Key to Important

Woody Plants

0

Eastern Oregon

and Washington

Forest Serrice Agriculture Handbook No. 148

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

LIBRARY

BOOK NUMBER 1

d83599 ^ff*h

Dec,1960
' ,. /I
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

OF

EASTERN OREGON AND WASHINGTON

by Doris W. Hayes, range conservationist,

Division of Range Management Research, and

George A. Garrison, range conservationist.

Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service

Agriculture Handbook No. 148 December 1960

U. S. Department of Agriculture

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington 25, D.C. - Price $2.00
CONTENTS

Page

Introduction\

Plants deciduous• spring and summero

Leaves alternate and simple^

Plants armed^

Plants unarmed• with catkins^ 20

Plants unarmed • without catkins 41

Leaves alternate and compound 84

Leaves opposite and simple ^2

Leaves opposite and compound 1^1

Plants deciduous• fall and winter IjJ^

Buds, twigs alternate |J^^

Plants armed |Y^

Plants unarmed • with catkins 11^

Plants unarmed• without catkins 125

Buds, twigs opposite.. |^|

Plants evergreen or with winter-persistent leaves lo»

Notes on forage value 206

Index 214
^^ V'í X s M ^

o v** ^. 'wf s«.' V^

INTRODUCTION

Winter, spring, summer, and fall, big-gaine biologists, forest rangers,

hunters, and recreationists are on the mountain trails of eastern

Oregon and eastern Washington. Regardless of season, shrubs are

always conspicuous to these travelers. And in the work of game

biologists and rangers, knowledge of browse plants at all seasons is

becoming increasingly important. Hence, a demand has arisen for

a shrub key based on twig or leaf characters and prepared in laymen^s

language. This key represents an attempt to meet that demand.

Vegetative keys designed to distinguish shrubs without reference

to flowers or fruit require the definition of many characteristics for

each species. Therefore, some of the species descriptions are rather

lengthy; however, primary characteristics are in boldface type and

will commonly sufiice to identify a shrub.

Primary divisions of the key are based on whether or not a plant

is ^^evergreen^' and the season of the year. Subsequent divisions

make use of such simple characteristics as arrangement of twigs

(alternate or opposite branching), subdivision of leaves, and the

presence or absence of thorns. Within the major divisions, each pair

of alternative characters is given the same number for the convenience

of the user. By choosing one character of a pair as applicable and

proceeding to tîEie next pair, the user can move quickly through the

key to determine the name of the specimen he is interested in and can

compare the specimen with the illustrations provided.

The alternate character of buds, leaves, and twigs for some species

is examined in more detail. For them the spiral arrangement serves

as a further characteristic for quick and reliable identification. Smooth

sumac is an excellent example (fig. 1). Starting with any given bud

and counting clockwise around the stem, the observer makes two

complete circles to reach the next bud directly above, and in the

process counts this bud as the fifth. This is called the % bud arrangement, the one most commonly found; each bud is 144 degrees around

the stem from the preceding one. A % bud arrangement is found in

the wax currant (fig. 2).

Scientific or Latin names are given for each species in addition

to common names, which follow the nomenclature in Standardized

Plant Names, by Harlan P. Kelsey and William A. Dayton (2d. ed.,

1942). The index of accepted scientific and common names also

includes such synonyms as are needed for cross-reference to names

used in Oregon and Washington manuals or floras commonly consulted.

Botanists have not explored all of the Okanogan highlands, the

Blue Mountains, and the east slope of the Cascades; hence, some

shrubs may be found that are not among the 180 or so species and

varieties listed in the key. Some omissions were deliberate, as was

the case with certain willows. The 18 willows presented are the ones

most commonly encountered. In a work of this kind, more than errors

of omission are bound to occur in the first edition, but it is hoped none

of them will seriously handicap the field worker.

The present work is the outcome of plant collections by the authors

and R. S. Rummell. During preparation of the key from collections
HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FIGURE 1.—Diagram of the % bud arrangement of smooth sumac.

in eastern Oregon and Washington, herbaria of the Forest Service

and the National Museum in Washington, D. C, were consulted.

Dr. S. F. Blake contributed material relating to the composite family.

Some of the scientific drawings are from the Range Plant Handbook,

now out of print, and most of the remainder were executed by the

late Leta Hughey and Jane Roller.

Those who may wish to obtain information from plant manuals of

the standard type are referred to such works as :

Abrams, Leroy. Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States. (Three

volumes.)
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

FIGURE 2

found in wax currant.

Spiral arrangement of buds: H» netleaf hackberry is an example;

yzy characteristic of alders and birches; %, as shown in smooth sumac; %, as

Gilkey, Helen. Handbook of Northwest Flowering Plants.

Hitchcock, Cronquist, Owenbey, and Thompson. Vascular Plants

of the Pacific Northwest.

Peck, Morton E. A Manual of the Higher Plants of Oregon.

Appended to this new shrub key are notes on the relative forage

value of numerous shrubs. These were compiled from published

works of many authors, and observations by G. A. Garrison and other

U. S. Forest Service range workers. The notes were not inserted in

the key because that would have added to the already lengthy species

descriptions and impaired the key's usability. A list of publications

consulted is included for^the benefit of those seeking further information on food habits of animals and nutritive value of certain plants.

Where any plant is suspected of being poison-oak or poison-ivy,

precautions should be taken to keep it from coming in contact with

any person who might be susceptible, because almost all parts of the

plant can be poisonous to touch.

PLANTS DECIDUOUS • SPRING AND SUMMER

Leaves Alternate and Simple

Plants Armed

1. Twigs spiny-tipped.

2. Shrubs with sagebrush odor and taste, less than 2 feet high;

leaves broadly fan-shaped, deeply cut into several 3-lobed divisions, shed in early summer; twigs of 2 kinds: (a) short, rigid,

flowering twigs becoming spiny-tipped, (b) stouter leafy twigs

becoming big-budded after leaves fall, not spiny-tipped; bushy,

much-branched shrubs with shreddy bark; desert or aklaline

areas of Lake, Harney, and Malheur Cos., se. Oreg., not reported

from Wash bud sagebrush (Artemisia spinescens). ^

2. Shrubs without sagebrush odor or taste.

3. Twigs bright green, ridged and lined; leaves small (to ji inch

long), gray green, reversely lance-shaped; margins entire;

stipules tiny, pointed at tips, grown to bulbous leafstalk base,

appearing as dark swelling at point of attachment to twig;

stems often arching; much-branched shrubs to 10 feet high;

dry, rocky limestone areas, Harney Co. to Snake River canyons

in ne. Oreg., se. Wash.

Snake River greasebush (Forsellesia stipulifera).

1 See Evergreen Key for low sagebrush (Artemisia arbúsculo), the persistent

dead flowering twigs of which are sometimes weakly sharp-tipped.

Enlarged leaf

Enlarged portion of twig

showing swollen dark ^ ^^^

leafstalk base with at- ^"^ '

tached stipules

Bud sagebrush Snake River greasebush
HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

3. Twigs not as above.

4. Leave densely white- or gray-scurfy with branlike scales,

1- to 3-veined from near base, broadly egg-shaped or oval,

rounded or wedge-shaped at base, to Yi inch long and }^ inch

wide, thick, stalked; pollen-producing flowers in ball-like

clusters in leaf axils near twig tips, borne on different plants

from the seed-producing flowers which are solitary or several

together in upper leaf axils; each seed enclosed between 2

leaflike bracts united at base but free at top and side edges;

erect, rounded shrubs 1-3 feet high, with rigid spiny-tipped

twigs and smooth, straw-colored bark ; dry, alkaline hillsides.

Lake, Harney, Malheur Cos., se. Oreg., not reported from

Wash shadscale saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia) .^

2 See Evergreen Key for fourwing saltbush {Atriplex canescens), the fruiting

twigs of which are weakly spiny-tipped.

Shadscale saltbush
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

Seed-producins flower

(enlarsed)

Pollen-producing plant

Fruit with leaflike partly

united bracts (enlarged)

Single leaf (enlarged)

Shadscale saltbush
HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

4. Leaves green when mature, more or less whitish-scurfy with

star-shaped hairs when young, somewhat fleshy, rather

narrow, usually not more than 2 inches long and K inch wide ;

pollen- and seed-producing flowers separate, borne on the

same or on different plants; fruits distinctive.

5. Leaves linear, to Vg inch wide, some of the lower ones

often opposite, dark green; pollen-producing flowers in

scaly, spikelike end clusters; seed-producing flowers small,

1 or 2 in upper leaf axils; fruits top-shaped with encircling

wing near middle; wood green, fibrous, very hard; bark

whitish to gray or brownish ; much branched shrubs to 8 or

10 feet high, often in almost pure stands in alkaline flats

or low, moist sites; poisonous to livestock if eaten to excess;

s. and e. Oreg., e. Wash.

black greasewood {Sarcobatus vermiculatus).

5. Leaves reverse-lance-shaped, to '^^ inch wide, pale or

gray green; pollen-producing flowers clustered in leaf axils;

seed-producing flowers crowded in spikelike end clusters;

each seed enclosed in a united, saclike pair of narrowly

margined, greenish white or reddish bracts; bark dark

gray, shreddy ; bushy-branched shrubs to 3 or 4 feet high ;

dry, rocky sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa).

New leaves clustered in

axil of old leafstalk base

(enlarged) Fruit (enlarged)

F-494015

Spiny hopsage
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

Black greasewood
10 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

1. Twigs not spiny-tipped.

6. Plants with spines. [Alternate 6, p. 18.]

7. Twigs and young spines (the hardened, persistent midribs of

the primary leaves) densely white-woolly-hairy; spines becoming rigid, spreading or recurved, and with clustered, green,

hairless, linear, secondary leaves in their axils by the second

season; flowers 5-9, all alike, in flower heads surrounded by

4-6 woolly-hairy bracts in a single row; flower-head bracts persistent after the hairy-tufted ''seeds^^ (achenes) have fallen;

stiff, much-branched shrubs to nearly 5 feet high; probably (if

ever browsed) poisonous to livestock; dry, rocky sites, e. Oreg.,

e. Wash cottonthorn horsebrush (Tetradymia spinosa).

7. Twigs and spines not as above; leaves palmately 3- to 7-lobed

or cleft, round in outline, square-cut, wedge- or heart-shaped at

base, clustered at tips of short, spurlike twigs or solitary at

joints (nodes) on young or fast-growing shoots; stems armed

with simple or 3-forked (sometimes 7- to 9-parted) spines

around leafstalk bases, often also with scattered prickles and/

or bristles; pith spongy; flowers and berries stalked, in stalked

and bracted clusters (racemes) ; berries tipped by witheringpersistent flowers; erect or spreading shrubs, often with arching

Secondary leaves clustered

in spine axils

Cottonthorn horsebrush
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 11

branches and crown-sprouting or layering after fire or top

injury; alternate hosts to the white pina blister rust.

currants, gooseberries {Ribes spp.).

8. Spines 3- to 9-parted; flowers 3-20, saucer- or shallowly

bowl-shaped with spreading calyx lobes; berries covered

with gland-tipped bristles, jointed to their stalks (pedicels),

falling free when ripe; twigs brownish, prickly and/or bristly

between joints (especially in sunny sites).

currants (Ribes spp.).

9. Leaves deeply 5- to 7-lobed, to 2Vi inches wide, nearly

hairless; margins cut-toothed; leafstalks often as long as

leaves, with coarse, gland-tipped hairs near base; twigs

whitish-hairy but without gland-tipped bristles; spines

weak and short; ñowers often 10-15; currants purplish

black; much-branched shrubs, erect and to 3 or 4 feet high,

or, if in shade, trailing and with weaker spines and

prickles; shade-tolerant; often reproducing by layering;

very susceptible to white pine blister rust; moist sites in

mountain woods; widely distributed in e. Oreg., e. Wash.

prickly (or swamp) currant (Ribes lacustre).

9, Leaves deeply 3- to 5-lobed, to 1 inch wide, with glandtipped hairs on both surfaces; leafstalks usually shorter

than leaves; twigs with gland-tipped bristles in addition

to prickles; spines rigid, rather stout and long; flowers 3-7;

straggly, stiff-branched shrubs to 4 feet high; on rocky,

exposed sites at higher (often subalpine) altitudes, sometimes near snowbanks; Cascades, Wallowa and Blue Mts.,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.

gooseberry currant (Ribes montigenum).

8. Spines single or 3- (rarely 4-) parted; flowers 1-5, bellshaped or tubular; calyx lobes often spreading or recurving

in age; berries falling with stalks attached.

gooseberries (Grossularia section of Ribes).

10. Mature leaves 1-21/2 inches wide, 3- to 5-lobed; styles 2

in each flower; erect or spreading shrubs; moist woods or

streambanks.

11. Spines less than V2 inch long.

12. Gooseberries with gland-tipped spines; leaves and

leafstalks with gland-tipped hairs; spines mostly 3-

forked, stiff; stems stout, rarely prickly or bristly

between joints; flowers beU-shaped, green, usually

sparsely hairy outside ; petals white ; styles hairless;

middle altitudes, e. slopes of Cascades from Mt.

Hood, Oreg., n. into Wash.; type locality. Wash.

Watson (or Mt. Adams) gooseberry (Ribes

ivatsonianum).

12. Gooseberries smooth; styles hairy.

13. Twigs white or pale straw-colored, rarely prickly

or bristly between joints; spines weak, usually

single, sometimes absent; gland-tipjTed hairs usually lacking except near base of leafstalk; flowers

bell-shaped, greenish or purplish-tinged; petals

white, or sometimes pink.
12 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Gooseberry currant

Prickly (or swamp) currant

Watson (or Mt. Adams) gooseberry

F-494018
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 13

14. Leaves usually hairless except for finely whitehairy-fringed margins (sometimes with fine,

whitish hairs on under leaf-surfaces) ; flowers

nodding, hairless outside, lobed to near the

middle ; petals white or pink; gooseberries winecolored; very susceptible to white pine blister

rust; erect shrubs to 6 feet high; e. Oreg., e.

Wash__whitestem gooseberry (Ribes inerme).

14. Leaves soft-hairy, often broader than long;

leafstalks hairy-fringed; flowers sparsely softhairy outside, lobed to below middle; gooseberries black, with whitish ''bloom''; tall,

spreading shrubs with long-arching branches;

along streambanks; Jefferson Co., Oreg., s. to

Klamath Lake; type locality, banks of Klamath

River near Keno, Oreg.

Klamath gooseberry {Ribes klamathense).

13. Twigs gray to brown, finely white-hairy, not

glandular-hairy, often prickly and/or bristly between joints on old wood; spines rigid, usually

single except on fast-growing shoots where they are

3-parted; leaves mostly 5-lobed, heart-shaped at

base, finely hairy on both sides, glandular-hairy

on under surface; leafstalks glandular-hairy;

flowers tubular-bell-shaped, greenish, lobed to

below middle, hairless outside, nodding in inchlong clusters; petals white; gooseberries reddish

purple to black; erect shrubs to 10 feet high, with

widely spreading branches; somewhat susceptible

to white pine blister rust; along streams, Wallowa

and Blue Mts., ne. Oreg., se. Wash.; type locality,

Blue Mts., lat. 46° 33'.

Idaho gooseberry (Ribes irriguum).

