Know Your Natives
Plant Quiz
Can you name these native
plants?
1.
This evergreen fern often grows on trunks and
branches of bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) or on wet mossy ground and
rocks. It has oval to rounded sori, one row on either side
of the main vein. The sweet , licorice-flavored rhizomes were chewed
for their flavor by the Squamish, Sechelt, Comox, Nuxalt, Haida and
Kwakwaka'wakw.
Answer
Licorice Fern
Polydodium glycyrrhiza
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The deeply furrowed corky bark provides protection
against fire. It has unique cones with 3 pronged bracts. It's seeds are an important part of the diet for
crossbills, winter wrens and song sparrows. The buds at the tip of branches are sharply
pointed and covered with overlapping scales. The largest known specimen is 7 feet thick at
144 feet off the ground.
Answer
Douglas-fir
Pseudotsuga menziessi
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This shrub has fragrant white flowers, usually
with 4 petals and numerous stamens.
The leaves are deciduous and opposite.
It grows in a variety of habitats from
moist rich sites in forests to dry rocky soils in open brushy areas.
The strong, hard wood has been used to
make bows, arrows, combs, netting shuttles, and knitting needles by native
groups including the Lummi, Sannich, Cowlitz, Skagit, and Snohomish.
Answer
Mock-orange
Philadelphus Lewisii
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4.
This shrub has rose-pink saucer-shaped
flowers and with 10 stamens. The opposite evergreen leaves are leathery
above and fine haired and whitish below. It grows in bogs and wet mountain meadows. It contains the poison andromedotoxin.
Answer
Western bog-laurel
Kalmia microphylla
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5.
This coniferous tree has needles in
bundles of two. It's small cones have sharp prickles.
Some cones remain sealed shut until released after a forest fire. It often forms dense, nearly pure
stands of straight, slender trees. Usually grows inland, east of the
Cascades. It can live to 150-200 years.
Answer
Lodgepole pine
Pinus contorta var. latifolia
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6.
The small white flowers have 6
sepals and 6 petals that bend backwards and flare out. The long-stalked basal leaves are
twice divided into 3's. The 9-15 leaflets are heart to
egg-shaped. It grows in moist shady forests.
Answer
Inside-out flower
Vancouveria hexandra
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7.
This coniferous tree has long
needles in bundles of 3. The egg-shaped cones have
sharp prickles on the back of each cone scale. Mature trees have thick,
cinnamon-colored scaly bark that resists fire. Tree stumps have high levels
of pitch. It usually grows inland, east
of the Cascades. It can grow in dryer sites
that other forest trees and develops deep taproots. Old growth trees average 3-5
feet in diameter and 120 feet in height. It can live to
400-500 years.
Answer
Ponderosa pine
Pinus ponderosa
Back to top To learn more about native plants and habitats,
check out the recommended Web sites and books.
Photos: 1-7,
Deborah Mendenhall, Sources:
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Northwest Trees, Forest Giants
of the Pacific Coast
