Decorative Areas
Campus Sign Area
Plants:
Native:
Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
Habit: Perennial
Size: Up to 1.5 m tall
Leaves: Stipe dry-scaly, blade lance-shaped, sharped-toothed
Sori: Large, circular, centrally attached
Underground Parts: Scaly rhizome
Habitat: Moist forest (2:421)
Use: Rhizome for food, leaves are used to line baking pits and drying racks, young leaves are chewed raw for sore throats and to facilitate childbirth, that water that rhizomes are boiled in can be used to relieve dandruff, spore sacs are placed on burns (1:13)
Salal (Gaultheria shallon)
Habit: Creeping shrub, perennial
Size: .02-5 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, evergreen, leathery, oval-shaped
Flowers: White or pinkish, urn shaped
Fruit: Reddish-blue to dark purple berries
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Coniferous forests, rocky bluffs, to the seashore (2:53)
Use: Berries for food, leaves line cooking pits and drying areas, chewed leaves can be applied to sores and burns, tea from the leaves is made for coughs and tuberculosis, leaves are also used in smoking blends (1:43)
Oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor)
Habit: Perennial
Size: Up to 4 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, lobed or coarsely toothed
Flowers: White to cream, small, lilac-like clusters
Fruit: Tiny, hairy achenes
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Dry to moist, open sites (2:71)
Use: None found
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
Habit: Perennial shrub
Size: 0.5-3 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, maple-leaf shaped
Flowers: White, up to 4 cm across, often in clusters
Fruit: Shallowly domed, raspberry-like clusters
Underground Parts: Rhizomatous
Habitat: Open sites (2:77)
Use: Berries for food, bark is boiled to make soap, leaves are used to wrap elderberries for storage, leaves make a tea for anemia, powdered dried leaves are used on burns to avoid scars (1:35)
Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga manziesii ssp. manziesii)
Habit: Tree
Size: Up to 70 m tall
Leaves: Needle flat, yellowish-green, pointed tips, grove on upper surface, 2 white bands of stomata on lower surface
Cones: Pollen cones small, reddish brown; young seed cones hanging, oval, green to grey
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Extremely dry to moist (2:32)
Use: Firewood, torches made from pitchy parts, wood for harpoons, salmon spears, handles; the bark is used to dye fishing nets to make them invisible to fish; pitch is put on sores, needles make a tea for colds, bud tips are chewed for sore throats, bark is boiled for an antiseptic (1:19)
Grand Fir (Abies grandis)
Habit: Tree
Size: 80 m tall
Leaves: Needles are flat, evergreen, dark green and grooved above, two white lines of stomata below
Cones: Pollen cones yellowish, seed cones yellowish green to green, erect
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Dry to moist coniferous forests, usually in rain shadow areas
Use: None found
Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)
Habit: Perennial shrub or small tree
Size: Up to 7 m tall
Leaves: Maple leaves, opposite, deciduous
Flowers: White, clusters
Fruit: Winged, 2-4 cm long
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Moist to wet, generally under other trees in canopy openings or at forest edges (2:93)
Use: Basketry, salmon tongs, baby cradles, fish traps (1:40)
Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Habit: Tree
Size: Up to 25 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, broadly elliptic
Flowers: Male and female in catkins, appear before leaves
Fruit: Clusters of brownish cones, contain winged nutlets
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Moist areas, low elevations (2:44)
Use: None found
Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus)
Habit: Trailing perennial
Size: 5 m or more in length
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, 3 leaflets
Flowers: White or pink, up to 4 cm across
Fruit: Black blackberries
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: disturbed sites, open areas (2:78)
Use: Berries for food (1:36)
Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa ssp. pubens)
Habit: Shrub to small tree, perennial
Size: Up to 6 m tall
Leaves: Opposite, deciduous, divided into 5-7 leaflets
Flowers: White to creamy, small, with unpleasant odor, pyramidal-like clusters
Fruit: Bright red berry-like drupes
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Moist areas, open areas (2:70)
Use: Berries for food, stems for elk whistles, bark tea for diarrhea (1:47)
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Habit: Perennial shrub
Size: 4 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, 3 leaflets, sharply toothed
Flowers: Pink to red to reddish-purple, about 4 cm across
Fruit: Yellow or reddish or purple, raspberry-like
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Moist to wet (2:76)
Use: Berries for food, branches for pipe stems, bark and leaves used of easing pain and cleansing, taken both externally and internally (1:35)
Mock-Orange (Philadelphus lewisii)
Habit: Perennial shrub
Size: 3 m tall
Leaves: Opposite, deciduous, oval to egg-shaped
Flowers: White, very fragrant, clusters
Fruit: Oval, woody, 4-chambered capsules
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Dry to moist, forest edges, open areas (2:96)
Use: Wood is used for combs, netting shuttles, knitting needles; a soapy lather can be made from the leaves and flowers (1:32)
Red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)
Habit: Erect perennial
Size: 1-3 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous
Flowers: Rose colored, 7-10 mm long, in erect drooping clusters of 10-20 flowers
Fruit: Blue-black round berries with glandular hairs and a white waxy bloom
Underground Parts: Fibrous root
Habitat: Dry open woods, disturbed sites, low to middle elevations (2:84).