11. Spines more than ^2 inch long; stems slender; gooseberries smooth; styles hairy toward base.

15. Twigs white, grayish, or buflf-colored, glandularhairy as are also both leaf surfaces, leafstalks, and

the inch-long flower-cluster stalks; white, soft,

spreading hairs also present on young twigs, leafstalks, and under leaf-surfaces; leaves square-cut or

heart-shaped at base; the coarser spines usually 3-

parted; prickles and bristles often numerous on

younger branches; flowers tubular, lobed above middle, greenish white to pinkish, soft-hairy outside;

gooseberries purplish black, in drooping clusters;

stems long arching, to 13 feet long; along streams,

ne. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality (probably Umatilla) River banks near Pendleton, Oreg.

Umatilla gooseberry {Ribes cognatum).

15. Twigs cinnamon to dark reddish brown, hairless or

nearly so, usually not prickly or bristly between

joints; spines darker than twigs, often 3-parted;

leaves suggestive of those of golden currant, thick,

shiny, shallowly lobed and with few, broad, rounded
14 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Flower (enlarged)

Stamens

Petals

Calyx lobes (or sepals)^

Part of twig (enlarged)

Whitestem gooseberry
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 15

Leafstalks glandular-hairy

Enlarsed portion of vigorous shoot with 3-forked

spines. Hairs not glandular

Idaho gooseberry

471114 O-60-2
16 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

teeth square-cut to wedge-shaped at base; flowers

snow-white, bell-shaped, deeply lobed, with longexserted, hairy stamens; gooseberries bluish black,

long- and slender-stalked, in drooping clusters often

2 inches long; graceful, widely branching shrub to 13

feet high; moist thickets, rocky banks or gravelly

soils along streams, ne. Oreg., se. Wash.

snow gooseberry (Ribes niveum).

10. Mature leaves less than 1 inch wide (often not much

more than Vi inch wide), deeply 3- to 5-cleft; stems with

recurved or arching branches, the older ones gray, often

without spines, usually with many short, scarred, spurlike twigs at tips of which are clustered leaves; twigs and

younger branches pale, yellowish to reddish brown, usually with single spines of same color, rarely prickly or

bristly between joints; spines to nearly 1 inch long;

flowers hairy outside, broadly tubular, lobed to near or

below the middle; styles hairless, united and appearing

as a single style; gooseberries small, yellow (ripening

black) or red, hairless or finely short-white-hairy and/or

with stalked glands; shrubs to 6 feet high; dry, often

rocky sites.

Snow gooseberry
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 17

16. Leaves, leafstalks, twigs, and gooseberries finely

short-white-hairy, sometimes also with gland-tipped

hairs; flowers yellowish, with yellowish petals, the tubular part often broader than long; gooseberries yellow, ripening to black, rarely without hairs; shrubs to

6 feet high, with rigid, often recurved branches; Crook

and Deschutes Cos., s. to Jackson, Klamath and Lake

Cos., s. Oreg.; not reported from Wash.; type locahty,

n. part of Calif., and regions adjacent.

desert gooseberry (Ribes velutinum).

16. Leaves, leafstalks, twigs, and gooseberries hairless or

nearly so (leaves and leafstalks sometimes finely

short-white-hairy-fringed along edges or leaves some

what scurfy on under surface); leaves usually with

narrow lobes and relatively broad spaces between

them; flowers whitish to pinkish; petals white; gooseberries cherry-red, sweet, shrubs with long-arching,

yellow or pale straw-colored branches with single

spines of the same color, often forming dense, spiny

thickets; closely related to desert gooseberry; rocky

ledges, lower elevations, ne. Oreg., se. Wash.; canyons

along Snake River; type locality, about 5 miles w. of

Imnaha, Wallowa Co., ne. Oreg.

Goodding gooseberry (Ribes gooddingii).

Desert gooseberry

Goodding gooseberry
18 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

6. Plants with thorns (aborted twigs) in leaf-scar axils (thorns sometimes lacking on young or sucker shoots) ; leaves variable in shape

and lobing, usually wedge-shaped at base and lobed above middle,

firm, glossy on upper surface; fruits (pomes) berrylike, with 1-5

bony ''seeds^' (carpels), tipped by withering-persistent ñower

parts, stalked, in clusters (cymes or corymbs) ; small trees or

erect shrubs, often in thickets; moist sites, flood plains or river

valleys, e. Oreg., e. Wash hawthorns (Crataegus spp.).^

[Alternate 6, p. 10.]

17. Ripe fruits shiny purplish black (chestnut-colored in form

badia), hairless; thorns stout, to 1 inch long, often blunt;

twigs reddish brown, aging gray; leaves elliptic to. reversely

egg-shaped, usually shallowly lobed and coarsely and unevenly saw-toothed above middle, entire or finely toothed

below middle; all parts hairless or nearly so when mature;

compact shrubs or trees to 35 feet high, common; type locality, near Vancouver, Wash.

black (or Douglas) hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii).

^ Some hawthorns reportedly crossbreed naturally; some of the resultant hybrids

(with characteristics variously intermediate between those of their two parents)

can produce fertile seed without pollination. Each seedling so produced is exactly

hke its hybrid parent. This specialized 'Vegetative" reproduction (apomicty)

probably accounts for some of the well-known hawthorn variability that has

resulted in the description of over 1,100 North American ''species," and also for

some of the difficulties in identifying hawthorns. (See W. H. Camp, Ecological

Problems and Species Concepts in Crataegus. Ecology 23: 368-369. 1942).

Black (or Douglas) hawthorn
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 19

17. Ripe fruits red, hairless to hairy; thorns stout to slender, to

21/2 inches long, usually sharp; twigs brown, aging light gray;

leaf margins, leafstalks and sepals usually with gland-tipped

teeth; occasional, near streams, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

18. Fruits scarlet (or dark red to purplish), hairless; thorns

often stout, straight; leaves reversely egg-shaped, often appressed-hairy ; margins 5- to 9-lobed above middle, sawtoothed; flower- and fruit-clusters nearly hairless; muchbranched shrubs or small trees 6-15 feet high; type locality,

along Columbia River and its tributaries e. of Cascades.

Columbia hawthorn (Crataegus columhiana).

18. Fruit coral red, hairy; thorns slender, straight or somewhat

reflexed; leaves broadly oval, shortly tapered at tip, appressed-hairy on both sides; margins doubly saw-toothed

above (singly so below) middle; shrubs to 10 feet high; type

locality, springy, gravelly hillsides, Pullman, Wash.

Piper hawthorn {Crataegus piperi).

Piper hawthorn

Columbia hawthorn
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • SPRING AND SUMMER

Leaves Alternate and Simple

Plants Unarmed • With Catkins

[Flowers scaly bracted, in elongated clusters (catkins or aments)—oak, hazel,

alders, birches, aspen, cottonwood, and willows]

1. Pollen-producing flowers in string- or tassellike catkins; nutproducing flowers not in catkins, becoming acorns or hazel nuts.

oak and hazel.

2. Leaves pinnate-lobed, to 6 inches long, dark shiny green and

nearly hairless above, pale green with yellowish, clustered or starshaped hairs underneath, in 2/5 (clockwise) arrangement on twig;

pith somewhat 5-angled in cross section; pollen-producing flowers

in drooping stringlike catkins from buds near tips of last yearns

twigs, spring-blooming, soon withering, on same plant with the

single or paired acorn-producing flowers in leaf axils on new twigs;

acorns ripe in one season, to 1 ji inches long, in saucer- or topshaped cups, stalkless or nearly so; trees (shrubby at high elevations), stump- or root-sprouting; common west, often locally

abundant east slopes of Cascades, along streams tributary to

Yakima and Columbia Rivers, Wash., and southward to Mt.

Hood National Forest, Oreg.; type locality, ''on the plains near

Fort Vancouver,^' along the Columbia River,

Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana).

2. Leaves not pinnate-lobed, rarely somewhat 3-lobed, doubly sawtoothed on margins, to 4 inches long, sparsely hairy above, softhairy, net-veined and velvety to touch underneath, in 1/2 (clockwise) arrangement on twig (2-ranked); twigs slender, zigzag,

with spreading, yellowish (often gland-tipped) hairs; pollenproducing catkins whitish-hairy, tassellike, preformed and out of

their buds by late summer or early fall but flowers not opening to

shed pollen until late winter or early spring; hazel nuts (filberts)

in green or brown, rough-hairy, fringe-beaked husks, single or

2- to 4-clustered at twig tips; tall, clustered shrubs (sometimes

treelike and to 25 feet high), often suckering from base, sometimes thicket-forming; mostly w., occasionally e. of Cascades,

Oreg., Wash.; type locality, Santa Cruz, Calif.

California hazel (Corylus corñuta var. californica).

1. Pollen- and seed-producing flowers both in catkins; catkins cone-,

spike-, or tassellike.

alders, birches, aspen, cottonwood, and willows.

3. Poflen- and seed-producing catkins on same plant; pollen-producing catkins stalked or stalkless, erect, clustered at twig tips,

formed in late summer, elongating, drooping and shedding pollen

in early spring before or with unfolding of leaves; ''seeds'' (nutlets) winged or margined. [Alternate 3, p. 26.]

alders and birches.

4. Twigs slightly angled, smooth; leaves in 1/3 clockwise arrangement on twigs (each leaf at 120° angle around the twig from

leaf next below or above); pith triangular; seed-producing

catkins conelike, persistent, with woody, mostly 5-lobed scales,

in stalked clusters; roots often with (presumably nitrogenfixing) nodules alders (Alnusspp.).

20
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 21

Straplike stipules

Acorn-producing flowers

in leaf axils, new twigs MM

Clustered buds at tip of last^

year's twig

Stringlike pollen-producing

catkin

Oregon white oak

Leaf, reduced about V^,

Pollen-producing catkins in

late summer or early fall

California hazel
22 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

5. Seed-producing catkins long-stalked, on new leafy shoots,

appearing with the leaves; "seeds" tissue-papery-winged,

leaves shiny on under surface, sticky when young, yellowish

or bright green on upper surface ; margins doubly and finely

glandular-saw-toothed; buds stalkless or nearly so; bud

scales 3 or more, overlapping; tall, slender shrubs or small

trees, often thicket-forming; along cool mountain streams,

Cascades, Wailowa and Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

Sitka alder (Alnus sinuata).

5. Seed-producing catkins short-stalked, on last year's twigs,

in leafless clusters, appearing before the leaves; buds mostly

stalked; bud scales 2 (or 3), meeting at edges but not overlapping (valvate).

6. Leaves shiny dark green above, paler and often sticky

underneath; margins finely (sometimes doubly) glandulartoothed, usually not lobed; leafstalks flattened on upper

side, slender, hairy, glandular; ^'seeds^^ narrowly margined;

inner bark and sapwood not turning red when peeled;

large trees, commonly to 40 feet high;,both sides of Cascades, along streams, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

white alder {Alnus rhombifolia).

6. Leaves dull green on both sides, not sticky; margins usually lobed; leafstalks round in cross section.

7. Leaf margins blunt-toothed, thickened, rolled under;

^^seeds'^ with narrow, nearly encircling papery wings;

inner bark, sapwood turning bright red or orange when

peeled; large, valuable hardwood trees, often in alnaost

pure stands on burns or logged-over areas w., rare e. of

Cascades; type locality, probably w. Oreg.

red alder {Alnus rubra).

7. Leaf margins doubly saw-toothed, not thickened or

rolled under; ^^seeds'' narrowly margined; seed-producing catkins often diseased, with enlarged curly bracts;

tall shrubs or small trees, often thicket-forming; commonest alder in e. Oreg., e. Wash.

thinleaf alder {Alnus tenuifolia).

4. Twigs round, sparsely resin-dotted or densely resin-warty

when young, becoming smooth and dotted with pale pores

(lenticels) ; leaves in a 1/3 counterclockwise arrangement on the

twigs; pith compressed, small; seed-producing catkins tassellike, not persistent except for their erect or recurved central

stalks from which the 3-lobed papery scales fall either with or

after shedding of the tissue-papery-winged "seeds"; buds with

3 or more overlapping bud scales; shrubs or trees of moist sites,

sometimes thicket-forming birches {Betula spp.).

8. Bark at base of old trunks shredding or separating into

layers; leaves dull green on both sides, sharp- or taperpointed at tips; second-year twigs usually smooth except for

whitish dotlike pores (lenticels); trees.

paper birches (varieties of Betula papyriferd).

9. Leaves square-cut or broadly (sometimes unevenly)

wedge-shaped at base, thin; margins finely, doubly sawtoothed, slightly lobed; new twigs sparsely resin-dotted,

with straggly white hairs, becoming shiny orange-brown
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 23

en-producin9 catkins

White alder
24 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

and smooth; bark of lower trunk warm brown, shredding

to show orange-brown or creamy papery layers beneath;

both sides of Cascades, BlueMts., se. Wash.; not reported

from Oreg.; type locality, ''Straits of Juan de Fuca.''

western paper birch (Betula papyrifera var.

commutata).

9. Leaves somewhat heart-shaped (subcordate) at base,

thick; margins coarsely (sometimes doubly) toothed, usually not lobed; new twigs hairless or finely hairy, often

with a whitish ''bloom,'^ sometimes resin-dotted, becoming shiny red-brown or grayish ; bark of lower trunk dark

silvery gray, peeling to show purplish or whitish, shreddy

layer beneath; Waljowa Mts., ne. Oreg., Blue Mts., se.

Wash, type locality, Hatwai Creek, Nez Perce Co., Ida.

northwestern paper birch {Betula papyrifera var.

suhcordata).

Pollen-producins catkins Pollen-producing catkins

Persistent central stalks of

catkins, from which scales

and "seeds" have fallen

Tissue-papery-winged

"seed" (enlarged)

3-lobed, papery catkin

scale (enlarged)

Catkin scale with "seed"py

(^

Seed-producing catkin

ssue-papery-winged /'^í^í^

"seed" (enlarged) \J^^LJ

Section of twig, enlarged

to show resin dots and

hairs

Western paper birch

Leaf, with somewhat heartshaped base

.... ... F-494027 Northwestern paper birch
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 25

Thinleaf alder
26 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

8. Bark at base of old trunks not shredding or separating into

layers; leaves shiny on one side, blunt- to sharp-pointed or

rounded at tips; twigs with persistent, warty resin dots;

shrubs or small trees with clustered trunks, often thicketforming.

10. Mature leaves to 2V2 inches long, thin but firm, shiny

yellowish green underneath, dull dark green and (when

young) resin-dotted above, broadly egg- or diamondshaped to nearly round; margins unevenly saw-toothed,

slightly lobed; bark bronze or dark reddish or purplish

brown, shiny; tall shrubs or bushy trees to 40 feet high,

with ascending branches; wooded areas along streams,

commonest birch of e. Oreg., e. Wash.

water birch {Betula occidentalis) ^

10. Mature leaves to 11/2 inches long, thick, pale green,

resin-dotted on under surface, shiny dark green on upper

surface, net-veined, round or reverse-egg-shaped; margins scallop-toothed; bark dark brown or reddish ; muchbranched shrub to 6 or 8 feet high, with flexible twigs;

boggy places in mountain meadows, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

bog birch (Betula glandulqsa).

3. Pollen- and seed-producing catkins on different plants, appearing

before, with, or after the leaves; seed pods (capsules) cone-,

globe-, or bottle-shaped, splitting down from top into 2 or 3 parts

(valves); seeds tiny, hairy-tufted at base; twigs often selfpruning; leaves in a % arrangement on the twigs; trees or shrubs.

[Alternate 3, p. 20.] aspen, cottonwood, and willows.

11. Buds more or less resinous; end buds present; bud scales

several, overlapping; leaves relatively broad and longstalked; leave margins finely saw- or scallop-toothed, or

sometimes almost entire; stipules inconspicuous, soon falling;

catkins drooping from last year's twigs, appearing before the

leaves; each pollen- or seed-producing flower in a stalked

cuplike disk in the axil of a fringed or cut-lobed, hairy, soonfalling.flower scale; seed pods stalked, cone- or globe-shaped;

trees, often spreading by root suckers. _aspen and cottonwood.

