Native Shrubs

Amelanchier alnifolia
SASKATOON

GENERAL:  Shrub to small tree, 1-5 m tall (or occasionally more); stem smooth, bark dark-grey to reddish; often spreads by rhizomes or rooting branch ends and forms dense colonies.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, thin, round to oval, regularly toothed mostly on top half of leaf.

FLOWERS:  White, large (1-2.5 cm across), 5 petals, 15-20 stamens, showy; in short, drooping to erect, leafy clusters of 3-20.

FRUITS:  Dull-red at first, becoming purple to nearly black, berry-like pomes (like miniature apples), with a white bloom; edible, sweet.

ECOLOGY:  Rocky shorelines, bluffs, talus slopes, meadows, thickets and forest edges; dry to moist open forest; roadsides; in well-drained soils. Scattered at low to middle elevations.

Cornus sericea
RED-OSIER DOGWOOD

GENERAL:  Freely spreading shrub with many stems, 1-6 m tall; branches opposite, lower branches often lying on ground and  rooting freely; young stems smooth and round in cross-section, often bright red, especially after a frost.

LEAVES:  Opposite, deciduous, oval 5-10 cm long, mostly sharp-pointed with 5-7 prominent parallel veins  that converge at leaf tips; filmy white threads running through the veins can be seen if a leaf is split crosswise and gently pulled apart; reddish in autumn. 

FLOWERS:  White to greenish, small (2-4 mm long); 4 petals and stamens; numerous in dense flat-topped terminal clusters. 

FRUITS:  White (occasionally blue-tinged), small (7-9 mm long), berry-like drupes, each with a small somewhat flattened stone; bitter and inedible. 

ECOLOGY:  Most soil, typically in swamps and streamside forest and scrub, but also in open upland forest and thickets and (in Alaska) rocky shorelines, bog-forest edges and disturbed sites; valley bottoms to middle elevations.

Holodiscus discolor
OCEANSPRAY

GENERAL:  Erect, usually with several main stems, to 4 m tall; young stems rigid, older ones with brownish, peeling bark; stems usually arch. 

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, dull green, hairy,  broadly egg-shaped to triangular, 3-6 cm long, lobed or coarsely toothed, in outline similar to leaves of  black hawthorn; reddish-tinged in autumn. 

FLOWERS:  White to cream, small (to 5 mm across); in dense terminal pyramidal, lilac-like clusters10-17 cm long; flower clusters turn brown and remain on plants over winter.

FRUITS:  Tiny (about 2 mm long),  light-brown, hairy achenes.

ECOLOGY:  Dry to moist, open sites (open woods, thickets, clearings, logged areas, ravine edges, coastal bluffs);  mostly at low to middle elevations.

Lonicera involucrata
BLACK TWINBERRY

GENERAL:  Erect to straggly, 0.5-3 m tall; young twigs 4-angled in cross-section, greenish.

LEAVES:  Opposite, short-stalked, somewhat elliptical to broadly lanced-shaped, pointed, often hairy beneath.

FLOWERS:  Yellow, tubular with 5 lobes, 1-2 cm long; in pairs in leaf axils, cupped by large, green to purplish bracts.

FRUITS:  Shiny, black 'twin' berries cupped by two pairs of deep-purplish-maroon bracts; not considered palatable.

ECOLOGY:  Moist forest, clearings, streamside habitats, swamps and thickets; at low to subalpine elevations.

Oemleria cerasiformis
INDIAN PLUM

GENERAL:  Shrub or small tree, 1.5-5 m tall; stem smooth, bark dark-grey to reddish; often spreads by rhizomes or rooting branch ends and forms dense colonies. 

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, pale-green, broadly lance-shaped, 5-12 cm long, not toothed, strong cucumber- like smell when crushed.

FLOWERS:  Greenish-white, about 1cm across, male and female flowers on separate plants, 5 petals, 15 stamen, in 3 distinct series somewhat bell shaped, appearing very early in the year, (usually before the leaves), unusual fragrance (something between watermelon rind and cat urine);  in 5-10 cm long clusters hanging from leaf axils.

