Founded in 1977, the Portland Chapter was one of the original three founding chapters of the Native Plant Society of Oregon. Centered between Mt. Hood, the Coast Range, the Willamette Valley, and the Columbia Gorge, chapter members have short access to a wide diversity of habitats. Beginning in early spring, one can visit the grasslands, oak and ponderosa woodlands, and sagebrush steppe of the East Gorge. And since flowers can linger late in the high subalpine to alpine meadows of the Cascades, field trips often continue into September. Fall and winter offer opportunities to explore mushrooms, lichens, and bryophytes, or to learn winter tree and shrub identification. More locally, our members visit city and county parks, Metro Natural Areas, and several Nature Conservancy preserves.

Portland Chapter presentations are held monthly from September through June featuring a variety of topics that highlight flora both locally and globally, Native American ethnobotany, wildlife habitat and pollinator gardening, climate change, and fire ecology. December meetings offer members an opportunity to share their year in photos.