12. Leafstalks twisted near the leaf blade and flattened at

right angles to it, slender; leaves nearly round in outline,

abruptly pointed at tip, green on both sides, turn bright

golden or orange-yellow in fall; seed pods cone-shaped,

splitting into 2 parts; trees often 30-40 feet high (to 60 or

80 feet), with smooth, whitish bark except near ground,

^ A drooping-branched variety of water birch [Betula occidentalis Hook., var.

fecunda Fern. (Rhodora 47:317. 1945)] with paired or clustered seed-producing

catkins and dark bronze bark was first described as a new, unnamed species by

Piper and Beattie (The Flora of the Palouse Region, p. 55. 1901) from material

growing on ''Springy hillsides near Almota/' Garfield Co., e. Wash.; it was indicated merely as the authors' third ''B." Perhaps this is the same as Guthrie birch

{Betula guthriei Sudw.) which Major Guthrie found in 1924, ''in northeastern

Oregon growing along the Imnaha River and its tributary canyons from the mouth

of the river to a point 35 miles above, reaching elevations of from about 2,500 to

4,500 feet," and which the late Dr. George B. Sudworth named for Major Guthrie

[A New Western Birch, Amer. For. and For. Life 33 (401): 286-7. May, 1927].

It also answers the description of B. piperi Britton (Torr. Bot. Club Bul. 31: 165.

1904) but unfortunately not the type specimen of that species.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

Pollen-producing catkins

27

tL~'^.\ Tassellike seed-producing

catkii

Twig enlarged to show resin (ív' ^ '^

clroplets 'i'L^^ ,

m/*

Resin-dotted twig

Buds with overlapping bud

scales

Persistent central stalk of

seed-producing catkin

Tissue-papery-winged

"seed" (enlarged) Immature pollen-producingy

catkins

lobed, papery catkin

scale (enlarged)

Water birch

Enlarged twig

Leaf

Persistent central stalk

seed-producing catkin

Pollen-producing catkins

Bog birch
28 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

often in almost pure stands; at higher altitudes, Cascades,

and in mountains of e. Oreg., e. Wash.

quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides).

12. Leafstalks round in cross section, grooved; leaves egg- or

pear-shaped, pointed at tip, slightly heart-shaped or rounded

at base, dark ¿reen and shining on upper surface, pale or

often whitish with a ''bloom'^ on under surface; seed pods

globe-shaped, hairy, splitting into 3 parts; large, fast-growing

trees, mostly less than 50 feet high (to about 125 feet in

best sites), with deeply furrowed bark; river bottoms or

along streams, mostly w. of Cascades, Oreg., Wash., occasional in mountains, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

black cottonwood {Populus trichocarpa).

Black coftonwood
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 29

11. Buds not resinous; true end buds lacking, twig tip dying back

to tiny stub at base of topmost side bud; bud scale single,

caplike; leaves usually relatively narrow and short-stalked, of

3 varying, intergrading leaf-shape types (at base, middle, and

tip of twig) ; twigs of 3 (or 4) kinds:^

(1) short, spring or early summer shoots from lower buds

on flowering or fruiting twigs;

(2) long, often vigorous summer shoots from top buds of

fruiting twigs;

(3) vigorous summer shoots from old wood after fruiting;

(4) late summer or autumn sucker shoots (sometimes lacking) from trunk or root;

leaf margins entire or toothed, teeth sometimes gland-tipped;

stipules lacking, or green and often persistent, or scalelike and

5 Unless otherwise stated, the illustration is of a mature leaf from near middle of

a type 2 or type 3 twig.

Quakins aspen

Pollen-producing flower

and scale

F-494031

Black cottonwood
30 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

• ,.meFx.v^'r7ffm^xm

Willows (So/ix spp.) ^-^»"^^^

soon falling (leaving stipule scars) ; catkins erect or spreading,

stalkless or stalked, appearing before, with, or after leaves;

each pollen- or seed-producing flower with 1 (or 2) peg-shaped

glands and in axil of a usually entire and hairy, often persistent flower scale ; stamens usually 2-5, sometimes 1, rarely

more than 5; seed pods (capsules) somewhat pear-shaped,

stalked or stalkless, splitting into 2 (rarely 3) parts; seeds

many, very tiny, surrounded at base by long, fine, silky, white

hairs; trees or shrubs with very bitter bark, often stump- or

root-sprouting (in favorable sites, sometime reproducing by

rooting of fallen twigs), mostly insect-pollinated, often crossbreeding (hybrids often with both pollen- and seed-producing

flowers in same catkin) willows (Salix spp.).'

" See C. R. Ball, Illustrating Plant Organs for Taxonomic Purposes. Castanea

8:67-71. 1943, and More Plant Study; Fewer Plant Names. Arn. Arb. Jour.

27:371-385. 1946.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 31

13. Leaves 4 (or 5) to 15 times as long as wide (except peachleaf willow which is sometimes only 3 times as long as wide) ;

catkins persistent; flower scales yellow, soon falling; tall

shrubs or trees; along streams, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

14. Leaves narrowly to broadly linear, tapering at both ends,

stalkless or nearly so; margins entire or with tiny, widespaced, often glandular teeth; stipules scalelike, soon

withering; catkins 1-3 together, at ends of new leafy

twigs, appearing with or after leaves; stamens 2.

gravelbar or sandbar willows.

15. Twigs spreading, dark brown to red or black, often

shiny, nearly hairless; leaves dark green on upper side,

paler green or slightly whitened (glaucescent) on under

side, nearly hairless, to 3}^ inches long (young twigs,

stipules, leaf blades, leafstalks more or less densely

gray-hairy in var. bolanderiana); seed pods hairless;

tall shrubö: (rarely small trees), in clumps, usually on

gravel bars dusky willow {Salix melanopsis).

15. Twigs ascending, yellow to brown, hairy; seed pods

hairy (at least when young) ; usually tall shrubs, often

thicket-forming sandbar willows.

16. Leaves finely (sometimes sparsely) short-gray-hairy

(young twigs and leaves often densely short-whitehairy at first and then mistaken for silverleaf willow),

2-5 inches long; margins often with tiny, dotlike,

glandular teeth; catkins to 2}^ inches long; seed pods

soon becoming hairless or nearly so.

coyote willow (Salix exigua).

16. Leaves and seed pods silvery-white, usually densely

long-soft-hairy, leaves to 3}^ inches long, with a

short, awnlike (aristate) tip; margins entire or

nearly so; catkins to less than 2 inches long.

silverleaf willow (Salix argophylla).

Coyote willow

471114 O-60-3

Dusky willow Silverleaf willow
32 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

14. Leaves broadly lance-shaped, long-tapering at tip,

stalked; margins closely toothed; stipules green, persistent; catkins single, from side buds on last season^s

twigs, leafy or leafy-bracted at base, short-stalked, appearing with the leaves; stamens 3-8; usually trees, in

valleys or along streams.

17. Wartlike glands present along edges of the stoutish

leafstalks, usually near leaf blades; leaves to 10 inches

long; twigs stoutish, yellow to reddish.

18. Leaves green on both sides, tapering from below

middle; twigs chestnut to reddish, finely hairy, as

are also the leafstalks (hairless in var. bryantiana) ;

stipules small; small trees or few-stemmed shrubs

with smooth brown bark.

whiplash willow (Salix caudatd),

18. Leaves whitened (glaucous) on under side, shiny

green on upper side, tapering from above middle;

twigs shiny, yellow to dark red-brown, nearly hairless, as are also the leafstalks (hairy in the var.

lancifolia) ; stipules conspicuous, semicircular ; mostly

trees with rough, furrowed, blackish bark.

Pacific willow (Salix lasiandra).

17. Wartlike glands lacking from leafstalks which are to

11/2 inches long; leaves to 6 inches long, whitened

(glaucous) on under side; stipules soon falling; twigs

slender, flexible, yellowish to gray, often drooping;

small to large trees, often with 2-4 leaning trunks.

peachleaf willow {Salix amygdaloides).

Leaves somewhat whitened

(slaucescent) on under

surface

Peachleaf willow

Wartlike glands

Whiplash willow

Stipules

Pacific willow
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 33

Female catkin with ripening

seed pods (capsules)

Peachleaf willow

13. Leaves 2-4 times as long as wide; catkins from side buds

on last season's twigs, naked or leafy-bracted at base,

stalkless or stalked, appearing with the leaves or before

them; flower scales persistent, brownish to black (yellowish

with reddish tips in Bebb and Geyer willows) ; stamens 2

(only 1 in Sitka willow).

19. Leaf margins entire (sometimes distantly and indistinctly scallop- or saw-toothed), often slightly rolled

under (revolute).

20. Leaves mostly broadest above middle.

21. Leaves reversely egg- or broadly lance-shaped (obovate or oblanceolate), larger leaves sometimes

oblong-elliptic, wedge-shaped at base, to 3 (or 5)

inches long and Iji inches wide; upper leaf surface

dull green with impressed veins; under leaf surface

with raised veins; twigs yellowish to brown, aging

dark brown to black, more or less hairy at least when

young; shrubs or small trees.
34 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

22. Under leaf surface whitened (glaucous) and

thinly to densely white- (or rusty-) hairy; leaves

thick, prominently net-veiny; stipules, when present, to % inch long, somewhat egg- or kidneyshaped in outline; twigs stout, widely spreading to

ascending; catkins appearing before leaves (sometimes called Christmas willow because of very

early blooming), to 3 inches long and nearly 1 inch

wide, stalkless or nearly so; seed pods (capsules)

gray-woolly-hairy, beaked; freshly crushed new

bark and leaves often with strong, unpleasant

odor; shrubs or small trees (to nearly 50 feet high

in best sites) ; often first shrubs to come in after

fire (sometimes called fire willow) ; commonest

upland willow, e. Oreg., e. Wash., from low to

high elevations; type locality along Columbia

River Scouler willow (Salix scouleriana).

22. Under leaf-surface not as above, with satiny

sheen, usually densely silky-hairy; leaves thin,

with parallel veins upcurving near margins; stipules none or small and broadly lance-shaped ; twigs

slender, long, straight, ascending; catkins appearing before or with the leaves, to 3K inches long

and )^ inch wide; seed pods (capsules) silky-hairy;

usually shrubs, to 23 feet high; valleys at lower

elevations, mountain areas of e. Oreg., e. Wash,

(commoner w. of Cascades).

Sitka willow (Salix sitchensis).

21. Leaves narrowly and reversely lance-shaped (bolanceolate) or oblong and narrowed at base; stipules

lacking or small and only on vigorous shoots; catkins

appearing before the leaves, stalkless or nearly so.

23. Under leaf-surface silvery-silky-hairy, sometimes

becoming hairless and whitened (glaucous) with

age; leaves to 3 (or 4) inches long and 1 inch wide,

pointed or tapering at tip; twigs slender, dark,

with a dense whitish ''bloom'' (pruinose) easily

rubbed or washed off (twig then becoming shiny) ;

catkins to Iji inches long, often with a few leafy

bracts at base; seed pods silky-hairy, almost stalkless; flower scales thinly long-hairy ; anthers sometimes a striking red before shedding their pollen;

shrubs to nearly 10 feet high; wet meadows or

along streams, higher elevations, e. Oreg., e.

Wash.; type locality, near head of Eagle Creek in

Powder Mts., Wallowa Co., ne. Oreg.

blue willow (Salix drummondiana var.

subcoerulea).^

7 Beautiful willow (Salix drummondiana var. hella, syn. S. bella) is similar to

blue willow, but has stouter, yellowish, finely hairy to hairless twigs with only a

faint whitish ''bloom" (slightly pruinose) soon rubbing or washing off. Its leaves

are narrower and relatively longer, with prominent yellow midrib and whitish,

matted hairs on under surface; the seed pods (capsules) are grayish-silky-hairy;

the catkins appear before the leaves; stipules are often present; shrubs to 13 feet

high, at lower elevations, along streams, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, about

6 miles east of Pullman, near Garrison, Whitman Co., Wash.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 35

Scouler willow

F-88664
36 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Bebb willow

Pollen-producing

catkin

Sltka willow ' F-494034
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 37

23. Under leaf-surface whitened (glaucous), hairy to

nearly hairless, net-veiny; leaves from 2K to 4 (or

6) inches long and ji to Iji inches wide, bluntly

pointed or rounded at tip; twigs rather stout,

yellowish, becoming dark brown, hairy to nearly

hairless; catkins to 3 inches long, not leafy-bracted

at base; seed pods (capsules) hairless, almost stalkless; flower scales blackish but densely white-hairy;

stamen stalks united near base; clustered shrubs

or small trees to nearly 40 feet high ; dry to moist

watercourses at lower elevations, e. Oreg., e.

Wash.; type locality, near Monterey, Calif.

arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis).

20. Leaves mostly not broadest above middle, variable in

shape, to 3 inches long, hairy on both surfaces, whitened (glaucous) on under surface; stipules none, or

small and on fast-growing shoots; young twigs very

leafy; catkins on short, leafy or leafy-bracted stalks;

seed pods (capsules) beaked, hairy, stalked; flower

scales yellowish with reddish tips; stamen stalks often

hairy; tall shrubs or small trees.

24. Under leaf-surface deeply net-veiny or cross-wrinkled (rugose), densely grayish-hairy to almost hairless, often somewhat whitened (glaucescent to

glaucous); twigs short, slender, spreading, brownish,

often hairy, with a slight whitish "bloom" (pruinose)

that is soon rubbed or washed off; leaves rigid, elliptic, oblong or somewhat diamond-shaped (sometimes

reversely egg-shaped in outline), pointed at both

ends or rounded at base and abruptly short-tapered

and often twisted to one side at tip, to 1 inch wide;

catkins appearing before the leaves, to 3 inches long;

seed pods (capsules) finely hairy, to % inch long,

long- and slender-stalked; bushy upland shrubs or

small trees to 16 feet high; moist sites in open woods,

often at low elevations, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

Bebb willow {Salix bebbiana).

24. Under lejif-surface not deeply net-veined or crosswrinkled as above, thinly silky-hairy, whitened

(glaucous) ; twigs slender, olive green to brown or

black, hairless, with a whitish "bloom" (pruinose)

soon rubbed or washed off; leaves thick or leathery,

narrowly elliptic-oblong to somewhat lance-shaped

(sometimes reversely lance-shaped), to % inch wide,

pointed at tip, narrowed at base, often with margins

rolled under (revolute) ; catkins appearing with the

leaves, to 1 inch long, egg- or almost globe-shaped;

seed pods (capsules) silky-hairy, to % inch long, on

short, stoutish, hairy stalks; erect, clustered shrubs

or small trees to 13 (or 20) feet high; moist meadows,

streambanks, middle to higher elevations, e. Oreg.,

e. Wash Geyer willow (Salix geyeriana).

19. Leaf margins finely (often glandular-) saw-toothed

(sometimes almost entire) ; leaves to 4 (or 6) inches long ;
38 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

stipules often present; catkins appearing with the leaves,

usually on short, leafy or leafy-bracted stalks; seed pods

and stamen stalks hairless; flower scales hairy.

25. Under leaf-surface whitened (glaucous).

26. Leaves lance-shaped, broadest near base, rounded

or heart-shaped at base, pointed or tapering at tip,

hairless or nearly so.

27. Twigs yellowish, hairless; leaves yellowish-green

on upper surface; stipules egg- or half-moonshaped in outline; clustered shrubs to nearly 20

feet high; meadows or along streams, to 7,000 feet,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, ''Rocky Mountains westward to the Oregon^' (Columbia River).

yellow willow {Salix luted).

