more likely, but none of my ID app’s pictures look quite right. I’m a new transplant here from the east coast and not up on local flora yet! Can you help?
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
There are a few types of “snow queen”, or my favorite nickname, “kittentails”. The scientific name is Synthyris. There are a few of these, and this page on Friends of Silver Falls lists Synthyris reniformis growing in the park. Here’s another wildflower page you may enjoy. This shows the other Synthyris.