FRUITS:  Peach-coloured, ripening to bluish-black with a whitish bloom, like small plums (hence the common name), about 1 cm long; edible but bitter, with a large pit.

ECOLOGY:  Dry to moist, open woods, streambanks, open areas (especially roadsides); low elevations.

Physocarpus capitatus
PACIFIC NINEBARK

GENERAL:  Erect to spreading, to 4 m tall,; arching, angled branches eventually with brown, shredding bark.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, 3-6 cm long, 3-5 lobed, the lobes toothed, deeply veined, shiny dark-green above, lighter and with abundant star-shaped hairs below (use hand lens). 

FLOWERS:  White, small (about 4 mm long), 5 petals, about 30 pink stamens; several to many in terminal, rounded clusters.

FRUITS:  Reddish bunches of dried inflated follicles, to 1cm long, with yellowish, shiny seeds inside.

ECOLOGY:  Wet, somewhat open places (streamside thickets, edges of moist woods, coastal marshes, meadows, margins of lakes and streams), occasionally on drier, shrubby sites; at low to middle elevations.

Rosa gymnocarpa
BALDHIP ROSE

GENERAL:  Spindly, to 1.5 m tall, usually with numerous soft, straight prickles, sometimes unarmed especially on younger stems, which are usually covered with stalked glands (use hand lens).

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, compound with an odd number, (5-9) of toothed leaflets; leaflets 1-4 cm long.

FLOWERS:  Pale-pink to rose, small (1-2 cm across), 5 petals, numerous stamens; usually born singly at the end of branches.

FRUITS:  Orange to scarlet, pear shaped 'hips', 6-10 mm across, without attached sepal lobes; 'seeds' are bony, hairy achenes.

ECOLOGY:  In a variety of habitats, from open to wooded, dry to moist; at low to middle elevations.

Rosa nutkana
NOOTKA ROSE

GENERAL:  Spindly, to 3 m tall, with a pair of large prickles at the base of each leaf, other prickles usually absent except on some new growth.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, compound with an odd number (5-7) of toothed leaflets; leaflets elliptical, 1-7 cm long, with more or less rounded tips.

FLOWERS:  Pink, large (4-8 cm across); typically borne singly at the branch tips.

FRUITS:  Purplish-red, round 'hips', 1-2 cm across, with numerous bony, hairy achenes

ECOLOGY:  In a variety of generally open habitats (shorelines, meadows, thickets, streamside areas, roadsides, clearings), at low to middle elevations.

Rubus parviflorus
THIMBLEBERRY

GENERAL:  Erect, unarmed, 0.5-3 m tall; young growth glandular-hairy; bark shredding; usually forming dense thickets through an extensive network of rhizomes.  

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, large (to 25 cm across), soft maple-leaf shaped, 3-7 lobed, toothed, with long glandular stalks, finely fuzzy on both sides.

FLOWERS:  White, large (to 4cm across), petals crinkled like tissue paper; several (3-11) in long-stemmed terminal cluster.

FRUITS:  Shallowly domed, raspberry-like clusters of red hairy drupelets; juicy, insipid to sweet depending on growing site and personal taste.  

ECOLOGY:  Open sites (e.g., clearings, road edges, shorelines, avalanche tracks) or open (especially red alder) forest; low elevations in the north, low to subalpine elevations in the south.

Rubus spectabilis
SALMONBERRY

GENERAL:  Erect, largely unarmed, branching, to 4 m tall, from branching rhizomes, often forming dense thickets; twigs zigzag, hairless, with scattered prickles; bark golden brown, shredding.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, usually with 3 leaflets, dark-green, sharply toothed.

FLOWERS:  Pink to red to reddish-purple (an unusual colour, perhaps closest to magenta), large to 4 cm across; 1-2 or occasionally up to 4 , on short branches.

FRUITS:  Yellow or reddish, mushy raspberries; edible, but reviews range from 'insipid' to 'one of the best'.

ECOLOGY:  Moist to wet places (forests, disturbed sites), often abundant along stream edges, avalanche tracks and in wet logged areas; at low to subalpine elevations.