27. Twigs reddish to dark brown, often hairy; leaves

dark green on upper surface; stipules kidney- or

half-moon-shaped in outline; catkins long; anthers

often bright red before shedding pollen; shrub or

small tree to nearly 20 feet high; moist sites, to

5,000 feet, both sides of Cascades, Oreg., Wash.

Mackenzie willow (Salix mackenziana).

26. Leaves varying from reversely egg-shaped (obovate)

to elliptic-oval or broadly oblanceolate, narrowed to

somewhat heart-shaped at base, pointed to abruptly

short-tapered at tip, dark green and thinly hairy on

upper surface, net-veiny and usually hairless on

under surface; stipules egg- to heart-shaped in outline, to K inch long; twigs stoutish, yellow, soon

becoming brown, drying black, often thinly softhairy; shrubs to 13 feet high, in boggy sites, higher

altitudes, mts. of ne. Oreg., rare in Cascades.

Barclay willow (Salix barclayi).

25. Under leaf-surface not whitened (glaucous) as above,

green; leaves net-veiny, rather broad; stipules usually

present, at least on fast-growing shoots; twigs yellowish

when young, soon becoming brown to reddish or

black; catkins appearing with the leaves, stalked,

leafy or leafy-bracted at base.

28. Leaf margins cartilaginous, finely saw-toothed,

teeth glandular; leaves thickish, paler green on

under surface, hairless or nearly so, elliptic-lanceshaped to oblong-oval, rounded or heart-shaped

at base; stipules narrowly egg-shaped in outline,

to % inch long; catkins to IK inches long; twigs

yellowish to reddish brown, shining, almost hairless;

shrubs, often in clumps, to 13 feet high; mountain

streams, e. side of Cascades, in ne. Oreg., e. Wash.

firmleaf willow (Salix pseudocordata).

28. Leaf margins not cartilaginous and leaves not

thickish as above; leaves nearly equally green on

both sides, pointed or abruptly tapered at tip;

shrubs to nearly 10 feet high.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 39

Yellow willow Mackenzie willow
40 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

29. Leaves grayish-cobwebby-hairy on both surfaces,

dull opaque green, oblong to oval or reversely

egg-shaped (obovate) to reversely lance-shaped

(oblanceolate), narrowed to rounded at base;

stipules heart- to egg-shaped in outline; catkins

to 2 inches long; stamen stalks not united; twigs

stoutish, drying black, almost hairless; mountain

bogs, middle to higher elevations. Cascades,

Wallowa Mts., ne. Oreg. ; type locality, Wallowa

Mts.

undergreen willow (Salix commutata).

29. Leaves nearly hairless, dark almost transparent

green, broadly lance- to egg-shaped, rounded to

heart-shaped at base; stipules half-moon- or

broadly egg-shaped in outline; catkins to 2K

inches long, lax; stamen stalks united near base;

flower scales dark brown, hairy, persistent; twigs

yellow to brown, shiny, hairless; along streams,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, Hatwai Creek

valley. Nez Perce Co., Idaho.

greensides willow {Salix monochroma).

Firmleaf willow

Grayish cobwebby-hairy

on both sides

Undergreen willow

F-494036

Greensides willow
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • SPRING AND

SUMMER

Leaves Alternate and Simple

Plants Unarmed • Without Catkins

[Flowers not in scaly bracted, elongated clusters (catkins or aments)]

1. Plants with sagebrush odor and taste; leaves, flower-head bracts

shed in fall, silver-gray-hairy, deeply 3-parted at tips (some entire,

linear) ; bracts longer than flower heads; flower-head clusters usually spikelike; low, spreading, shrubs to 2 feet high, not layering or

root-sprouting; scablands, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, plains

of Snake River stiff sagebrush (Artemisia rigida).^

' See Evergreen Key for big sagebrush, low sagebrush, silver sagebrush, and

threetip sagebrush; see Plants Armed Key for bud sagebrush.

Stiff sagebrush

41
42 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

1. Plants without sagebrush odor and taste.

2. Leaves palmately 3- to 7-lobed. [Alternate 2, p. 48]

3. Bark shreddy or peeling in long strips or layers; stipules (or

their scars) at leafstalk bases; flowers, fruits stalked, in stalked,

umbrellalike end clusters (corymbs).

4. Leaves bluntly 3- to 5-lobed, slightly heart-shaped or

rounded at base, to 3 inches wide, often red by late July;

leaf margins doubly scallop-toothed; leafstalks to 1 inch

long; stipules soon falling; hairs star-shaped; seed pods

(follicles) 2 to each flower, persistent; bark peeling in many

layers, grayish brown; rootstocks long, spreading, yellow

inside; burned or cutover areas, rocky dry hillsides, washes,

open woods, or roadsides; common, Wallowa, Blue Mts.,

ne. Oreg., se. Wash.

mallow ninebark (Physocarpus malvaceus).

4. Leaves sharply 5- to 7-lobed, deeply heart-shaped at base,

to 8 inches wide, yellow or brown in fall; leaf margins doubly

saw-toothed ; leafstalks often as long as leaf blades; stipules

attached to leafstalk bases, persistent; hairs simple, glandtipped; thimbleberries soon falling; bark shreddy, brown;

several-stemmed shrub; root crown erect, woody, elongated;

moist, shady woods, common in e. Oreg., e. Wash.

western thimbleberry (Rubus parviñorus).

3. Bark not shreddy or peeling in long strips or layers as above;

stipules lacking; flowers, fruits jointed to bracted stalks

pedicels), in stalked end clusters (racemes) ; berries falling free

from stalks when ripe currants {Ribes spp.).

5. Leaves shiny pale green, firm, almost fleshy and translucent,

deeply 3- (rarely 5-) lobed, square-cut or wedge- or heartshaped at base, unrolling lengthwise from bud; leaf margins

entire or with a few large, rounded teeth; flowers clear

yellow, tubular, shallowly lobed; currants yellow, red, or

black; erect shrubs, to 8 feet high; common along streams

or moist hillsides, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, banks of

Columbia River golden currant (Ribes aureum).

5. Leaves not as above, unfolding from bud in accordionlike

pleats.

6. Under leaf-surface dotted with tiny yellow resin drops;

leaves maplelike, thin, with distinctive, unpleasant odor

when crushed; leaf margins sharply, irregularly toothed;

leafstalks often longer than leaf blades; flower clusters

erect, slender; currants black, resin-dotted.

7. Leaves to 10 inches wide, 5- to 7-lobed; leafstalks usually with long bristly hairs near bases; flower clusters

to 8 inches long; flower-stalk bracts often leaflike, longer

than flower stalks; currants with whitish ''bloom^';

shrubs to 12 feet high; common w., occasional e. slopes

of Cascades, Oreg., Wash.; type locality, near mouth of

Columbia River stink currant (Ribes bracteosum).

7. Leaves to 5V^ inches wide, 3- to 5-lobed; leafstalks

usually without bristly hairs near base; flower clusters

to 6 inches long; flower-stalk bracts not leaflike, shorter

than flower stalks; currants without whitish ^'bloom^^;
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 43

Western thimbleberry
44 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Yellow resin dots <

leaf-surface

Western black currant Stink currant
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 45

shrubs to 6 feet high; mountain streams, e. Oreg., e.

Wash.; type locaUty, w. base, Rocky Mts.

western black currant (Ribes petiolare).

Under leaf-surface without yellow resin droplets; leaves

kidney-shaped or round in outline, thickish, with pleasant

odor when crushed; leaf margins rather bluntly toothed;

leafstalks often shorter than leaf blades; flower clusters

drooping to ascending, rather broad; currants red or

black, not resin-dotted.

Stink currant
46 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Western black currant
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 47

Leaves shiny and gummy or whitish-waxy on upper

surface, in % arrangement on twig, often indistinctly

lobed, with musky or rather heavily fragrant odor when

crushed; leaf margins doubly scallop-toothed; flowers

tubular, greenish-white to pinkish, very short-stalked,

few (1-9) in each drooping cluster; flower-stalk bracts

green, usually lobed or toothed, longer than flower

stalks; currants bright red (sometimes orange); bark

smooth, light grayish; much-branched shrubs, to 6 feet

high; common in dry woods or on rocky hillsides,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, upper Columbia River

in Wash wax currant {Ribes cereuni) •

Wax currant

471114 O-60-4
48 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

8. Leaves not as above, in % arrangement on twig,

distinctly 3- (sometimes 5-) lobed, with pleasantly

pungent odor when crushed; leaf margins irregularly

toothed; flowers funnel- or bell-shaped, often more

than 10 to a cluster; currants black, usually with glandtipped hairs; bark somewhat shreddy; usually in moist

sites.

9. Leaves densely white- or grayish-woolly-hairy on

under surface, aromatic; leaf margins finely toothed;

flowers 10-30, showy, deep pink to red, funnelshaped; flower-stalk bracts red; currants blue-black,

with whitish ^^bloom^^ ; bark brownish ; branches erect;

stout shrubs 3-12 feet high; common in moist, rich

soils w. of Cascades, occasional on lower e. slopes,

Oreg., Wash.; type locality, along Columbia River.

blood currant (Ribes sanguineum).

9. Leaves with tack-shaped glands on both surfaces,

rough to the touch, hairy, with citronella odor;

margins irregularly scallop-toothed; flowers 3-12,

whitish to pink, bell-shaped; flower-stalk bracts

greenish; currants black, without whitish '^bloom'^*

bark reddish; branches many; stiff, bushy shrub to

5 feet high; scattered, often locally abundant, in open,

rather dry to moist woods, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type

locality. Rocky Mts.

sticky currant (Ribes viscosissimum).

2. Leaves not palmately lobed. [Alternate 2, p. 42.]

10. Leaves (at least some) 3-veined from near base, broad,

elliptic to egg- (or reversely egg-) shaped, oblong, oval, or

nearly circular.

11. Pith solid; older twigs dotted with reddish, resinlike blisters;

shrubs with many tiny flowers or 3-lobed seed pods (capsules) in stalked, branched clusters (panicles).

ceanothus (Ceanothus spp.) ^

12. Leaf margins entire; leaves softly hairy, larger and niore

distinctly 3-veined in moist sites; leafstalks to % inch

long; flowers blue or white, rarely pink, in usually leafless, elongated end clusters on new shoots; loosely

branched shrubs 3-12 feet high, stump-sprouting after

cutting; branches green or yellowish, hairy, slightly

drooping; rare e. of Cascades; along roads near Columbia

River, Klickitat Co., Wash., Hood River Co., Oreg.

deerbrush ceanothus (Ceanothus integerrimus).

12. Leaf margins toothed; teeth gland-tipped; leaves nearly

hairless; leafstalks to 1 inch long; flowers white, in leafjess clusters on old wood; branches red or purplish,

flexible; erect shrubs to 10 feet high; thickets, open woods

or on burns, sunny slopes, or along streams; e. lower

slopes of Cascades, Wallowa and Blue Mts., Oreg., Wash.

redstem ceanothus (Ceanothus sanguineus).

^ See Evergreen Key for snowbrush ceanothus. See pp. 58-60 for the spireas,

some of which have at least part of their leaves faintly 3-nerved near base.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 49

Sticky currant Blood currant
:. ;._• ^,-,l>'.ä?r5"-?!>.i. Ü1O

>

o

M

O

O

d

Ö

g

1^

o

>

o

w

o

ci

w

Deerbrush ceanothus r-175913, 168271
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 51

11. Pith chambered; twigs without reddish, resinlike blisters;

leaf margins entire or partly toothed; leaves one-sided at

base, strongly net-veined on under surface, rough to the

toucli on upper surface, in V2 arrangement on twig; leafstalks about ji inch long; flowers single, stalked, in leaf

axils ; fruits berrylike (drupes), reddish to yellowish brown ;

small trees, often with witches brooms on the twigs and

insect galls on the leaves; bottom lands or canyons, e.

Oreg., e. Wash__„netleaf hackberry (Celtis reticulata).^^

^^ Syns. Celtis douglasii, C. laevigata var. reticulata, C. occidentalis var. reticulata.

Netleaf hackberry is a very variable species, with intergrading forms. Typical

C. reticulata is more or less xerophytic with thick, conspicuously net-veined leaves.

Typical C. douglasii has oblong-ovate, rough, taper-tipped, sharply saw-toothed

leaves and longer-stalked, purplish (rather than orange) fruits. Type locality of

C. douglasii is ". . . arid interior region, along the Columbia River."

Redstem ceanothus
52 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

.-;jgjgj|

Redstem ceanothus ""'"•""'

10. Leaves not 3-veined from near base, with but one main

midrib.

13. Stems twining or climbing, woody only near base; leaves

entire or deeply lobed near base, with rank odor when

crushed; berries red, clustered; poisonous introduced vine;

occasional in moist sites or near streams, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

bitter nightshade (Solanas dulcamara).

13. Stems not twining or climbing.

14. Leaves broad, mostlj- less than 4 times as long as wide.

[Alternate 14, p. 74.]

15. Leafstalk and/or leaf-blade base with 1-4 pinheadsized glands.

bitter cherry, chokecherries, Klamath plum

16. Glands on leaf-blade base; leaf-margin teeth rounded

(crenulate); gland tips lying between teeth (appressed) or spreading to give finely saw-toothed
KET TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 53

Bitter cherry

(serrulate) effect; leaves often oblong, variable in

shape and hairiness, blunt to pointed or slightly

notched (emarginate) at tip, wedge-shaped at base,

to 3 inches long; flowers dull white, appearing with

leaves, in branched, umbrellalike clusters (corymbose

racemes) in leaf axils; cherries very bitter, bright

red (drying dark) ; crushed twigs with peach-pit odor

and bitter taste; outer bark easily separated from

inner bark; moist to dry hillsides near streams, e.

Oreg., e. Wash., also w. of Cascades; type locality,

upper part of Columbia River, near Kettle Falls.

bitter cherry (Prunus emarginatd).
54 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

16. Glands on leafstalk (sometimes also on leaf-blade

base); leaf margins finely (sometimes doubly and

unevenly) saw-toothed.

17. Leaves circular or broadly egg-shaped, often

somewhat heart-shaped (subcordate) at base and

abruptly sharp-pointed at tip, 1-2 inches long;

leaf margins sharply, doubly saw-toothed; true

end buds lacking, twig tips dying back to topmost

side bud, sometimes becoming sharp-pointed

(spinescent) ; flowers white, fading rose, in clusters

of 2 to 4, appearing before or with the leaves;

plums red ; straggly, crooked-branching shrubs or

small trees; dry thickets, sw. Oreg., e. to Lake Co. ;

not reported from Wash.

Klamath plum {Prunus subcordata).

17. Leaves broadly elliptic to reversely egg-shaped,

sharp- to taper^pointed at tip, rounded or broadly

wedge- to heart-shaped at base, to 5 inches long;

margins finely saw-toothed ; true end buds present;

fresh-crushed leaves, twigs with strong peach-pit

odor and taste; foliage fatally poisonous to livestock under certain conditions; flowers stalked,

many, in elongate, erect or drooping end clusters

(racemes) on new leafy shoots; ripe fruits shiny,

bright red or black, sweet but with astringent

after-taste, falling free or with their stalks

(pedicels) attached; fruit-stalk scars in axils of

flower-stalk bract scars, or lowest sometimes in

leaf (or leaf-scar) axils; varieties hard to tell

apart except when in ripe fruit (late summer and

early fall).

common chokecherry (Prunus virginiana).