Use: Berries for food (1:32).
Mosses of Various Species
Lichens of Various Species
Non-native:
Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Vetch - Unidentified
Other Features:
Longhouse Sign – stepping stone in front of it to prevent people from cutting the corner
Decorative Burl
Lamp Post
Sprinkler Heads – need to be camouflaged, but still functional
Water Main Valve Access in 1'6" x 2' Concrete Slab – needs to be camouflaged, but accessible
Steel-Plate Cover, 2' x 4' – needs to be camouflaged, but accessible
Building Entrance Area
Plants:
Native:
Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
Habit: Perennial
Size: Up to 1.5 m tall
Leaves: Stipe dry-scaly, blade lance-shaped, sharped-toothed
Sori: Large, circular, centrally attached
Underground Parts: Scaly rhizome
Habitat: Moist forest (2:421)
Use: Rhizome for food, leaves are used to line baking pits and drying racks, young leaves are chewed raw for sore throats and to facilitate childbirth, that water that rhizomes are boiled in can be used to relieve dandruff, spore sacs are placed on burns (1:13)
Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus)
Habit: Trailing perennial
Size: 5 m or more in length
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, 3 leaflets
Flowers: White or pink, up to 4 cm across
Fruit: Black blackberries
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: disturbed sites, open areas (2:78)
Use: Berries for food (1:36)
Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana)
Habit: Tall shrub or tree, perennial
Size: Up to 10 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, egg-shaped to oblong
Flowers: Greenish-yellow, umbrella-shaped clusters
Fruit: Blue-black to purplish-black berries
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Fairly dry to wet, shady, in mixed woods (2:90)
Use: Berries for food, bark for green dye for wool, bark is a laxative (1:40)
Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Habit: Tree
Size: Up to 25 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, broadly elliptic
Flowers: Male and female in catkins, appear before leaves
Fruit: Clusters of brownish cones, contain winged nutlets
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Moist areas, low elevations (2:44)
Use: None found
Salal (Gaultheria shallon)
Habit: Creeping shrub, perennial
Size: 0.02-5 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, evergreen, leathery, oval-shaped
Flowers: White or pinkish, urn shaped
Fruit: Reddish-blue to dark purple berries
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Coniferous forests, rocky bluffs, to the seashore (2:53)
Use: Berries for food, leaves line cooking pits and drying areas, chewed leaves can be applied to sores and burns, tea from the leaves is made for coughs and tuberculosis, leaves are also used in smoking blends (1:43)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Habit: Perennial herb
Size: 5-45 cm tall
Leaves: Fern-like, alternate, pinnatlely dissected
Flowers: Ray, white to sometimes pink to reddish, clusters
Fruit: Hairless, flat achenes
Underground Parts: Rhizomatous
Habitat: Dry to moist, open sites (2:279)
Use: Plant used in baths, leaves are soaked for a hair wash, raw leaves are eaten to produce sweating in childbirth, tea is used to purify the blood and to heal the uterus after childbirth, boiled roots tea is made for tuberculosis and for an eye wash, tea made from the leaves relieves diarrhea and body aches, a poultice can be made from the leaves for sores and rheumatic limbs (1:49)
Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
Habit: Perennial
Size: Up to 25 cm tall
Leaves: Basal, thick, leathery, strongly veined, coarsely toothed
Flowers: White, up to 3.5 cm across, 5-7 petals
Fruit: Small strawberry
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots, hairy runners
Habitat: Open forests (2:183)
Use: Berries for food (1:36)
Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)
Habit: Perennial shrub or small tree
Size: Up to 7 m tall
Leaves: Maple leaves, opposite, deciduous
Flowers: White, clusters
Fruit: Winged, 2-4 cm long
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Moist to wet, generally under other trees in canopy openings or at forest edges (2:93)
Use: Basketry, salmon tongs, baby cradles, fish traps (1:40)
Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Habit: Perennial shrub
Size: 0.5-2 m tall
Leaves: Opposite, deciduous, elliptic to oval
Flowers: Pink to white, bell-shaped
Fruit: Clusters of white, berry-like drupes
Underground Parts: Rhizomatous
Habitat: Dry to moist, open areas (2:70)