Salix hookeriana
HOOKER'S WILLOW

GENERAL:  Large shrub or small tree to 6 m tall; twigs stout, grey- hairy.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, oval to egg shaped, pointed or rounded at the tips, 4 - 12 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, usually without teeth, very hairy when young, the top sometimes becoming nearly smooth; stalks 0.5-2 cm long; stipules small and deciduous early in the season.

FLOWERS:  Bracts to 5 mm long, dark brown to black, very hairy; catkins stout and very hairy, appearing before the leaves, stalkless on short leafy branches, males to 4 cm long, females to 12 cm long.

FRUITS:  Capsules to 8 mm long, smooth and somewhat hairy, stalks to 3 mm long but usually much shorter hair; styles 1-2 mm long.

ECOLOGY:  Wet places, often on the edge of standing water, sometimes on sandy beaches or dunes; low elevations.

Salix lasiandra
PACIFIC WILLOW

GENERAL:  Tall slender shrub or tree, to 12 m tall; branches brown, glabrous; twigs glossy, with yellow, duckbill-shaped buds, usually hairless, brittle at base; bark fissured, yellowish-brown on older trees.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, lance shaped, tapering to a long tip, 5-15 cm long, margins finely toothed, young leaves reddish and densely hairy with white and rust colored hairs, older leaves not hairy, with a whitish bloom beneath; stalk 3-15 mm long, with glands where attached to the leaf; stipules prominent, kidney-shaped, also glandular.

FLOWERS:  Bracts pale yellow, hairy deciduous after flowering; catkins appear with the leaves, on long leafy shoots, the male to 7 cm long, the females to 12 cm long.

FRUITS:  Smooth capsules 4-8 mm long; stalks tiny (to 1 mm long); styles to 1 mm long.

ECOLOGY:  Riverbanks, floodplains, lakeshores, and wet meadows; often standing in quiet, shallow river backwaters; sea level to middle elevations.

Salix scouleriana
SCOULER'S WILLOW

GENERAL:  Tall, spindly shrub or multi-stemmed small tree 2-12 m tall; branches dark brown to yellowish- brown; twigs densely velvety.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, broad, widest above the middle, tapering to a narrow base, pointed to rounded at tip, 3-8 cm long, young leaves densely velvety, older leaves dark green above, hairy with some rust colored hairs below; margins usually smooth but sometimes with a few rounded teeth near the tips; stalk 5-10 mm long stipules small, pointed, fall early in the season.

FLOWERS:  Ovaries densely silky, floral bracts brown to black, 4-5 mm long hairy; catkins appear well before the leaves, stalkless on previous year's branches, 2-4 cm long, females 2-6 cm long.

FRUITS:  Silky capsules 5-8 mm long; stalks to 2 mm long styles to 0.5 mm long.

ECOLOGY:  Upland thickets, streamside areas, clearings, edges of forests and wetlands, open to forests (deciduous and coniferous). At low to middle elevations.

Salix sitchensis
SITKA WILLOW

GENERAL:  Shrub or small tree 1-8 m tall; branches dark brown to grey, sparsely hairy; twigs densely velvety, brittle at base.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, broad, tapering from above the middle of the base, 4-9 cm long, upper side bright green and sparsely silky, the lower side satiny with short hairs pressed flat, not glaucous; margins smooth with tiny glandular teeth; stalks yellowish, velvety 5-15 mm long; stipules half oval, either fall early in the season (on slow-growing twigs) or are retained through the season (on more vigorous twigs).

FLOWERS:  Bracts brown, hairy, to 2.4 mm long; catkins appear before or with the leaves, on short leafy shoots, males to 5 cm long, females to 8 cm long.

FRUITS:  Silky capsules 3-5 mm long, stalks to 1.4 mm long; styles to 1.2 mm long

ECOLOGY:  Streamside thickets, lakeshores and wetland margins, forest edges and wet openings, clearings, avalanche tracks; low to middle elevations.

Sambucus racemosa
RED ELDERBERRY

GENERAL:  Shrub to small tree, to 6 m tall with soft pithy twigs; bark dark reddish-brown, warty; foliage with strong characteristic odour.