18. Ripe fruits bright red (drying dark purplish)

only slightly astringent, often persistent (as are

also abortive fruits) ; fruit-stalk scars often

elongate, with torn edges; leaves usually hairy,

averaging larger, thinner than those of black

common chokecherry; leaf-margin teeth

straight, evenly appressed, containing very

little green leaf substance (being naostly pale

cartilaginous margin), their gland tips mostly

persistent until leaves fall.

western common chokecherry

{Prunus virginiana var. demissa).

18. Ripe fruits black, astringent, often falling with

stalks attached; abortive fruits rarely present;

fruit-stalk scars mostly circular, callus-covered ;

leaves usually hairless, averaging smaller and

thicker than those of western common chokecherry; leaf-margin teeth incurved, unevenly

appressed, containing more leaf substance and

less cartilaginous niargin, their gland tips tiny,

soon falling or lacking.

black common chokecherry {Prunus

virginiana var. melanocarpa).
KEY TO IMPORTANT "WOODY PLANTS

,, * '"'

55

True end bud f

Klamath plum

X^?^ ^^^1 ^^^^^H

^11

S

Western common chokecherry

(under leoí-suríace)

Black common chokecherry

(upper leaf-surface)
56 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

15. Leafstalk and leaf-blade base without pinhead-sized

glands.

19. Leaves pinnately lobed (each lobe with 2-6 abruptly

short-pointed teeth), broadly egg-shaped, square-cut

at base, to 4 inches long and 3 inches wide, green

above, paler and often densely gray- or whitish-hairy

beneath; flowers tiny, creamy white, in showy,

much-branched end clusters (panicles) ; '^seeds''

(achenes) tiny, 5 to each flower, beaked, long-softhairy, winter-persistent, in clusters distinctive even

at a distance; erect shrubs to 20 feet high; open

woods, cutover lands, canyon bottoms, e. Oreg.,

e. Wash., also w. of Cascades; type locality, banks

of Clearwater River, Idaho.

creambush rockspirea, or oceanspray

{Holodiscus discolor).

19. Leaves not pinnately lobed as above.

20. Leaf margins distinctly (sometimes coarsely

and/or doubly) toothed, at least on upper part.

[Alternate 20, p. 64]

21. Mistlike gland droplets on leaves and twigs;

leaves to 1 inch long, broadly rounded and

toothed at tip, wedge-shaped and entire at

base, hairy to nearly hairless; twigs often

sharp-tipped; bark dark red, aging gray, flaking

off; flowers, fruits like those of creambush

rockspirea but in smaller, narrower clusters;

low, spreading shrubs of dry mountain sites,

e. Oreg., not reported from Wash.; type

locality, Steens Mts., s. Oreg.

glandular littleleaf rockspirea

{Holodiscus microphyllus var. glabrescens).

21. Mistlike gland droplets lacking on leaves and

twigs.

22. True end buds, stipules and stipule scars

lacking; twig tips dying back to topmost side

buds; leaf scars with single bundle trace;

Creambush rockspirea Glandular littleleaf rockspirea
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 57

Creambush rockspirea
58 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

flowers and seed pods tiny, many, in showy,

flattish-topped or elongate end clusters distinctive even at a distance.

spireaSy also called hardback,

meadow-sweet, steeplebush (Äpfraeaspp.).

23. Leaves hairless or nearly so, paler green or

with whitish '^bloom^' on under surface,

lowest pair of side veins attached so near

base of midrib that leaf appears 3-veined.

24. Flowers white, in flattish-topped end

clusters; leaves shiny on upper surface,

oval to reversely egg-shaped, to 3 inches

long; stems erect, to 3 feet high, from

trailing, shallow, woody rootstocks, often

dying down to near base in winter; bark

shiny, tan to brown; dry hillsides, open

woods; commonest spirea of middle

altitudes, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

shinyleaf spirea {Spiraea lucida).^^

24. Flowers pink to rose.

25. Flower and seed-pod clusters flattishtopped; leaves oval to elliptic, to 2

inches long; stems much-branched, to

3 feet high; bark dark red-brown;

bushy shrubs growing separately or in

patches, on rocky ridges or with lodgepole or western white pine at higher

altitudes; Cascades, Blue and Wallowa

Mts., e. Oreg subalpine spirea

(Spiraea densiñora).

25. Flower, seed-pod clusters spikelike to

pyramidal; leaves elliptic, rounded or

wedge-shaped at base, to 4 inches long,

thin, often a little hairy; in patches,

moist stream sites, both sides of

Cascades, Blue Mts., e. Oreg., se.

Wash.; type locality, northwest coast.

Meozies spirea (Spiraea menziesii).

23. Leaves finely white-woolly-hairy on under

surface, leathery, to 4 inches long, elliptic

to oblong or oval, rounded or pointed at

ends; flowers rose-colored, in pyramidal

clusters; stems, branches erect, to 8 feet

tall; twigsfinely white-woolly-hairy,striped,

reddish brown ; often thicket-forming,

spreading by suckers; wet sites, mostly w.

of Cascades, Oreg., Wash.; type locality,

nw. coast near Columbia River.

Douglas spirea (Spiraea douglasii).

11 White- and rose-flowered spireas sometimes crossbreed naturally, the resulting

hybrids with variously mixed and intergra^ing characters; such hybrids are

reported from Yakima River near Cle Elum, and from Falcon Valley, Wash.

The rose-colored spireas also crossbreed naturally, with many intermediate forms

reportedly growing near the Cascades of the Columbia River, and also along the

Hood River in Oregon.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 59

White-woolly-hairy under

leaf-surface

Douglas spirea Menzies spirea
60 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

22. True end buds and stipules present; leaf scars

with 3 bundle traces; leaf veins parallel or

nearly so (sometimes upcurving or branching

a little near margins); flowers with showy,

usually white petals to 1 inch long, often

fragrant, 3-15, in stalked, often erect, end

clusters (racemes) on new leafy twigs;

^'berries^^ (pomes) tipped by persistent flower

parts (bent-back calyx lobes and 2-5 separate

or partly united styles) ; low to tall shrubs

or small trees; moist sites, open woods or

springy hillsides.

serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.).^^

26. Mature leaves hairless or nearly so; new

twigs reddish brown.

27. Twigs, leaves hairless even when young;

new twigs pliable, slender, wandlike,

shiny; leaves pale green on both sides,

mostly oval, to 2 inches long, rounded

or abruptly pointed at tip; veins 7-10

pairs, upcurving, branching near the

sharply saw-toothed margins; teeth 3-15

on each side; flowers large (petals to

1 inch long), stalked, 3-8 in each cluster,

blooming 10-15 days earlier than Saskatoon serviceberry with which it often

grows; ''berries'' scarlet, ripening black,

often hairless in depression around base

of the 4 or 5 styles, with lance-shaped

calyx lobes to nearly % inch long;

slender shrubs to 10 feet high; e. slopes

of Cascades, Wallowa and Blue Mts.,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locaHty, stony

hillsides, Union Co., ne. Oreg.

Cusick serviceberry

{Amelanchier cusickii).

27. Twigs, leaves hairy when young, soon

hairless; leaves pale or with whitish

"bloom" on under side; veins 8-12 (or

13) pairs, often running out to teeth;

flowers 5-15 in each cluster; petals to %

inch long; ''berries" purplish black,

tipped by triangular-lance-shaped calyx

lobes to Vs inch long.

28. New twigs silky-hairy; leaves dark

green on upper side, firm to leathery,

mostly quadrangular or round in outline, rarely wedge-shaped at base,

usually ji grown at flowering time;

teeth incurved, 2-20 on each side

12 Serviceberry species are variable and often hard to tell apart. The present

treatment is based on that of Dr. George Neville Jones, American Species of

Amelanchier. 111. Biol. Monog. 202 (2): 126-206, illus. 1939.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 61

Cusick serviceberry

styles, ± united near

base inside depression

Stamen-stalk fringe inside

the 5 bent-back calyx

lobes

Serviceberry fruit (berrylike pome) Cusick serviceberry leaves
62 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

flowers small (petals less than ji inch

long) blooming 10-15 days later than

Cusick serviceberry with which it often

grows; ''berries^^ often reversely pearshaped, woolly-hairy at style bases;

tall shrubs or small trees, sometimes

low and twiggy from browse injury or

exposed site conditions; e. slopes of

Cascades, Wallowa and Blue Mts.,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.

Saskatoon serviceberry

(Amelanchier alnifolia).

28. New twigs and leaves woolly-hairy;

leaves bright green on upper side, thin,

often fully grown at flowering time,

rounded, somewhat square-cut or

slightly pointed at tip; teeth spreading, triangular, 5-20 on each side;

veins slightly upcurving; flower petals

to % inch long; ''berries^' woolly-hairy

at base of the 5 styles (united to

middle or above) ; tall shrubs or small

trees; mostly w. of Cascades, occasional in Columbia Gorge area e. of

Cascades, Oreg., Wash.

Pacific serviceberry

{Amelanchier ñoridá).

26. Mature leaves finely woolly-hairy or grayish with soft curly hairs, somewhat leathery,

to iy2 inches long, varying from roundish

to egg- (or reversely egg-) shaped, squarecut, shallowly notched, rounded or with

short spiny-pointed tip, and rounded,

square-cut or wedge-shaped at base; veins

11-13 pairs; teeth 3-10 on each side,

spreading or scalloped; flowers 3-6 in a

cluster, with petals to % inch long, sometimes reddish in bud; ''berries'' bluishblack (sometimes brownish, dry, leathery),

finely woolly-hairy in depression at base

of the 2-4 (or 5) styles; calyx lobes sometimes erect, linear-lance-shaped, finely

woolly-hairy on both sides; shrubs usually

bushy, much-branched, with rigid, ashygray twigs; Lake to Malheur Cos., se.

Oreg., not reported from Wash.

Utah serviceberry

{Amelanchier utahensis).

Utah serviceberry leaves
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 63

Saskatoon serviceberry

leaves

Saskatoon serviceberry

471114 O-60-*)
64 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

20. Leaf margins entire or very finely toothed.

[Alternate 20, p. 56.]

29. Side veins distinct, nearly parallel (upcurving

near margins); teeth gland-tipped; true end

buds lacking, stem tips dying back to topmost

side buds; ripe ^^berries^' (drupes) black,

cathartic-emetic, stalked, borne singly or in

umbrella-shaped clusters in leaf axils; ''seeds^^

(nutlets) usually 3.

buckthorns (Rhamnus spp.).

30. Leaf margins almost entire (wavy or distantly

fine-toothed) ; leaves clustered near twig tips,

elliptic to oblong or reversely egg-shaped, to

6 (or 8) inches long, 3 inches wide ; side veins

9-16 pairs; buds naked (without bud scales),

resembling tiny, brown-hairy, clustered

leaves; ^^berries'^ purplish-black, in stalked

clusters; ''seeds" smooth, on outer side; bark

(the cascara sagrada of the drug trade)

smooth, gray, stripped for medicinal use;

tall shrubs or small trees, stump-sprouting

after cutting; moist sites, mostly w. of

Cascades but also in e. Oreg., e. Wash, at

lower elevations (3,000 feet); type locality

along Clearwater River near Kamiah, Nez

Perce Co., Idaho.

cascara buckthorn {Rhamnus purshiana)^

30. Leaf margins with rounded teeth; gland tips

appressed, apparently lying between teeth;

leaves scattered along twigs, elliptic to oval,

often taper-pointed at tip, to 4 inches long

and nearly 2 inches wide; side veins 6-10

pairs; buds with several overlapping bud

scales; ''berries" black, single or 2- to 3-

clustered in leaf axils; "seeds'^ notched at

tip, ridged down from top on outer sides;

spreading shrubs to 6 (or 10) feet high; wet

sites at higher elevations (to 7,000 feet or

more), e. Oreg., e. Wash.

alder buckthorn (Rhamnus alnifolia).

29. Side veins indistinct, not parallel, leaves sometimes net-veiny; leaf margin veins (or teeth; if

present) ending in gland-tipped hairs; leaf scars

with only 1 bundle trace.

31. Bud scales several, overlapping; flower-andleafy-shoot buds separate, opening about

same time, on last year's twigs.

32. End buds present; leaves clustered near

twig tips, to more than 1 inch long; seed

pods (capsules) splitting down along partitions into 4 or 5 parts, cupped in calyx

lobes; erect shrubs usually 2-6 feet high,

poisonous, cause sheep losses; moist sites,
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODT PLANTS 65

Buds naked (w¡;

scales)

Alder bucktKorn \

Rusty menziesia
66 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Westcrnbog blueberry Cascades azalea
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 67

higher elevations, Cascades, Wallowa and

Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

rusty menziesia» Cascades azalea.

33. Flowers from end buds, in umbrellashaped clusters, greenish red or purple,

urn-shaped; leafy shoots from top side

buds, appearing whorled; leaves dull

bluish green; midrib tips nipple-shaped,

whitish, cartilaginous, protruding; herbage sticky, with rank odor; hairs whitish

often chaffy), appressed, gland-tipped,

on twigs, upper leaf-surfaces, under side

of midribs, on leaf- and flower stalks,

and fringing calyx lobes; tiny rusty

scales sometimes on young parts; bark

brownish, soon shredding; seed pods

4-parted.

rusty menziesia (Menziesia

ferruginea) ; probably not

specifically distinct from smooth

menziesia (M. glabella).

33. Flowers from side buds, single or 2- to

3-clustered, creamy white, open bellshaped; leafy shoots from end buds;

leaves shiny, bright green; midrib tip

not protruding; herbage not sticky, often

fragrant; hairs reddish, appressed, not

gland-tipped, on twigs, upper leaf-surfaces, under sides of midribs, leaf- and

flower stalks and calyx lobes; bark

usually smooth, gray-brown; seed pods

(capsules) 5-parted.

Cascades azalea, or false-azalea

(Rhododendron albiñorum).

32. End buds lacking (stem tip dying back to

tiny stub at base of bud in axil of top leaf) ;

leaves scattered along twigs, % inch long,

pale green, reversely lance- or egg-shaped,

wedge-shaped at base, nearly erect ; leaf

margin slightly rolled under; flowers 1, 2,

or 3, from buds near tip of last year's twigs;

twigs round in cross section, rigid, ascending; berries blue, tipped by 4 (or 5) calyx

lobes; whitish ^^bloom^' often on under

leaf-surfaces, twigs, berries; shrubs to 3

feet high, bogs or marshes, higher elevations, Cascades, Wallowa and Blue Mts.,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.

westernbog blueberry

( Vaccinium occidentale).

31. Bud scales only 2, meeting at edges, not

overlapping; true end buds lacking, stem tips

dying back to tiny stub at base of topmost

side bud in leaf (or leaf-scar) axil; flower and
68 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

leaf buds not separate; flowers single, from

axil of first (or also of second) leaf (or leaflike

bract) on new shoots, white or pink, urn- or

globe-shaped; berries red, blue or black,

tipped by calyx lobes.

whortleberries, bilberries,'^ blueberries,

and/or "huckleberries" (Vaccinium spp.).

Grouse whortleberry

'ä Dr. W. H. Camp who has made many special studies of blueberries and their

relatives, uses "bilberries" as the common name for this group of species. See

A Survey of the American Species of Vaccinium, Subgenus Euvaccinium. Brittonia

4: 205-247. 1942.

The name "huckleberry" is often misapplied to species of Vaccinium; it should

be restricted to Oaylussacia.

