Plant ID

Cupressaceae

Cypress family

Scale-like leaves

Generally resinous and aromatic

Bark fibrous and furrowed

Calocedrus decurrens (Incense Cedar)

Family: Cupressaceae

Duck-bill cones

Foliage is held in flattened vertical sprays

Sequoia sempervirens (Coast Redwood)

Family: Cupressaceae

Bark red-brown, fuzzy

Flat, v-shaped, 2-ranked needles.

Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Sequoia)

Family: Cupressaceae

Scale-like with sharp points

Largest tree in the world, and one of the oldest!

Callitropsis nootkatensis (Alaska Yellow Cedar)

Family: Cupressaceae

Cones are small, woody, and bell-like with points

Small, scale-like leaves forming flattened, “weeping” sprays.

Thuja plicata (Western Red cedar)

Family: Cupressaceae

Bark red, vertical, thin strips

Flowery, rose-shaped cones

Rot resistant, fungus-, bacteria-, and virus- resistant.

Having a hard time with climate change-induced heat waves. May only be suitable for wet low-lying areas in the future

Pinaceae

Pine family

Spirally arranged, linear, needle-like leaves. Needles in clusters.

Pollen cones and ovary cones on same tree. Edible and rich in oils.

Resin usually expectorant.

Abies grandis (Grand Fir)

Family: Pinaceae

FLAT arrangement! Dark green needles with 2 stomatal bands underneath. Alternating needle length.

Larix occidentalis (Western larch)

Family: Pinaceae

Larches are the only deciduous conifer! Brilliant yellow in Autumn.

15-30 needles per bundle clustered at the tip of spur twigs.

Bark smells like butterscotch!

Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce)

Family: Pinaceae

Sharp needles. Painful to touch

Bark is grey, thin, breaks into scales.

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir)

Family: Pinaceae

Needles all the way around the branch (bottlebrush). All the same length.

Mouse tail-shaped bracts

New bright green growth is in vitamin C. Infuse in water = nature’s gatorade!

Tsuga heterophylla (Western hemlock)

Family: Pinaceae

Needles flat and alternating in length. Yellowish-green on top, 2 stomatal bands below.

Top of the tree is droopy.

One of th most shade tolerant trees. Has one of the densest canopies, so not very many things grow underneath it.

Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew)

Family: Taxaceae

Needles dark green above, lime-green below.

New growth twigs are green

Seed is enclosed in a red aril

Entire plant contains poisonous alkaloids!

Grows very slowly and is usually in understory under other trees.

Pinus contorta (Shore pine/lodgepole pine)

Fascicles in TWO, short.

Subspecies contorta has twisted trunk and short needles, found along pacific coast. Subspecies latifolia thrive towards the Cascades + east of Cascades.

Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa pine)

Family: Pinaceae

3 needles per fascicle

Cones are prickly

Bark is flat red to yellow plates, like jigsaw puzzles

Pinus jeffreyi (Jeffrey pine)

Family: Pinaceae

Fascicles in THREE.

Cones known as “Gentle Jeffrey”, the barbs point inward, making them soft to hold, unlike prickly Ponderosa cones.

Betulaceae

Birch family

Deciduous trees and shrubs

Simple, alternate, doubly serrate leaves.

Wind-pollinated flowers arranged in unisex catkins.

Papery or smooth bark with horizontal lenticels.

Fruit are small nuts or samaras

Alnus rubra (Red alder)

Betulaceae

Thin, smooth, mottled, light grey-white bark

Alternate, broadly elliptic. Wavy margins with coarse, blunt teeth.

Betula papyrifera (Paper birch)

Betulaceae

Chalk white to cream color bark. Peels off in thin paper horizontal sheets

Corylus cornuta (Beaked hazelnut)

Betulaceae

Fuzzy along the leaf veins

Hard-shelled nut formed in a husk shaped like a beak.

Cornaceae

Dogwood family

Simple, opposite leaves with distinct arching veins

Small flowers often surrounded by white bracts

Drupe fruit

Cornus nuttallii (Pacific Dogwood)

Cornaceae

Opposite leaves. Leaf veins curve parallel to the leaf edge. Elastic threads when you pull leaf apart!

Small flowers surrounded by white bracts that look like one large flower.

Clusters of bright red berries.