LEAVES:  Opposite, deciduous, large, divided into 5-7 leaflets; the leaflets lance shaped, 5-15 cm long, pointed sharply toothed, often somewhat hairy beneath.

FLOWERS:  White to creamy, small with a strong, unpleasant odour; numerous, in a rounded or pyramidal parasol-like cluster.

FRUITS:  Bright-red berry-like drupes, each with 3-5 smooth seeds; not palatable when raw.

ECOLOGY:  Stream banks, swampy thickets, moist clearings, and open forests; sea level to middle elevations.

Sorbus sitchensis
SITKA MOUNTAIN ASH

GENERAL:  Erect, with several stems, 1-4 m tall; winter buds and young growth with rusty hairs , not sticky.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, divided into 7-11 bluish green leaflets, rounded at the tips; margins toothed mostly above the middle.

FLOWERS:  White, small, not more than 80, in round-topped terminal clusters.

FRUITS:  Berry-like, red, with white bloom; edible but extremely tart and bitter; much favored by some birds, such as waxwings and grosbeaks.

ECOLOGY:  Open, usually coniferous forest, parkland, streambanks, and clearings such as meadow edges and rockslides; occasionally in north coast bogs at low elevations, but otherwise middle to alpine elevations.

Spiraea douglasii
HARDHACK

GENERAL:  Erect, leggy, much-branched, to 2 m tall; young growth reddish brown, woolly; often forming thickets.

LEAVES:  Alternate, deciduous, oblong to oval, 4-6 cm long, toothed above the middle, dark green above, paler and often grey-woolly beneath.

FLOWERS:  Pink to deep rose, tiny (about 5 mm across); numerous, in a long, narrow, compact terminal cluster several times longer than wide.

FRUITS:  Cluster of several small, smooth, pod-like follicles; remain on the shrub after leaves have fallen.

ECOLOGY:  Streambanks, swamps fens, lake margins and damp meadows. Low to middle elevations.

Symphoricarpos albus
COMMON SNOWBERRY

GENERAL:  Erect, opposite-branching, rhizomatous, 0.5 m tall; young stems hairless; twigs very fine.

LEAVES:  Opposite, deciduous, elliptic to oval, 2-5 cm long, may be lobed on young stems; margins smooth to wavy-toothed.

FLOWERS:  Pink to white, bell shaped, 5-7 mm long; in short, dense clusters of few flowers, mostly terminal.

FRUITS:  Clusters of white berry like drupes, 6- 15 mm across with 2 seeds; persistent through winter.

ECOLOGY:  Dry to moist, open forests, thickets, rocky slopes, river terraces, ravines, along beaches (Queen Charlotte Islands and Alaska); low to middle elevations.

Vaccinium ovatum
EVERGREEN HUCKLEBERRY

GENERAL:  Erect, bushy, to 4 m tall, young stems somewhat hairy.

LEAVES:  Alternate, evergreen, egg-shaped, leathery, sharp toothed, dark shiny green on top, paler below, 2-5 cm long, distinctly 2-ranked and horizontally disposed.

FLOWERS:  Pink bell-shaped, to 8 mm long; in clusters of 3-10, in axils of leaves. 

FRUITS:  Deep purplish-black berries, shiny, small (4-7 mm broad); edible, sweet, somewhat musky in taste.

ECOLOGY:  Coniferous forests (especially edges and openings) at low elevations, often on the beach fringe in the salt spray zone, usually close to tidewater.

Vaccinium parvifolium
RED HUCKLEBERRY

GENERAL:  Erect, shrub to 4 m tall; branches bright green, very strong angled, smooth or (when young) slightly hairy.

LEAVES:  Alternate, mostly deciduous but with a few persistent; oval, to 3 cm long, not toothed (except occasionally on young leaves).

FLOWERS:  Greenish-yellow or pinkish, bell- or urn-shaped, up to 5 mm long; single in leaf axils.

FRUITS:  Bright-red, round berries, to 1 cm across; edible, a little sour for some tastes.

ECOLOGY:  Coniferous forest, often at forest edges or under canopy openings, in soils rich in decaying wood, often on stumps or logs; at low to middle elevations.