The use by the Forest Service and the U. S. Department of Agriculture of

"whortleberry" for red- and black-fruited Vaccinium spp. stems from usage by

the late Dr. Frederick V. Coville in Standardized Plant Names and Department

publications. Dr. Coville long was the foremost American student of this genus

and the pioneer in introducing these plants in horticultural improvement and

cultivation for their fruits. "Whortleberry" is the common Old World English

name for the black-fruited V. myrtillis, to which our V. membranaceum and V.

ovalifolium are botanically closely related.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 69

34. Twigs grooved and/or angled).

35. Shrubs low (to 15 inches high), muchbranched, broomy; leaves to K inch long,

oval or egg-shaped often pointed at both

ends; margins finely saw-toothed; twigs

very slender, bright green, deeply

grooved, sharply angled, hairless; berries

red; often in carpetlike patches under

lodgepole pine; Cascades, Wallowa and

Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

grouse whortleberry {Vaccinium

scoparium)

35. Shrubs tall (usually 2-6 feet high).

36. Leaf margins entire or faintly toothed

near base; leaves to 2 inches long,

elliptic or almost round in outline,

rarely oval, hairless, glandless, dull

green on upper surface, often with

whitish ^'bloom'' on under surface;

flowers pink, blooming before leaves

unfold; berries blue, with whitish

''bloom'', large, tart, used in jellies;

twigs spreading, rather deeply grooved

at first, greenish on angles, reddish in

grooves, soon almost round ; straggling

shrubs to 12 feet high in good sites,

sometimes low and broomy after

browse injury due to repeated sproutOvalleaf whortleberry
70 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ing from dormant basal buds; common

e. slopes of Cascades, Wash., n. Oreg.,

but scattered or rare in s. Oreg.

ovalleaf whortleberry

(Vaccinium ovalifolium).

36. Leaf margins finely, sharply sawtoothed; teeth ending in gland-tipped

hairs; leaves to 3 inches long, eggshaped, with tapering or pointed tips,

bright shiny green above, paler underneath, often with whitish, slightly

curved hairs and some glands on both

surfaces as well as on twigs; flowers

pinkish, blooming with or after unfolding of leaves; twigs shallowly grooved,

slightly angled, often bright red in

sunny spots; berries wine-colored to

purplish black, favorites for ''huckleberry'' pie; Cascades, Wallowa and

Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

big whortleberry

(Vaccinium membranaceum).^^

34. Twigs round or faintly angled; leaves

broader above middle; wedge-shaped at

base, net-veined, to IK inches long; flowers

white or pinkish; calyx scarcely lobed;

berries on recurved stalks, deep blue with

whitish ''bloom'', sweet; much-branched or

tufted shrubs usually less than 1 foot high,

often growing in patches and connected by

underground stems.

blueberries (Vaccinium spp.).

37. Leaves thick, pale dull green above, with

whitish "bloom" underneath, usually

rather broad and rounded at tip, hairless

and glandless; margins finely, often distantly toothed at least above the middle ;

twigs rather coarse, usually with a

whitish "bloom"; flowers globe-shaped;

berries eaten raw and prized for pies;

much-branched shrubs of subalpine or

alpine meadows, common from 4500-

6500 feet. Cascades of Wash, and n.

Oreg., less common s. of the Three

Sisters; type locality Mt. Rainier.

delicious blueberry

(Vaccinium deliciosum).

.14 In the Blue Mts. area of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington,

big whortleberry shrubs tend to be less coarse and not so tall as those of the

Cascades; also, their leaves are paler on the under surface, relatively broader,

shorter, more rounded at tip, and they have smaller marginal teeth. Their

flowers tend toward globe-shaped, their berries are more flat-topped, average

smaller in size and are less juicy. These big whortleberries of the Blue Mt. area

are referred to the Vaccinium globulare complex by some botanists. See W. H.

Camp, A Survey of the American Species of Vaccinium, Suhgenus Euvaccimum.

Brittonia 4: 205-247. 1942.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 71

F-494053 F-304231

Bis whortleberry
72 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Globeflower whortleberry
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 73

37. Leaves thin, bright green and often

glossy on upper surface, paler green

underneath, usually rather narrow,

pointed or rounded at tip; often hairy

and glandular on both surfaces; margins

finely but sharply saw-toothed; twigs

slender, shiny brown or hoary with tiny,

whitish, curved hairs, rarely with whitish

waxy ^'bloom''; flowers ellipsoid; low

tufted shrub of higher altitudes, often

on old lodgepole pine burns. Cascades,

Wallowa and Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e.

Wash.

dwarf blueberry

( Vaccinium cespitosum). ^^

Enlarsed flower

Dwari blueberry

1^ At lower altitudes in mountain areas in both eastern Oregon and eastern

Washington, there are erect, taller, and coarser shrubs with redder twigs and

larger leaves than those of dwarf blueberry; these are referred by some botanists

to taller dwarf blueberry {Vaccinium cespitosum var. arbúsculo) ; other botanists

regard these coarse shrubs as possibly polyploid and as a separate species (Vaccinium arhuscula).
74 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

14. Leaves narrow, mostly more than 4 times longer than

wide, threadlike to linear or narrowly elliptic to lance-

(or reversely lance-) shaped ; leaf margins entire or nearly

so ; half-shrubs or low to tall shrubs of dry or sometimes

alkaline sites. [Alternate 14, p. 52.]

38. Twigs (at least some) spurlike, to 1 inch long, pitted

by leaf scars, tipped by clustered leaves (often also

by 1 to 3 or 4, stalked, white to pinkish flowers

appearing with the leaves); leaves nearly stalkless,

to 2 inches long, narrowly and reversely lance-shaped,

softly and finely whitish-hairy (at least when young),

borne singly on fast-growing shoots; leaf margins

entire or finely and rather distantly toothed (each

tooth at first gland-tipped); '^berries'' (pomes) tipped

by 5 calyx lobes, yellowish to reddish brown, often

drying persistent on drooping stalks; rigidly muchbranched shrubs with smooth gray bark, to 6 feet

high; often with western juniper or ponderosa pine,

e. Oreg.; not reported from Wash.; type locality,

'', . . dry hillsides near the Blue Mtns. of the Oregon''. . . sqiiSLyí2ípple{Peraphyllumramo8ÍS8Ímum).

38. Twigs not spurlike as above; flower heads with

distinctive cups (involucres), arranged in elongated or

roundish- to flattish-topped, often branched end

clusters; fruits (achenes) seedlike.

eriogonums, horsebrushes, rabbitbrush

goldenweed, rabbitbrushes.

39. Leaves densely woolly-hairy on under surface,

much less hairy to nearly hairless on upper surface,

often whorled or clustered at branch tips or joints

(nodes) ; roots and stem bases woody and with dark

brown, shreddy bark; stem bases often clustered

(caespitose) and much-branched; each flower jointed

to its stalk, several to many clustered in a lobed or

toothed cup (involucre) to form a flower head;

flower heads mostly stalked, in branched clusters at

tips of annual flowering twigs; ''seeds'' (achenes)

elongate, 3-angled.

eriogonums (^riogronum spp.).

Squawapple
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 75

40. Leaflike bracts in a whorl near middle of flowering

stems; '^seeds'^ hairy near tips.

41. Stem bases loosely tufted to nearly prostrate;

flower stems to 16 inches high; leaves to 2

inches long, linear to reversely lance-shaped,

yellowish-hairy on under side, clustered at

branch tips; leaflike bracts whorled at tips of

flowering stems and also at branching of rays

when flower-head clusters are compound ; flowers

dull yellow to whitish, drying reddish, hairless

or nearly so, each narrowed to stalklike base

(flower stalks thus appearing jointed near

middle); flower-head cup top-shaped, hairy,

with 5-8 spreading or bent-back lobes; halfshrubs of dry, often rocky sites, e. Oreg., e.

Wash.

Wyeth eriogonum (Eriogonum heracleoides).

41. Stem bases closely clustered, much-branched

from a stout woody root; flower stems to 6

inches high; leaves to K inch long, linear,

almost leathery, clustered at branch tips;

leaf edges tightly rolled under; flowers densely

white-wooUy-hairy on outside, each narrowed

to very short, stalklike base, cream-, aging

rose-colored, in dense, ball-shaped clusters

(each cluster in hairy, top-shaped cup with

erect or slightly spreading lobes) ; rocky sites,

ne. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, along

Spokane River, Wash.

thyme eriogonum (Eriogonum thgmoides).

40. Leaflike bractslacking; bush-branching, scatteredleafy shrubs to 1 foot high; leaves to 1 inch long,

reversely lance-shaped to almost linear, shortstalked; leaf edges often rolled under; flowers

hairless outside, white, yellow, or rose-tinted, not

narrowed to stalkHke bases; flower-head cups

hairy to almost hairless, single on each ray of the

3- to 6-times branched, flattish- to roundishtopped flower-head clusters (compound corymbose

cymes); dry, rocky hillsides, e. Oreg., e. Wash.;

type locality, ^^ . . on the sides of hills, in

Oregon, east of Walla-Walla.'^

slenderbush eriogonum

(Eriogonum microthecus).

39. Leaves equally hairy (or hairless) on both sides;

flower heads with bracted cups (involucres) ; flowers

yellow; ''seeds^^ (achenes) usually hairy, crowned by

long, whitish to yellowish, slightly roughened or very

finely barbed, hairlike bristles (pappus).

42. Flower-head bracts 4, whitish-woolly-hairy, erect,

in a single row; disk flowers 4, all alike; ray

flowers lacking; blooming from May to Sept.;

flower-head clusters flattish-topped; muchbranched, strong-scented shrubs 2-4 feet high.
76 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Thyme eriogonum (Rower head, enlarged)

Thyme eriosonum (flower-head cup, involucre, enlarged)
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 77

Flower head

Flowers densely whitewoolly-hoiry

Involucre with erect lobes

Enlarsed involucre with

one flower; flower stalks

Leaflike bracts in whorl

near middle of flower

stem

Wyeth eriogonum

Thyme eriogonum (enlarged)

Leaf edges rolled under x If

nvolucre, flowers, enlarged

Slenderbush eriogonum
78 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

poisonous to sheep especially in spring just before

flowering and when browsed together with sagebrush horsebrushes (Tetradymia spp;).

43. Twigs with interconnected lines or ridges of

persistent white-woolly hairs; leaves to ji inch

long, soon greening, losing much of their hairiness, of 2 kinds: (a) almost needlelike, nearly

erect, soon-shed primary leaves, (b) broader,

somewhat fleshy, blunt-tipped, soon-spreading,

Gray horsebrush

F-494057

Linleleai horsebrush
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 79

clustered secondary leaves; branches slender,

wide-spreading; bark gray, shreddy; dry, open

sites, often with sagebrush, central and se.

Oreg., not reported from Wash.

littleleaf horsebrush {Tetradymia glabrata).

43. Twigs and leaves permanently grayish- to

whitish-woolly-hairy; leaves to VA inch long,

linear to reversely lance-shaped, sometimes

with shorter and broader leaves clustered in

their axils; branches nearly erect; shrubs with

rough, shreddy bark, not so poisonous as littleleaf horsebrush; dry scablands or sagebrush

areas, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, along

the Columbia River.

gray horsebrush (Tetradymia canescens).

42. Flower-head bracts more than 4, overlapping, in

several, often vertically ranked rows, papery,

leathery or leaflike, sometimes keeled; flowers

5-20 ' in each flower head ; leaves sometimes

spirally twisted, 1- and/or 3- to 5-veined from

near base.

rabbitbrush goldenweed (Aplopappus

bloomeri) ; varieties (or subspecies) of

Douglas rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus

viscidiñorus), and of rubber rabbitbrush

(C. nauseosus).

44. Twigs brittle; leaves to 2K inches long, threadlike to linear or reversely lance-shaped, almost

hairless to finely, often stiflly, short-hairy, at

least along margins, sometimes resinous; flowerhead bracts in indistinctly vertical ranks; low

to medium-sized shrubs, usually not more than

3 feet high; dry or rocky hillsides at lower

elevations.

rabbitbrush goldenweed; varieties (or

subspecies) of Douglas rabbitbrush.

45. Flower-head bracts leaflike or at least greentipped, with cobwebby hairs near edges and

stiffer, spreading hairs on margins; flower

heads short-stalked, bell-shaped, to K inch

high, often surpassed by leaves, blooming

May-Aug., in somewhat elongated end

clusters (on well-developed plants); ray

flowers 1-5, strap-shaped; disk flowers 4-12,

tubular; ''seeds'' (achenes) 5-nerved; leaves

1-nerved, usually resinous, especially near

flower heads.

rabbitbrush goldenweed

{Aplopappus bloomeri).

45. Flower-head bracts not leaf like or greentipped as above, firm-papery, mostly blunttipped, not keeled, usually 15; flower-head

cups ''(involucres)'' narrow, tubular-bellshaped, to % inch high; flower heads not

471114 O-60-6
80 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

surpassed by leaves, in flattish- to roundishtopped (cymose) end clusters, blooming

July-Oct.; ray flowers lacking; disk flowers

mostly 5 ; seed heads (at least some) persistent

until flower buds of following season appear;

''seeds'' ^-angled, less than ji inch long,

hairy; leaves 1-, 3-, and/or .5-nerved, often

sticky-resinous and spirally twisted ; twigs

with white or pale green bark; mostly bushy

shrubs branched from near base; taproots

dividing near soil surface ; characters variable,

sometimes intergrading in the following

varieties (or subspecies) of

Douglas rabbitbrush

(Chrysothamnus viscidiñorus).

46. Twigs, leaves finely, more or less densely

hairy, especially near the usually small,

compact flower-head clusters; low shrubs,

rarely more than 2 feet high.

47. Leaves pale grayish-green, narrow, to

Yi-i inch wide.

48. Leaves to nearly 2 inches long and

1/25 inch wide, mostly 1-nerved, often

twisted; shrubs to 20 inches high;

disturbed areas or on poor soils, with

sagebrush; rather common, e. Oreg.,

e. Wash.

downy rabbitbrush {Chrysothamnus

viscidiñorus puberulus).

48. Leaves to 1 inch long, l/i2Ínch wide,

sometimes 3-nerved and slightly twisted; to 1 foot high; dry plains, central,

s. Oreg.; type locality, plains of

Truckee River, Nevada Co., Calif.

Truckee (or low) rabbitbrush

{Chrysothamnus viscidiñorus

humilis).

47. Leaves bright green, lance-shaped, to

2 inches long, Vi inch wide, mostly 3-

and/or 5-nerved, seldom twisted, abruptly pointed at tips; stems stiffly erect,

to more than 2 feet high, e. Oreg., e.

Wash.

lanceleaf rabbitbrush

{Chrysothamnus viscidiñorus

lanceolatus).

46. Twigs, leaves mostly hairless except for

fine, stiff marginal hairs, often stickyresinous.

49. Shrubs tall, to 4 feet or more high;

leaves bright or bluish green, to % inch

wide, often 3-nerved, sometimes spirally

twisted ; flower-head clusters open, broad,

often sticky-resinous; flower-rhead bracts
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

, Cymose flower-head clusters

81

Two flower heads enlarged

to show vertically ranked

flower-head bracts

Douslos rabbifbrush (variety) Robbitbrush goldenweed
82 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

rounded at tips except for protruding

midrib tip; commoner in e. Wash, than in

e. Oreg.; type locahty, barren plains,

Columbia River; typical variety (or subspecies) of Douglas rabbitbrush

(Chrysothamnus viscidifíorus).

49. Shrubs low, to 1K feet tall; leaves threadlike to linear, to 2 inches long; flowerhead clusters small.

50. Leaves pale green, threadlike, to IK

inches long, }^5 inch wide, 1-nerved,

often twisted; flower-head clusters

compact; stony slopes, dry ridges, e.

