Common Trees and Shrubs

of the

Lower Dungeness River &

Railroad Bridge Park

Dungeness River Audubon Center

Sequim, WA Special thanks to the Leiter Foundation for providing support for this booklet and

Mylece Burling for the artwork.

If you are a native bird, such as

a Song Sparrow looking for a nest site,

an Evening Grosbeak looking for seeds,

a Spotted Towhee looking for ripe berries,

or an Orange-crowned Warbler looking for insects,

what sort of plants are best for you?

Birds, like all wildlife, require food, shelter, and

protection from predators. They like familiar foods

and places. Native plants provide all these, attracting

insects, growing fruits and berries, and maintaining

dense thickets of vegetation for nesting and living.

One of the best things you can do for native birds and other

wildlife is to garden with native plants. Not only do native

plants help wildlife, but they also require less care by

you, plus less water, fertilizer, and other support.

Tips for starting your own native plant garden: Make a plan! Choose your plants and locations carefully. Buy

from local gardens that sell native plants. Prep your soil! Have your soil tested and add amendments or

compost in deficient areas as needed. Don’t forget water! Birdbaths and other water fixtures will provide

much needed water for wildlife.

Invasive Species Avoid planting invasive species; Native wildlife is unfamiliar with them and they use

up the space and resources that native plants use.

Deciduous Trees

Red Alder Alnus rubra Cat-eye shaped leaves are 3-6” long with rounded teeth, dark green color on the top, and paler green on the bottom with rusty hairs. The leaf edges curl under slightly. Small woody “cones” are green, and then turn brown as they mature. Bird Use: Cones, seeds, nesting Human Use: Timber, firewood, fixes nitrogen in areas with poor soil

Black Cottonwood Populus trichocarpa Broad teardrop shaped leaves are 4-6" long. The leaves are deep green on the top and silver on the bottom, and the edges have small, rounded teeth. Large, pointed buds have sticky sap that is very fragrant during the springtime. Flowers are bunches of light green capsules that release "cotton" in the summer. Massive cottonwoods line the floodplain on both sides of the river. Bird Use: Nesting material, insects Human Use: Medicinal inner bark, firewood, fragrant buds used in medicines and cosmetics

Japanese Knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum 7-15" long heart-shaped leaves are at least 2/3 as wide as they are long. The bush is about 12' tall with erect, hollow, cane-like stems. This aggressive invader grows in dense clumps in high disturbance areas by the river.

Butterfly Bush Buddleja davidii 1-4" long leaves are dark, dull green above and gray and hairy beneath. It can be a deciduous shrub or small tree that is usually 12' tall or more. In the spring, lilac shaped clusters of fragrant, light purple flowers appear. These big bushes have spread throughout the flood plain.

Himalayan Blackberry Rubus discolor Leaflets are toothed, oval-shaped and smooth green on the top and white hairs on the bottom. The leaflets are about 1-3 inches across. White or pinkish flowers turn into tasty edible blackberries. This species produces dense clumps of blackberries, and grows along the Olympic Discovery Trail in open areas west of the bridge.

Bitter Cherry

Prunus emarginata

Oval leaves are usually 1-3" long with toothed edges and a blunt tip when the leaf is mature. When the leaves are half-grown, generally in May, round clusters of fragrant white flowers appear, which later turn into very bitter red cherries. The bark is purplish bronze with light horizontal dashes. In the park, bitter cherry is isolated near the picnic shelter and generally prefers brushy habitat. Bird Use: Cherries, insects, nesting Human Use: Medicinal poultices

Evergreen Trees

Western Red Cedar Thuja plicata Scale like leaves are arranged into overlapping joints. The leaves grow in sprays that grow from drooping branches. This tree has stringy bark that shreds vertically into long, narrow strips. The Western Red Cedar enjoys undisturbed bottomlands; the biggest cedar in RR Bridge Park grows just south of the trestle on the west side of the river. Bird Use: Nesting, shelter, cones Human Use: Cones can be used for tea, bark used for making baskets and other goods, timber very valuable