Ericaceae

Heath family

Simple, often evergreen, leathery leaves

Fused-petal, urn-shaped or bell-shaped flowers

Fruits typically capsules, berries, or drupes.

Arbutus menziesii (Pacific Madrone)

Ericaceae

Smooth, peeling bark. Lighter green or coppery colored bark underneath.

Dark, shiny green above, whitish-green below. Without teeth.

White, urn-shaped in large drooping clusters.

Fagaceae

Beech family

Alternate, simple, often lobed leaves.

Unisexual flowers usually in catkins

Fruit is a single seed nut in a scaly or spiny cup-like husk.

Quercus garryana (Garry Oak)

Fagaceae

Often gnarled, twisted limbs.

Light grey bark with thick furrows and ridges

Deeply round-lobed deciduous leaves.

Oleaceae

Olive family

Woody trees/shrubs/climbing vines

Opposite leaves, often leathery leaves.

4 petals-sepals

Fraxinus latifolia (Oregon Ash)

Oleaceae

Opposite, pinnately compound with usually 5-7 leaflets

Paddle-shaped samara

Salicaceae

Willow family

Simple, alternate leaves

Flowers in catkins. Produces capsules with silky-haired, wind-dispersed seeds.

often found in riparian areas.

Populus trichocarpa (Black Cottonwood)

Alternate, shiny dark green above and silvery below. Truncate at base.

Seeds covered in white, fluffy hairs

Sapindaceae

Soapberry family

Woody trees and shrubs.

Often alternate, compound leaves.

Small, nectar-rich flowers in paniculate clusters

Fruits capsules or drupes

Acer macrophyllum (Big Leaf maple)

Sapindaceae

5-lobed LARGE leaves. Leaf stalk exudes milky juice (latex) when cut.

Greenish-yellow hanging panicle flower

Acer circinatum (Vine maple)

Sapindaceae

Opposite, round, 7-9 lobed leaves

Widely spreading samaras

Berberidaceae

Barberry family

Often featuring yellow inner bark, spiny stems, and yellow flowers.

Frequently with parts in multiples of 3.

Best identified by their unique anthers that open by uplifting flaps.

Fruits fleshy berries or capsules

Mahonia nervosa (Low/dull Oregon Grape)

Berberidaceae

Evergreen with yellow inner bark

9-19 leathery leaflets, DULL. Prominent spiny teeth with 3 central veins

Bright yellow flower parts in 6

Blue berries

Mahonia aquifolium (Tall Oregon Grape)

Berberidaceae

5-9 leaflets, glossy above but less so underneath.

Each leaflet with 1 central vein.

Bright yellow flowers

Dark purple-to-black berries

Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry)

Ericaceae

Alternate, evergreen, leathery, sharp-toothed. Dark, shiny green on top, paler below.

Purplish-black berries. Edible, sweet.

Vaccinium parvifolium (Red huckleberry)

Ericaceae

Bright green, sharp angled (ribbed) twigs.

Leaves NOT toothed

Bright red berries; edible but sour.

Rosaceae

Rose family

5 petals, 5 sepals.

Oemlaria cerasiformis (Osoberry)

Rosaceae

Deciduous, fast-growing, upright shrub

Alternate, pale-green, lance-shaped. NOT TOOTHED. Protruding midvein

Strong cucumber-like smell when crushed.

Flowers greenish-white very early in the year

Fruit peach-colored like small plums.

Athyriaceae

Lady fern family

Grows from rhizomes

Monolite spores (one line on them).

Athyrium filix-femina (Lady fern)

Athyriaceae

Leaves large, feathery 2-3 pinnate fronds. Lance-shaped, tapering at both ends. A diamond shaped profile.

Sori elongated and curved, soon shrivelling.

Dryopteridaceae

Wood fern Family

Round sori arranged in rows along the veins.

Polystichum munitum (Sword fern)

Dryopteridaceae

Dark green, stipe (stem) is dry-scale

Leaflets alteranate, sharp-toothed. Small lobe (thumb) at the base.

Polypodiaceae

Polypody family

Naked sori on the underside of fronds

Polypodium glycyrrhiza (Licorice fern)

Polypodiaceae

Growing often on deciduous tree trunks and logs, commonly on Big leaf maple.

Small, evergreen.

Reddish-brown, scaly, licorice-flavored rhizome.

