How To Identify Some Common Plants

Out of more than a thousand kinds of trees, shrubs, ferns, and flowering herbs on the Olympic Peninsula, 28 are described in the following paragraphs. While this is but a small fraction of the total, they represent the most common and noticeable plants that can be identified easily.

The park is a sanctuary for all natural features, and care should be taken not to disturb, injure, or destroy trees, flowers, or other plantlife.

TREES

NEXT TO THE SEQUOIAS OF CALIFORNIA, DOUGLAS-FIR IS THE GREATEST TREE IN THE FORESTS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

DOUGLAS-FIR (Pseudotsuga menziesii) gives principal distinction to the Northwest forests. Growing from sea level to 5,000 feet elevation, it is the most abundant and widespread tree on the Olympic Peninsula. Average mature trees in the virgin forests of the lowlands are 180 to 250 feet in height and 4 to 6 feet in diameter. The largest on record—14 feet 5 inches in diameter—is located in the Queets River Valley, about 3-1/2 miles by trail from the end of the road. Next to the sequoias of California the Douglas-fir is the largest tree in the forest of the Western Hemisphere.

Large Douglas-firs in the forest commonly have nearly cylindrical boles, clear of limbs for a hundred feet. Such trees have a reddish-brown bark which is rough with ridges and deep furrows. The cones, whether on the tree or on the ground beneath the tree, provide easy and reliable identification. They are mostly 2-1/2 to 3 inches long with 3-pointed, thin bracts protruding among the scales. The seeds are a favorite food of the Douglas squirrel.

WESTERN REDCEDAR BARK HAS FAIRLY REGULAR NARROW GROOVES AND RIDGES.

WESTERN REDCEDAR (Thuja plicata) grows in the valley bottoms and other moist places. Although it is mainly a lowland tree, it extends up into the Canadian zone wherever conditions are favorable. Large trees in the forest average 150 to 175 feet in height and 3 to 8 feet in diameter. The largest western redcedar on record is 21 feet 4 inches in diameter. It is located in the Pacific Coast Area near Kalaloch and can be reached by a short spur road near Beach Trail 6.

The trunk of the western redcedar commonly tapers rapidly from a swollen and sometimes fluted base. Its bark is thin, fibrous, and stringy. The foliage hangs in long, lacy sprays. It is the only tree of the lowland forests which has leaves that are tiny, overlapping scales.

WESTERN REDCEDAR. CONES ARE ABUNDANT ON SOME TREES.

WESTERN HEMLOCK (Tsuga heterophylla) is abundant in Northwest forests up to about 3,000 feet elevation. Large forest trees are 125 to 175 feet in height and 2 to 4 feet in diameter. The largest recorded specimen of this tree, 9 feet in diameter, is located above Enchanted Valley in the park. Western hemlock can be identified by its foliage and cones. The needles vary in length from 1/4 to 1 inch and are pliable and round-pointed. The lacy sprays of foliage have a delicate appearance. The top shoot of the tree bends over in an arc—another identifying characteristic. The cones, about three-quarters of an inch long, are usually abundant near the ends of the branches.

SITKA SPRUCE (Picea sitchenis) is a coastwise tree from Alaska to California. In the park it is common only in the rain forest on the west side. There, large trees are 225 to 300 feet in height and 5 to 8 feet in diameter. Many are 10 feet or more in diameter. The largest specimen recorded, 13 feet 4 inches in diameter, is located in the park about 4 miles above the Hoh Ranger Station. Sitka spruce and the three preceding species comprise what might be called the "big four" in Olympic forests.

Sitka spruce can be identified by its stiff and very sharp-pointed needles. They are 1/2 to 1/4 inches long and extend outward from all sides of the twig. It can be distinguished from other associated trees by the thin silvery-gray to purplish-gray scales on its bark. The base of the tree is commonly enlarged because of the massive roots that grew downward from the top of a stump or large fallen tree where the seed germinated.

SITKA SPRUCE CONES HANG IN CLUSTERS AT THE ENDS OF BRANCHES.

THIS SITKA SPRUCE STARTED LIFE ON TOP OF A HIGH STUMP WHICH ROTTED AWAY LEAVING THE GROWING TREE STANDING ON STILTLIKE ROOTS.

PACIFIC SILVER FIR (Abies amabilis) is a tree of middle elevations, or the Canadian zone. In favorable sites, it attains a height of 140 to 160 feet and a diameter of 2 to 4 feet. The record tree, 6 feet 10 inches in diameter, is by the Bogachiel River about 8 miles by trail from the end of the road. A striking characteristic of this needle-leaved tree is its smooth, ashy-gray bark, conspicuously marked with chalky-white areas and numerous resin blisters.

NUMEROUS SMALL RESIN-FILLED BLISTERS ON A PACIFIC SILVER FIR.

ALPINE FIR (Abies lasiocarpa) is the spirelike tree of the highest life zone, the Hudsonian. Under favorable conditions it reaches a height of 60 to 90 feet, but at timberline it is a twisted, stunted growth only a few feet high. Its narrow crown extends to the ground, which makes this tree particularly susceptible to crown fires. Many ridgetop areas have "silver" forests of bleached trunks of fire-killed alpine fir. The purple to gray-purple cones, 2 to 4 inches long, stand upright on the branches as in all true firs.

ALASKA-CEDAR (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) is a Hudsonian zone tree, easily identified by its foliage. The slender, drooping branches and flat, weeping sprays appear to be wilted. The leaves are of tiny, overlapping scales. This tree could be confused with the western red cedar, but as the two grow at different elevations identification should be easy. The largest specimen recorded, 7 feet 8 inches in diameter, is on the trail to Hart Lake above Enchanted Valley.

PACIFIC MADRONE (Arbutus menziesii) is a tree of the lower elevations distinguished by its smooth, reddish-brown trunk and branches and its shiny, leathery, broad-leaved, evergreen foliage. The bark of the trunk may be loosely scaly, peeling off in long, thin, irregular pieces. This is especially noticeable in late summer when new, light-green bark is exposed by the flaking away of the older red bark.

PACIFIC MADRONE'S REDDISH-BROWN BARK SCALES OFF IN THIN LAYERS.