Use: Berries have been used to wash hair, bruised leaves are applied to cuts, drinking a tea made of the bark and roots for venereal disease or cold cure, bark is used for tuberculosis, the berries are used for an antidote for poisoning (1:48)
White Fawn Lily (Eruthronium oregonum)
Habit: Perennial herb
Size: Up to 30 cm tall
Leaves: Basal, paired, mottled
Flowers: White, nodding
Fruit: Erect, broadly club-shaped capsules
Underground Parts: Segmented corm
Habitat: Well-drained open areas
Use: None found
Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Habit: Annual
Size: 10-60 cm tall
Leaves: Egg-shaped to pentagonal, pinnately deeply divided
Flowers: Pink to reddish-purple, white striped
Fruit: 5-parted capsules, 13-20 cm long
Underground Parts: Taproot
Habitat: Open areas, low elevations (2:316)
Use: None found
Osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis)
Habit: Shrub or small tree, perennial
Size: 1.5 – 5 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, cucumber-like smell
Flowers: Greenish-white, hanging clusters, appear in later winter
Fruit: Peach-colored, ripening to bluish-black, like small plums
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Dry to moist, open areas (2:72)
Use: Berries for food (1:37)
Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum)
Habit: Delicate fern
Size: 15-60 cm tall
Leaves: Palmately branched; at right angles to the leaf stalk, oblong or fan-shaped
Sori: Oblong, on the edges
Underground Parts: Rhizomatous
Habitat: Shady, humus-rich sites, moist soil, low to middle elevations (2:425)
Use: Basketry, leaves are used for making hair tonic, chewed leaves are used for sore chest and stomach problems (1:14).
Deer Fern (Blechnum spicant)
Habit: Tufted fern
Size: 20-80 cm tall
Leaves: Evergreen, 2 kinds, sterile leaves at the ground
Sori: Continuous, distributed near the margin
Underground Parts: Stout rhizome
Habitat: Moist to wet forests (2:420)
Use: Leaves are eaten for food in emergency, use the leaves to bake camas in, place fresh leaves on paralyzed parts of the body, green leaves chewed for upset stomach (1:15)
Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)
Habit: Perennial
Size: 0.8-3 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, lance-shaped
Flowers: Rose to purple, in long cluster atop stem
Fruit: Pod-like capsules, splitting open to disgorge hundreds of fluffy, white seeds
Underground Parts: Rhizome-like roots
Habitat: Moist to fairly dry disturbed areas (2:206)
Use: None found
Red-Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
Habit: Erect perennial
Size: 1-3 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous
Flowers: Rose colored, 7-10 mm long, in erect drooping clusters of 10-20 flowers
Fruit: Blue-black round berries with glandular hairs and a white waxy bloom
Underground Parts: Fibrous root
Habitat: Dry open woods, disturbed sites, low to middle elevations (2:84).
Uses: Berries for food (1:32).
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Habit: Perennial shrub
Size: 4 m tall
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, 3 leaflets, sharply toothed
Flowers: Pink to red to reddish-purple, about 4 cm across
Fruit: Yellow or reddish or purple, raspberry-like
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Moist to wet (2:76)
Use: Berries for food, branches for pipe stems, bark and leaves used of easing pain and cleansing, taken both externally and internally (1:35)
Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata)
Habit: Perennial shrub Size: 0.5-3 m tall
Leaves: Opposite, elliptical to broadly lance-shaped
Flowers: Yellow, tubular
Fruit: Black "twin" berries, 2 pairs of deep-purplish-bracts
Underground Parts: Fibrous roots
Habitat: Moist forests and open areas (2:69) Use: Berry juice is used for a paint and for a dye, the leaves are chewed as an emetic when poisoned (1:48)
Rush – Unidentified
Non-native:
Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus discolor)
Grasses of Various Species
Other Features:
Garbage Can on 2' 4” Square Concrete Slab
Useful, but unsightly – needs to be camouflaged (painted or taller plants)
Garden Hose
Useful, but we need to acquire a hose caddy
Portable Sprinkler
Store in the hose caddy?
A path needs to be established to the spigot to prevent plant/soil damage
Citation:
1. Gunther, Erna. Ethnobotany of Western Washington: The Knowledge and Use of Indigenous Plants by Native Americans. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1973.
2. Mackinnon, Andy, and Jim Pojar. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Vancouver,
British Columbia: Ministry of Forest and Lone Pine Publishing, 1994.