Oreg small rabbitbrush

{Chrysothamnus viscidiñorus

stenophyllus).

50. Leaves bright green, linear, to 2 inches

long, Yn inch wide, often 3-nerved,

plane, or sometimes twisted; flowerhead clusters often lax; plains, foothills, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

low Douglas rabbitbrush

{Chrysothamnus viscidiñorus

pumilus).

44. Twigs flexible, loosely to tightly matted-woollyhairy (scraping often needed to detect hairiness); leaves threadlike to narrowly linear, to

3 inches long, % inch wide, mostly 1-nerved and

plane, often grayish- or whitish-woolly-hairy;

flower-head bracts keeled, 20-25, in 5 distinctly

vertical ranks; flower heads in roundish-topped,

sometimes elongate, compound end clusters;

^'seeds'' hairy; low to (usually) tall shrubs,

round-bushy, several-stemmed at base, with

tap roots; variable, often with intergrading

characters, poisonous to livestock under certain

conditions, sometimes rubber-producing; varieties (or subspecies) often hard to tell apart.

rubber rabbitbrush {Chrysothamnus

nauseosus),

51. Leaves threadlike ()^5 inch wide), somewhat

resinous, very numerous, often nearly hairless; herbage with bad odor; twigs striate,

pale yellowish green with close-matted, feltlike hairs; flower heads in elongate, cylindrical or pyramidal end clusters; flower-head

bracts often sticky, rarely hairy; to 5 feet

high; alkaline valleys, plains. Lake, Harney,

Malheur Cos., e. Oreg.; not reported from

Wash fetid rubber rabbitbrush

{Chrysothamnus nauseosus consimilis).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 83

51. Leaves linear (to K inch wide), usually hairy;

herbage not odorous; twigs not, or indistinctly, striate, densely wooly-hairy; flower

heads in broad, round-topped end clusters;

flower-head bracts (at least lower ones)

hairy; shrubs to 6 feet high, often with big

sagebrush, e. Oreg., e. Wash., especially in

the Columbia River Basin area.

52. Twigs, leaves persistently, loosely whitewoolly-hairy.

whitestem rubber rabbitbrush

(Chrysothamnus nauseosas alhicaulis).

52. Twigs, leaves closely greenish- or grayishwoolly-hairy tall rubber rabbitbrush

{Chrysothamnus nauseosus speciosus).

Enlarsed flower head

Disk flowers

Flower-head bracts

Rubber rabbitbrush
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • SPRING AND

SUMMER

Leaves Alternate and Compound

1. Plants unarmed.

2. Leaves with 5 or more leaflets.

3. Sap milky; leaflets 7-31, coarsely toothed, whitened (glaucous) on under surface, often rich in tannin; twigs stout,

large-pithy, somewhat 3-angled; flowers small, greenish;

"berries" (drupes) red, sticky-hairy, massed in conspicuous,

much-branched, pyramidal end clusters (panicles); shrubs

usually not much over 6 feet high, rarely treelike, often m

large patches connected underground by long-running root

branches, not poisonous; along roadsides, in canyons, e. Oreg.,

e. Wash smooth sumac {Rhus glabra).

3. Sap not milky. , . ^ .

4. Leaflets 5-7 (rarely 3), silky-hairy on both sides, narrowly

oblong or linear; margins entire, somewhat rolled under;

stipules conspicuous, grown to leafstalk base, persistent

on twig after leaf falls, flowers yellow; ^'seeds'^ (achenes)

very hairy, small, many; stems twisted; bark shreddy,

brown; low, bushy shrubs; moist mountain valleys or

meadows, lower altitudes, e. Oreg., e. Wash. ;

bush cinquefoil {Potentilla fruticosa).

4. Leaflets 7-17, with dotlike glands (often also hairy) at

points of attachment to "midrib" (rachis) ; margins toothed,

at least toward leaflet tips; the fragrant wählte flowers and

the orange to red or scarlet ''berries'' (pomes) m flat- or

roundish-topped end clusters (compound corymb); stems

few-branched; bark smooth; shrubs tall, often growing m

clumps; moist mountain sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

mountain-ashes (Sorbus spp).

5. Leaflets 11 or more, lance- to oblong-lance-shaped, firm;

upper surface glossy, wrinkled, net-veined; margins finely,

singly or doubly saw-toothed to near base; stipules soon

falling; hairs (if any) white; buds shiny, sticky, brownish;

bark reddish; "berries" glossy, orange to scarlet, globeshaped, in dense, flat-topped clusters; seeds light brown,

oblong; shrubs to 13 feet high; Cascades, the only native

mountain-ash in Wallowa and Blue Mts., ne. Oreg., se.

Wash.

Greenes mountain-ash (Sorbus scopulina).^^ ^^

5. Leaflets 11 or less; stipules persistent; bark gray; Cascades, Oreg., Wash.; not in Wallowa or Blue Mts.

16 Natural hybrids between Saskatoon serviceberry {Amelanchier alnifolia)

and Greenes mountain-ash found in the Wallowa Mts., near Cornucopia, Oreg.,

have been named X Amelasorbus jackii by the late Dr. Alfred Rehder m honor

of their discoverer and collector, J. G. Jack (Jour. Arnold Arb. 6: 154. l^^o).

17 Both Greenes mountain-ash and Cascades mountam-ash have been contused

by some authors with Sitka mountain-ash (S. sitchensis Roem.) and/or with

Siberian mountain-ash (S. sambucifolia Cham. & Schlecht.), neither of which

occurs in Oreg. or Wash.

84
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 85

Bush cinquefoil
86 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUUTURE

6. Leaflets 7-11, dull bluish green on upper surface, thin,

oblong to oval, rounded or square-cut at tip; margins

entire below middle, with incurved teeth near tip;

leafstalks, twigs, buds finely reddish hairy; "berries"

ellipsoid, red, with a whitish waxy "bloom" (glaucous);

seeds chestnut-colored, flattened-egg-shaped, pointed

at base; shrubs 3-10 feet high; elevations from 4,000

feet in n. Wash, to 7,500 feet in s. Oreg.; type locality.

Cascades, 49° N. lat. , ,. .

western mountain-ash (Sorbus occidentalis).

6. Leaflets 9-11, glossy on upper surface, firm, oval,

abruptly pointed at tip; margins coarsely saw-toothed

to below middle; hairs mostly whitish; buds shiny,

sticky, greenish-brown; "berries" globe-shaped, glossy,

scarlet; seeds dark brown, egg-shaped; shrubs to nearly

17 feet high; elevations from 3,000 feet in n. Wash, to

6,000 feet in s. Oreg.; type locality, Mt. Rainier, Wash

Cascades mountain-ash (Sorbus cascadensis).

Greenes mountain-ash

Cascades mountain-ash
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 87

2. Leaves with 3 leaflets; "berries" (drupes) whitish or red, in

erect or drooping clusters (panicles or panicled spikes).

7. End leaflet stalked; leaflets glossy, turning brilliant red in

fall, usually egg-shaped; "berries" whitish, shiny, ribbed or

lined; sap resinous or sometimes milky-whitish ; leaf scars

crescent-shaped, distinct, with 5 bundle traces; almost all

plant parts poisonous to touch by susceptible persons although

often browsed by livestock without any ill effect.

poison-oak, poison-ivy (Toxicodendron).

8. Leaflets blunt or rounded at tip; margins entire to bluntly

toothed or lobed; "berries" in loose, drooping clusters;

low to tall shrubs, or woody vines climbing by aerial rootlets; dry woods, along roadsides, mostly w. of Cascades but

coming through Columbia River gorge to e. of The Dalles

on both the Oreg. and Wash, sides of the river.

Pacific poison-oak {Toxicodendron diversilobum).

8. Leaflets sharp- to taper-pointed at tip; margins entire or

coarsely and sharply toothed or lobed; "berries" in dense,

erect or ascending clusters; low, erect or clambering shrubs

connected by creeping underground stems, not climbing

by aerial rootlets; sunny, rather moist sites, often common

locally, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

western poison-ivy {Toxicodendron radicans var.

rydbergii),

7. End leaflet stalkless (appearing stalked because of tapering,

wedge-shaped base), nearly as broad as long, shallowly to

deeply lobed or 3-parted; leaflets dull, reversely egg-shaped;

"berries" red, sticky-hairy, in dense, spikelike end clusters; leaf

scars and bundle traces indistinct; low, much-branched shrubs

with disagreeable odor; not poisonous; often in dense stands in

dry sites, se. Oreg., not reported from Wash.

skunkbush (or lemonade) sumac (Ä/iiiS trilobata).

1. Plants armed with prickles and/or bristles.

blackberry, raspberries, salmonberry Œubus spp.),

and roses (Rosa spp.).

9. Stipules attached to leafstalk only at base, flaring at tips, linear

or narrowly lance-shaped.

blackberry, raspberries, and salmonberry (Rubus spp.).

10. Stems (canes) soft-woody, large-pithy, living 2 years, leafing

1st year (new canes), flowering, fruiting, dying second year

(old cane) ; new canes each year from perennial, woody underground parts and/or woody crown or from canes rooting

at tips; leaves with 3 and/or 5 or 7 leaflets, or sometimes

simple and lobed or parted; flowers white.

trailing blackberry, raspberries.

11. Stems trailing, long-running, rooting at tip, unbranched

except for short, erect flowering shoots on old canes;

prickles short, straight or hooked; tack-shaped glands on

flower stalks and sepals; male flowers larger than female,

often on separate plants; blackberries not hollow, not

falling free when ripe; burns, cut-over lands, common w.,

occasional e. of Cascades, Oreg., Wash.; type locality

Columbia River Valley.

trailing blackberry (Rubus macropetalus).
88 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

11. Stems erect or arching, much-branched; raspberries and

salmonberries hollow, cap- or thimble-shaped, falling free

when ripe,

12. Leaflets hairy, at least on under surface.

13. Leaflets sparsely to densely gray-hairy on under

surface, usually long-tapered at tips; stems suckering

or with runners but not rooting at tips; new canes with

slight, whitish ''bloom'' (glaucous); old cane bark

flaking, peeling; bristles spreading; tack-shaped glands

present; coarse prickles lacking; raspberries red or

whitish, dry, crumbly when ripe; moist to rather dry

sites, open woods, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

American red raspberry (Rubus strigosus).^^

13. Leaflets densely white-woolly on under surface; stems

clustered, over-arching, rooting at tips; new canes

with heavy white-waxy "bloom" (glaucous); straight

or hooked prickles on stems, leafstalks, midribs,

flower stalks; tack-shaped glands lacking; raspberries

grayish-downy, yellow to red or purplish black, firm,

juicy; moist sites, open woods, e. Oreg., e. Wash.;

type locality, Oregon.

whitebark raspberry (Rubus leucodermis).

12. Leaflets hairless, green on both surfaces; stems with

slight whitish "bloom" soon rubbed or washed off

(pruinose) and then brown and shiny; prickles broadbased, straight or hooked, on stems, leafstalks, midribs,

flower stalks; fine, gland-tipped hairs often on sepals;

raspberries black, without a whitish "bloom''; lower

altitudes, creek banks, ledges, ne. Oreg., se. Wash.; type

locality. Snake River Canyon at Wawawai and Almota,

Whitman Co., Wash.

northwestern blackcap raspberry (Rubus nigerrimus).

10. Stems (canes) woody, small-pithy, perennial, branched, erect

or somewhat arching, from spreading underground stems;

older bark loosely shredding; prickles few and weak or lacking; leaflets usually 3 and hairless on both surfaces, often

1^ This is not the cultivated red raspberry.

American red raspberry Trailing blackberry '
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 89

Catkinlike spikes of scaly- \

bracted flower buds

(enlarged)

Leafy-shoot bud hidden in

leafstalk axil \

Pacific po¡son-oak
90 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

lobed; margins coarsely and doubly saw-toothed ; flowers

showy, reddish purple; salmonberries yellow to salmoncolored or bright red, soft and watery but sweet; moist woods

along streams; common w., occasional e. slopes of Cascades,

Oreg., Wash.; type locality, banks of the Columbia River.

salmonberry {Rubus spectabilis).

9. Stipules attached for most of their length along leafstalk base

(sometimes for more than half of leafstalk length), narrow but

conspicuous; berrylike fruits (hips) single or clustered.

roses (Rosa spp.).

14. Leaflets 5-9, shiny green on upper surface, broadly oval,

thin; margins doubly saw-toothed; teeth gland-tipped; stems

usually green, armed with intermixed bristles and straight,

slender prickles; tack-shaped glands on leafstalks, stipule

margins, leaf "midribs" (rachises), and flower stalks; flowers

usually solitary, small, early blooming; fruits (hips) soon

losing their crown of calyx lobes (as indicated by common

name of ^^baldhip'' rose), ellipsoid or globe-shaped, to K inch

across; ^^seeds'' (achenes) few (1-7), large, hairless; small,

shade-tolerant shrubs; woods, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type

locality, shady woods, Oreg. .

baldhip rose (Rosa gymnocarpa).

14. Leaflets 5-7, dull green on upper surface; margins singly

saw-toothed; teeth not gland-tipped; stems often brown or

red where exposed to sun, usually armed with straight, slender, paired prickles; tack-shaped glands lacking; stipule

margins with gland-tipped teeth ; fruits with persistent crown

of calyx lobes; '^seeds'^ many (more than 7), small, hairy;

not shade tolerant; in moist sites along streams, on hillsides,

in open thickets or openings in woods, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

interior rose and Spalding rose.

15. Leaflets narrowly oval or reverse-egg-shaped, wedgeshaped at base, flrm; flowers small, rose-colored, later

blooming, clustered, each cluster with a basal leaf- or

stipule-like bract; calyx lobes smooth or flnely hairy on

back; fruits Vi to % inch across, clustered; leafy shoots

sometimes arching a little and overtopping flowering or

fruiting branches; bark with a whitish '^bloom^'; shrubs

to 9 or 10 feet high, often in clumps.

interior rose (Rosa ultramontana).^^

15. Leaflets broadly oval, rounded at base, thin; flowers

large, pink, earlier blooming, usually solitary on slender,

hairless, somewhat prickly flowering branches; fruits globeshaped, %-l inch across; branches usually not arching;

bark without any whitish ''bloom''; bushy shrubs about

3 feet high Spalding rose (Rosa spaldingii).^^

^9 Interior rose is sometime»' confused with the peafruit rose (Rosa pisocarpa)

from west of the Cascades where it grows in low, moist sites (often near the ocean)

in Oregon and Washington. The type locality of peafruit rose is Multnomah Co.,

Oreg.

20 Spalding rose is sometimes confused with Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana) from

west of the Cascades where it grows in moist sites, especially near the seashore

or salt marshes in Oregon and Washington. The type locality of Nootka rose is

Nootka Sound in British Columbia.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 91

SpaIdin9 rose Whitebark raspberry
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • SPRING AND

SUMMER

Leaves Opposite and Simple

1. Leaves lobed or variable, at least lobed on vigorous shoots.

2. Leaves palmately lobed or parted.

3. Plants dwarf, rigid or matted shrubs of dry, sandy, rocky

sites; odor sweet-musky; leaves cut into 3-7 needlelike parts,

opposite near stem base, alternate and crowded near stem tips,

often with single needlelike leaves in their axils; twigs pale,

more or less glandular-hairy; e. Oreg., e. Wash.

granite gilia (Leptodactylon pungens).

3. Plants erect or trailing shrubs or trees of moist sites.

4. Leaves shortly 3-lobed above middle, often also unlobed;

dotlike glands on leaf margin near leafstalk; margins

toothed; flowers white, in flattish-topped, compound

clusters (cymes); '^berries'' (drupes) red, squashy, each

with single stone; tall straggling shrubs of cool sites, e.

slopes of Cascades, Wallowa and Blue Mts., ne, Oreg., se.