Grand Fir Abies grandis This tree in unique to the Pacific Northwest. Long, flat needles are arranged into comb-like rows on each side of the branch. The tops of the needles are a shiny dark green, while the bottoms are a silvery color. Grand Firs grow away from the river, especially at the northeast corner of the loop trail. Bird Use: Nesting, shelter, cones Human Use: Timber, paper, medicinal inner bark

Big-Leaf Maple Acer macrophyllum Huge leaves are 8-12" wide. The leaves are the largest of any maple, with five smooth-edged lobes. From around April to May fragrant yellow flower clusters appear. In the fall the leaves turn brilliant yellows, browns, and reds. Maples grow throughout the park away from the river; the Olympic Discovery Trail passes through a lovely maple stand just west of the trestle. Bird Use: Insects, nesting, nectar Human Use: Lumber, sap

Sitka Willow Salix sitchensis Oval, light green leaves are ½-2" long. It can be a shrub or tree up to 15' tall. In spring, white "pussy willows" are noticeable. Of all tress in RR Bridge Park, willows occur closest to the river, growing in tight clumps on the flood plain. Bird Use: Insects, nesting Human Use: Medicinal bark, wood for construction, fibers for hunting and fishing

Douglas Fir

Pseudotsuga menziesii This very common tree has pointed needles arranged on all sides of the branch. The cones have 3-forked bracts between overlapping scales. The cones are usually 2-4" long. The mature Douglas fir has heavily furrowed reddish brown bark. Douglas fir grows throughout RR Bridge Park, especially along the Olympic Discovery Trail west of the river. Bird Use: Nesting, food Human Use: Timber

Shrubs

Red Elderberry Sambucus racemosa Usually has 5-7 oblong leaves arranged on either side of the stem. The shrub is 6-18' tall, with yellow-white flowers from May until June. In the later parts of the summer it develops smooth red berries. Elderberry is an abundant shrub, especially in open areas west of the river. Bird Use: Berries, insects Human Use: Many parts are poisonous, but cooked berried are edible

Western Serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia Small rounded leaves with toothed edges are about 1/2-1" long. In the spring it has abundant clusters of white flowers that turn into edible black fruits in the summer. The bush can reach 15' in height with loose, spreading branches. In RR Bridge Park, serviceberry mostly grows in open areas beside the Olympic Discovery Trail west of the bridge. Bird Use: Berries, insects, nesting Human Use: Sweet, edible berries

Ocean Spray Holodiscus discolor Egg-shaped to triangular leaves are dull green, usually 1-3" long. The edges are lobed or coarsely toothed. Flowers are white to cream color and grow in a lilac shaped cluster. The shrub has several main stems and is up to 12' tall. This common shrub occurs throughout RR Bridge Park, often as clumps or isolated plants. Bird Use: Seeds, nesting Human Use: Sticks used as spears, fishing poles, also called “ironwood” due to its strength

Indian Plum Oemleria cerasiformis Oval pale green leaves are about 2-6" long and have a cucumber like smell when crushed. Small greenish white flowers turn into peach colored fruits, the bluish black fruits when ripe. It is about 3-12' tall with dark grey to reddish bark. The herald of spring, this widespread shrub is the first to bloom in January or February. Bird Use: Berries Human Use: Leaves could be chewed, burned, and mixed with oil to help relive wounds

Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus 1-2" long deciduous leaves are oval shaped with smooth to wavy toothed margins. Grows to be from 1-6' tall and has small clusters of white berries. Some may be poisonous. Snowberry is a common under story shrub. Can also be found in hedgerows and around pastures. Bird Use: Nesting, berries, insects Human Use: Considered poisonous to humans, also called “corpseberry”

Salal Gaultheria shallon This shrub has leathery, oval-shaped leaves and usually grows 1-6' tall. It blossoms through the summer and develops hairy dark berries in late summer. Salal likes undisturbed shady under story; in RR Bridge Park it mostly grows in the forest south of the River Center. Bird Use: Berries, nesting cover Human Use: Berries were dried and mashed into cakes, medicinal leaves

