1. Indicator Species
The
following list contains those plants most indicative of the
plant associations found in and around Kala Point. It is
derived from Puget Trough Terrestrial Plant
Associations (Puget
Trough Ecoregion).
Trees
Douglas-fir
western redcedar
western hemlock
red alder
Pacific madrone
bigleaf maple
Scouler’s willow
grand fir
western white pine
lodgepole pine
Shrubs
& Subshrubs
salal
Pacific rhododendron
baldhip rose
oceanspray
trailing blackberry
dwarf Oregongrape
common snowberry
serviceberry
tall Oregongrape
beaked hazelnut
hairy honeysuckle
orange honeysuckle
evergreen huckleberry
red huckleberry
trailing blackberry
serviceberry
spreading snowberry
red elderberry
thimbleberry
salmonberry
Indian plum
blackcap
vine maple
Forbs
& Ferns
bracken fern
sword fern
licorice fern
western starflower
rattlesnake-plantain
twinflower
sweet-scented bedstraw
fringecup
stinging nettle
spreading woodfern
giant horsetail
Hooker's fairybells
large false Solomon's seal
cow-parsnip
Siberian springbeauty
cleavers
threeleaf foamflower
lady-fern
enchanter's nightshade
western starflower
Pacific bleedingheart
western trillium
deerfern
youth-on-age
clasping-leaved twisted-stalk
slender-stem waterleaf
2. Tree Species Characteristics
Conifers of the Pacific
Northwest
Linda Brubaker, University of
Washington
Urban Forest Ecosystem
Institute
This includes trees frequently planted in home
landscaping.
Douglas-fir
(Pseudotsuga
menziesii)
•
Needles: About 1" long with a blunt tip. Needles are green
above with 2 white bands underneath.
• Fruit: Woody cones 3 to 4 inches long; pitchfork-shaped
bracts are longer than scales. Cones hang down.
• Twig: Large pointed buds with reddish-brown, overlapping
scales.
• Distribution: Abundant in western North America from
British Columbia to Mexico. Grows at sea level along the
coast to 7000 ft. (2200 m) in the Cascades and Sierras, and
to 11,000 ft. (3400 m) in the southern Rockies.
western redcedar (Thuja plicata)
• Needles: Scale-like and appressed to twig. Green above and a white butterfly pattern below.
• Fruit: Small, woody cones about 1/2" long; grow upright on twig. Shaped like tiny rose buds or the bowl of a smoker's pipe.
• Bark: Thin, reddish-brown, and stringy. Had many uses for the Northwest Indians.
• Distribution: Grows in areas of abundant precipitation, high humidity, and cool summers. Grow from sea level to 4000 ft. (1200 m) west of the Crest of the Cascades, but to 7000 ft. (2150 m) in the Rocky Mountains.
grand fir (Abies grandis)
• Needles: About 1" long; yellow-green on top surface of needles (no white bloom on upper surface)--whitish bands on undersides. Sets of needles flattened or "V" shaped. Needles are two distinct sizes, with alternating long and short needles.
• Fruit: Upright, cylindrical cones; 3-4" long; bracts shorter than scales. Fall apart when mature.
• Twigs: Terminal buds round and clustered, and covered with resin. Young twigs are greenish.
• Distribution: Extends across the Pacific Northwest from sea level to 5100 ft. (1600 m).
western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
• Needles: Short (under 3/4" long) and blunt; two distinctly different sizes; green above and white underneath each needle; most needles appear to arise from the sides of the twigs.
• Fruit: Small, woody cones (about 1"); egg-shaped; thin, smooth scales.
• Twigs: Thin and droopy; have small, rounded pegs (leaf scars) on twigs.
• Distribution: Primarily found in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest. Occurs from sea level to 7400 ft. (2250 m).
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)
• Needles: 1" long; sharp; yellow-green; often flat (difficult to roll between your fingers). Some needles on a twig point sideways while others point forward.
• Fruit: Woody cones; 1-4" long; hang down; very thin scales with jagged edges.
• Twigs: Each needle is borne on a square, raised, woody peg.
• Distribution: Grows in a narrow coastal zone from southern Alaska to northwestern California at low elevations.
Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia)
• Needles: About 1" long; dark green above and lighter green below (not white); pointed, but not sharp; leaf margins rolled under; needles occur in a single plane.
• Fruit: Small red "berry" with a single large seed (actually an aril). SEED IS POISONOUS!
• Bark: Thin, purple, and scaly.
• Distribution: Native to the Pacific coastal region from southeastern Alaska southward into California. Occur from 2100-8000 ft. (650-2500 m) elevation.
lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)
• Needles: Two needles per bundle (clustered); 1-3" long; commonly twisted (contorted).
• Fruit: Small, egg-shaped cones (1-2" long), often with a prickle at the end of each scale. May remain closed on the tree for years.
• Bark: Thin, dark, and flaky.
• Distribution: Abundant in the northern Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast region. Grow from 0-11,500 ft. (0-3600 m). Those along the coast are commonly called shore pine.
western white pine (Pinus monticola)
• Needles: Occur in bundles of 5; 2-4" long; white lines on 2 sides of each needle.
• Fruit: Woody cones, 5-12" long (smaller than sugar pine cones); slender and curved. Cone scales are thin and often curve up on the end.
• Bark: Dark; broken into small squares or rectangles on older trees (smooth on young trees). Bark often "ringed" where a whorl of branches once grew.
• Distribution: Occurs in southern British Columbia, the northwestern states, and the Sierra Nevada of California. In the northern portion of their range, the trees grow from sea level to 2500 ft. (750 m).