Sori oval to round, 1 row on either side of the main vein. Without an insidium

Asparagaceae

Asparagus family

Monocot flowering plants.

Parallel-veined strap-like leaves, flowers with 3-parted symmetry

Maianthemum dilatatum (False Lily-of-the-Valley)

Asparagaceae

1-3 (usually 2) broadly heart-shaped leaves with long stalks

Flowers white, flower parts in 4s (unlike 3s for most species in the lily faily). Terminal cylindric cluster

Oxalidaceae

Wood Sorrel family

Small plants with 3-part leaves, flower parts in 5

Oxalis oregana (Redwood sorrel)

Oxalidaceae

Clover-like, 3 heart-shaped and folded leaflets. Leaves taste like grapes!

White to pale-pinkish flowers

Football-shaped capsule fruit

Melanthiaceae

Bunchflower family

Bunches of lily-like flowers (3 sepals, 3 petals)

Trillium ovatum (Western Trillium)

Melanthiaceae

Whorls of usually 3 (up to 5) triangular-oval leaves.Parallel leaves

Flowers white turning pink to purple with age.

Saxifragaceae

Saxifrage/Rockfoil family

Herbacious perennial plants characterized by basal leaf rosettes.

Commonly found in rocky habitats

Tellima grandiflora (Fringecup)

Saxifragaceae

Basal leaved with long, very hairy stalks. Heart-shaped.

Flowers greenish-white to sometimes reddish

Gaultheria shallon (Salal)

Ericaceae

Form dense thickets.

Alternate, evergreen, leathery, thick, egg-shaped. Sharply and fine-toothed

Bark frequently fuzzy (epecially near ends)

Berry reddish-blue to dark-purple. Can be eaten raw!

Caprifoliaceae

Honeysuckle family

Opposite, simple leaves, often with hollow stems.

tubular, 5-lobed flowers.

Symphoricarpos albus (Snowberry)

Caprifoliaceae

Variable leaves

Flowers pink-white, bell shaped

Very white, berry-like drupes

Holodiscus discolor (Ocean spray)

Rosaceae

Stems usually droop downwards.

Alternate, lobed or coarsely toothed.

Flowers white in a dense terminal pyramindal, lilac-like clusters

Rubus ursinus (Trailing blackberry)

Rosaceae

Low to the ground

Thin, round, spiked leaves, small. Compound leaves with 3 leaflets.

Rubus parviflorus (Thimbleberry)

Rosaceae

Maple-leaf shaped, 5-7lobed. Nature’s toilet paper- VERY soft on both sides!

Smooth bark, unarmed.

Berry soft and mushy, delicious! Cannot be commercially sold bc they will just turn into mush?

Rubus spectabilis (Salmonberry)

Rosaceae

Compound leaves in 3. The bottom 2 leaves make a butterfly shape!

Underside of leaf has hair.

Ripening of berries is in sync with the arrival of Swainson’s thrush!

Grossulariaceae

Currant family

Deciduous shrubs. Simple, alternate, palmately lobed leaves

Small, 5-merous, pendulous flowers.

Ribes sanguineum (Red flowering currant)

Grossulariaceae

No spikes, no thorns.

Slightly lobed leaf.

Flowers are red which attracts hummingbirds!

Blue-black berries edible but don’t have much flavor.

Adoxaceae

Muskroot / Moschatel family

Opposite, toothed leaves and small, 5-petaled flowers in flat-topped cymose inflorescences.

Sambucus racemosa (Red elderberry)

Adoxaceae

Twigs are extremely pithy, weak. Bark is warty.

Opposite, large compound divided into 5-7 leaflets.

Berries bright red, CANNOT eat raw!

Plant is kind of stinky

Hydrangaceae

Hydrangea family

Opposite, simple leaved with peeling rough bark.

Philadelphus lewisii (Lewis’ Mock-Orange)

Hydrangeaceae

Opposite leaves with 3 distinct veins

White, fragrant with 4 petals

Seed pods come out at the tips of branches.

Fruit woody, 4-chambered capsules

Aruncus dioicus (Goatsbeard)

Rosaceae

Herbaceaous perennial - could get quite tall up to 6ft!

Leaflets 3 times compound (leaflets that have leaflets that have leaflets). The leaflets sharply toothed.

White, tiny, densely packed flowers. Branchlets that hang like a goat’s beard.