Oregon Boxwood Paxistima myrsinites Small oval leaves are ½-1" long. The leaves grow on opposite sides of the branches, which stick out from the main stem at 45-degree angles. Nearly all boxwood in RR Bridge Park is found along the loop trail northeast of the bridge. Bird Use: Nesting, protection, berries Human Use: Traditional Native American medicinal and ceremonial uses

Red-Flowering Currant Ribes sanguineum Five lobed leaves are 1-3" wide, with the lower surface paler and hairier. 10-20 flowers are commonly a beautiful pink color, arranged in erect or drooping clusters 3-5" long. The flowers may also be a paler pink to white. The bush is 3-9' tall with crooked stems and reddish brown bark. Isolated plants are most common near the loop trail in the North section of RR Bridge Park. Bird Use: Berries, nectar, especially for hummingbirds and butterflies in early spring. Human Use: Berries used in pies, jams, or dried and eaten Trailing Blackberry

Rubus ursinus Leaflets are 1-3" long, dark green, and have toothed edges. Large white or pink flowers turn into black, edible, delicious berries. It grows along the ground with trailing stems up to 15' long and has slender, curved prickles. This blackberry is common in park forest understory. Bird Use: Nesting, protection, berries Human Use: Fruits used for purple stains, vines used in cooking pits, berries eaten fresh or dried in cakes

Sword Fern Polystichum munitum Fronds are divided into simple leaflets with toothed edges. These ferns are common under story plants in Railroad Bridge Park. Bird Use: Shelter, insects Human Use: Spores relieve pain from Stinging Nettle, Native Tribes roasted and consumed rhizomes as food

Bracken Fern Pteridium aquilinum This fern has fronds divided into compound leaflets, with singly-arising stalks lacking loose scales. The fronds are very robust and usually 1-4' tall when mature. Not as common as sword fern in RR Bridge Park, clumps are found between the River Center and the picnic shelter. Bird Use: Insects Human Use: Rhizomes were cooked and consumed by Native Americans

Baldhip Rose Rosa gymnocarpa Leaflets are 1/2-2" long, with rounded tips and toothed edges. It has a pale pink rose 1/2-1" across with 5 petals. It grows to 4' tall with numerous, soft prickles. Flowers develop into orange or scarlet pear shaped "hips" about 1/2" across. Baldhip Roses are less common that Nootka Roses in RR Bridge Park, usually found in small isolated patches. Bird Use: Protection, nesting Human Use: Petals used as fragrant garnish

Nootka Rose Rosa nutkana Leaves are elliptic, about 1/2-3" long, with toothed edges and rounded tips. Flowers are pink, and are found at the end of the branch tips. The rose grows to 9 feet tall and has large prickles. The flowers turn into purplish red round "hips" that are 1/2-1" across. Roses are abundant understory plants throughout the park. Bird Use: Protection, nesting Human Use: Hips and leaves can be used to make medicinal teas, wood used for building material

Thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus Large, alternate, maple-leaf shaped leaves are around 12" across. The stem is finely fuzzy on both sides. Thimbleberry develops raspberry-like clusters of red hairy drupelets. This shrub grows to be 1-9' tall forming dense thickets. It can be found along the Olympic Discovery Trail west of the bridge. Bird Use: Berries, nesting Human Use: Berries can be eaten and made into jams and preserves

Dull Oregon Grape Mahonia nervosa Short and shrubbier than the Tall Oregon Grape, the dull version has many "leaves" growing from one stem. Both the Tall and the Dull Oregon Grapes can be found in the forests south of the river center; Tall Oregon Grape is less common. Bird Use: Berries Human Use: Medicinal root and root bark, berries used to make jellies, wine, pies

Tall Oregon Grape Mahonia aquifolium Has shiny, spiky, dark green holly-like leaves. The Tall Oregon grape grows straight up out of the ground and is taller than the Dull Oregon Grape. It has bright yellow flowers in early summer and develops deep blue "grapes" in late summer. Bird Use: Berries Human Use: The rhizome was traditionally collected and used to treat digestive ailments and skin irritations

Please Note: Human Use descriptions in this booklet refer to

traditional Native American and modern uses and are not suggestions. Never consume berries or leaves of any

wild plant unless you can positively identify it!