Wash.

moosewood (or squashberry) viburnum (Viburnum edule).

4. Leaves 3- to 11-lobed; dotlike glands lacking; fruits ('keys'

or paired samaras) seedlike, winged, stalked, usually

clustered maples (Acer spp.).

5. Leaves broadly egg-shaped, 3- to 5-lobed, or sometimes

3-parted; lobes taper-pointed, margins sharply toothed;

leafstalks long, often red; fruits hairless, their wings

usually spread at a little less than right angles to each

other; erect shrubs or small trees; e. slopes of Cascades,

Wallowa and Blue Mts., commonest maple of e. Oreg.,

e. Wash.

Douglas maple (Acer glabrum var. douglasii).

5. Leaves circular in outline, with 5 or more lobes.

6. Lobes 7-11, irregularly and doubly saw-toothed; twigs

slender; fruits hairless, their wings in a nearly straight

line; erect shrubs or small trees in open sites, or trailing

and with vinelike twigs that dip and root at tips to

form thickets in wet shady sites; common w., occasional

e. slopes of Cascades and in Wallowa Mts., ne. Oreg.

vine maple (Acer circinaturr^,

6. Lobes usually 5, deep, entire- or wavy-margined; twigs

coarse; fruits in elongated clusters, yellowish-hairy on

the ''seeds'^ their wings usually spread at less than

right angles to each other; trees; the only native maple

of Greg., Wash, with milky sap (easily seen by breaking leafstalk); common w., occasional e. slopes of

Cascades, Oreg., Wash.

bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum).

2. Leaves (at least on some of the young shoots) pinnately lobed,

mostly entire and oval, dark green above, paler beneath, shortstalked; shriveled tips of last season's twigs often persistent

between topmost pairs of new twigs; pith usually brownish; leaf

92
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 93

Vine maple
94 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

I Leaf scar with single bundle

trace (enlarged)

Basal bud-scale bracts

(enlarged)

Wash'mgfon snowberry

Whortleleof snowberry

Twig tip shriveled, between

topmost pair of new

twigs. Basal bud-scale

bracts (enlarged)

Flower (enlarged)

Sharpleaf snowberry
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 95

scars small, raised, often with ragged edges, connected around

the twig by lines or ridges; bundle trace 1, indistinct; ^^berries^'

(drupes) white, each with 2 ^'seeds'^ (nutlets); erect or trailing

shrubs snowherries (Symphoricarpos spp.).

7. Shrubs erect, spreading by suckers or underground stems.

8. Pith hollow; twigs, leaves usually hairless; leaves often

lobed, seldom crowded, thin; flowers open-bell-shaped,

lobed to near middle, densely hairy in throat, unsymmettrical near base, to % inch long, clustered in upper leaf axils

and near twig tips; ''berries'' nearly globe-shaped, about

K inch in diam.; bark gray, usually smooth; shrubs to 10

feet high, often thicket-forming; native snowberry (also

cultivated), common at lower altitudes, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

(type locality. Holmes Creek, near Laurel, Klickitat Co.,

Wash.)

Columbia snowberry (Symphoricarpos rivularis).

8. Pith solid; twigs, leaves usually densely hairy with fine,

whitish, short, curved hairs; leaves seldom lobed, often

crowded, firm, veiny, with slightly thickened, roUed-under

margins; flowers tubular-bell-shaped, shallowly lobed, a

little hairy deep in tube, symmetrical near base, to % inch

long, drooping singly or in pairs from upper leaf axils;

bark dark brown, smooth or shreddy; shrubs to 5 or 6 feet

high; moist to dry sites, higher elevations, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

whortleleaf snowberry (Symphoricarpos vaccinioides),

7. Shrubs trailing; stems sometimes rooting at joints (nodes);

bark gray, shreddy; leaves thin, much paler and prominently

net-veined on under surface; flowers open-bell-shaped, lobed

to near middle, symmetrical at base; ''berries" nearly globeshaped, to % inch in diameter.

9. Branches erect, short; stems long-trailing (to 10 feet);

young twigs often with a few soft, fine hairs; leaves sometimes lobed, nearly hairless and finely net-veined on upper

surface; margins finely hairy-fringed; flowers 2-5, in small

end clusters (racemes); gravelly slopes, lower altitudes,

open woods, Blue Mts., se. Wash., otherwise only w. of

Cascades (type locality, Upper Valley, Nisqually River,

Pierce Co., Wash.)

Washington snowberry (Symphoricarpos hesperius).

9. Branches loosely spreading, 2 feet long; stems trailing,

rooting at joints; young twigs, leaves, and leafstalks densely

soft-velvety-hairy; leaves often lobed; flowers single or in

pairs in upper leaf axils, densely hairy in the throat;

Klamath and Swan Lake Valleys, Keno and Crater Lake

areas, s. Oreg. (Type locality. Lassen Peak, Calif.)

sharpleaf snowberry (Symphoricarpos acutus).

1. Leaves not lobed.

10. Margins toothed.

11. Plants low (to 2 feet high), clump-forming half-shrubs with

unpleasant odor; stems woody, spreading and much-branched

at base; seasonal shoots erect; leaves bright green, leathery,

to 2 inches long and nearly 1 inch wide, narrowly lance- to

egg-shaped, abrupt- or taper-pointed at tip and shortstalked on leafy shoots, stalkless or clasping, few and bract471114 O-60-7
96 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

like on the unbranched flowering shoots; leaf margins

coarsely, unevenly, sharply toothed; flowers yellowish, with

violet lines in throat, glandular inside and out (often dustcollecting), tubular, unevenly 5-lobed (upper lip shorter),

to ji inch long; stamens 5: 4 with purple-black anthers, 1

without anthers and usually hairless; anther sacs splitting

wide open in an almost straight line; seed pods (capsules)

cartilaginous, Yi inch long, egg-shaped, pointed at tip, splitting downward into 2 parts, persistent; seeds tiny, numerous,

honeycomb-pitted under a lens; dry sites, basaltic soils or

lava-rock cracks, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

scorched (or hot-rock) penstemon (Penstemon deustus).

11. Plants tall (to 12 or 15 feet high), straggling shrubs; branches

slender, greenish, 4-angled; leaves thin, to 4 inches long,

lance- to egg-shaped or oblong, sharp- to taper-pointed at

tip, short-stalked; margins finely saw-toothed; flowers 1

to several, on long, slender, drooping flower stalks, with

spreading, brownish purple petals and a dark red, fleshy disk;

seed pods (capsules) deeply 3- to 5-lobed, smooth or warty,

splitting along middle back of each lobe; seeds usually 2 to

each lobe, each covered by a fleshy red outgrowth (aril) ;

along wooded streams, e. slopes Cascades, Oreg., Wash,

(type locality, Oreg.)

western wahoo or burningbush {Euonymus occidentalis).

10. Margins entire or nearly so.

12. Leaves with 3 (rarely 5) major veins from leaf base, lanceto egg-shaped, somewhat hairy on margins and veins; tall

shrubs with up-curving branches; bark checking, finally

flaking off; flowers numerous, conspicuous, white, very fragrant; seed pods (capsules) top-shaped, partly enclosed in

calyx-tube, 4- to 5-celled, splitting down middle back of each

cell, persistent; very common, moist sites along roads or in

open woods, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

Lewis mockorange {Philadelphias leivisii).

12. Leaves with single major vein (midrib).

13. Twigs, under leaf-surfaces brown-scurfy with silverfringed scales; flower buds clustered in leaf axils or at

old-wood joints, formed in summer, not opening until

following spring; male and female flowers on separate

plants; fruits berrylike, reddish; shrubs much-branched,

to 6 feet high; open woods, middle altitudes, Blue Mts.,

ne. Oreg., rare in e. Wash.

russet buflfaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis).

13. Twigs, under leaf-surfaces not brown-scurfy.

14. Plants vines; stems coiling or twining; upper leafpair

bases fused, at least uppermost pair like a single leaf

through which stem has grown; leaves green above,

with whitish ^^bloom'' beneath, hairy only along margins; flowers large, orange, trumpet-shaped, clustered

at stem ends or in upper leaf axils; berries red; highclimbing, often over trees; open moist woods, e. slopes

of Cascades, Wallowa and Blue Mts.

western trumpet honeysuckle {Lonicera ciliosa).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 97
98 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Bearberry honeysuc1<le
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 99

14. Plants erect or spreading shrubs.

15. Leaves shiny-resin-dotted on both sides, silveryhairy, fragrantly aromatic, to 2 inches long, elliptic

or oval, narrowing to short leafstalk; branches ashywhite; flowers blue, in purplish-bracted, whorled,

ball-like clusters near twig ends; ''seeds'' (nutlets)

4 to each flower, jeUylike when wet; low shrubs of dry

or alkaline sites, common ii^ sagebrush areas in central

Wash., less common in Oreg.

desert sage (Salvia carnosa).

15. Leaves not as above; leaf scars with 3 bundle traces;

shrubs of moist sites.

16. Branches bright to purplish red, pliable, osierlike,

without bud-scale bracts at base; leaves with 5-7

pairs of paraUel veins upcurving near margin;

flowers small, whitish; ''berries'' (drupes) whitish

or lead-colored, in flat- or roundish-topped end

clusters; stems often lodging, rooting at tips, forming runners (stolons) ; streambanks or along roadsides or in open woods, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera).

16. Branches not as above; twigs with distinctive basal

bud-scale bracts; bark straw-colored or gray to

dark or reddish brown, flaking, peeling, or shredding;

pith whitish, solid; flowers and berries twinned,

each pair with 2 outer bracts and 4 inner bractlets

which drop off or are variously modified (grow

together, enlarge, or become fleshy and colored)

as berries ripen, stalked, in leaf axils; stems erect or

spreading, often suckering near base.

honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.)

17. Twigs coarse, 4-angled, straw-colored; basal budscale bracts conspicuous, lower recurved, upper

leaflike; leaves 2-6 inches long; flowers yellowish

to reddish; flower stalks (peduncles) to 2 inches

long; the 2 outer flower bracts and the 4 inner

bractlets enlarging, reddening as twin berries

ripen to shiny black, sometimes withered-persistent on last year's twigs; shrubs to 10 feet high;

commonest honeysuckle in e. Oreg., e. Wash.

bearberry honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata).

17. Twigs slender, round or slightly 4-angled; leaves

to 2 (sometimes to 4) inches long; berries bright

to dark red or nearly black; shrubs to 5 (or 6)

feet high; mountain areas, e. O'reg., e. Wash.

18. Bud-scale bracts sharp-pointed, in 4 vertical

rows, appearing tightly laced around base of

twigs, persistent for 1 or more years; leaves

thick, pointed at tip, wedge-shaped at base;

flowers dark red to purplish; flower stalks

(peduncles) to 1 inch long; 2 outer flower bracts

small, scalelike, soon falling; 4 inner bractlets
100 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

tiny, bump- or scale-like or lacking; twin

berries dark red to nearly black, joined to near

tips.

purpleflower honeysuckle {Lonicera conjugialis).

18. Bud-scale bracts not as above, not long-persistent; leaves thin; flowers yellowish.

19. Branches spreading; bark gray; basal budscale bracts spreading at tips, thin-papery,

purplish-tinged, pale-veiny; leaves net-veined,

rounded at both ends or somewhat heartshaped at base, egg-shaped, oval, or elliptic;

flower stalks (peduncles) ji inch long; 2 outer

flower bracts smaU, like bud-scale bracts,

not persistent; 4 inner bractlets tiny or

wanting; twin berries joined at base, widespreading at tips, bright red.

Utah honeysuckle {Lonicera utßhensis).

19. Branches ascending; bark dark reddish

brown; lower basal bud-scale bracts recurved,

upper leaflike; leaves oblong or narrowly

reverse-lance-shaped; leafstalks lt>reaking off

near base, their stumps hiding leaf scars;

flower stalks (peduncles) % inch long ; 2 outer

flower bracts awl-shaped, hairy; 4 inner

bractlets united into a red fleshy sac enclosing twin berries, thus appearing as a single

red berry (drying bluish-black); subalpine

meadows s. from Mt. Adams along Cascades,

lower sites, e. side.

red mountain-fly honeysuckle {Lonicera

cauriana).

^Twin berries enveloped in

fleshy, joined, inner 4

bractlets/ the 2 awlshaped outer flower

bracts

Red mountoin-ily honeysuckle Purple-flower honeysuckle Utah honeysuckle
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • SPRING AND

SUMMER

Leaves Opposite and Compound

1. Plants woody climbers with branched and coiling leafstalks; stems

ridged and grooved; bark stringy; pith hollow; ''joints" (nodes)

swollen clematis, virginsbower (Clematis spp.).

2. Stems low-climbing or clambering over rocks; leaflets 3; flowers

large, purplish, single at ''joints" on old wood; moist open woods,

middle altitudes, Wallowa and Blue Mts., ne. Oreg., se. Wash.

Columbia rock clematis (Clematis verticillaris var.

colum^biana).

2. Stems high-climbing, often over trees; leaflets 5-7; flowers

smaller, white, in clusters at "joints" on new wood; along

streams at lower altitudes, common in e. Oreg., e. Wash.

western virginsbower (Clematis ligusticifolia).

Columbia rock clematis Wesfcrn virginsbower

101
102 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Blueberry elder
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 103

1. Plants erect shrubs or trees; leaflets 5 or more; moist sites.

3. Leaflets distinctly toothed, not symmetrical at base, taper4.

pointed at tip; pith large; fruits berrylike (drupes)

elders (Sambucus spp).

Twigs, under leaf-surfaces and fruits whitened (glaucous);

pith white to yellowish; stipules lacking; leaflets 7-11, pale

green, thick, usually hairless; margins finely saw-toothed;

flowers whitish, in large, flat-topped, several-rayed end

clusters; '^berries'^ sky blue; large, several-stemmed shrubs or

small trees with fissured bark; commonest elder in e. Oreg.,

e. Wash.; along fence rows or stream valleys.

blueberry elder {Sambucus glauca).

Twigs, under leaf-surfaces and fruits not whitened as above;

pith yellowish to dark brown or sometimes whitish in new

shoots; stipules usually present on line or ridge between the

leaf pairs on younger twigs; leaflets 5-7, dark green above, paler

beneath, thin, hairy at least when young; flowers creamy or

yellowish, in round-topped or pyramidal end clusters with

single main axis; ^'berries^^ shiny, black or red; shrubs, severalstemmed from base, with warty bark on older branches; open

woods at higher altitudes.

5. Leaflets coarsely saw-toothed, almost hairless; stipules

dark, glandlike, crescent-shaped, usually 2, flattened

against stem; older branches reddish brown, smooth or

with corky pores (lenticels) ; "berries" shiny black; ''seeds"

(nutlets) cross-wrinkled (rugose); occasional, e. slopes of

Cascades, common in Wallowa and Blue Mts.

blackhead elder (Sambucus melanocarpa).

Blackbead elder
104 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Blackbead elder
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 105

3.

5. Leaflets with sharply incurved teeth along margins, often

hairy on midrib beneath; stipules thin, straplike, to % inch

long, often callus-tipped; older branches dark brown, warty;

'^berries'' red; ^'seeds'' (nutlets) smooth; shrubs with

spreading stems, forming loose, open clumps; woods along

Cascades, Oreg., Wash., not reported from Wallowa or

Blue Mts.; type locality, near Crater Lake, Oreg.

western red elder {Sambucus leiosperma).^^

Leaflets entire or faintly toothed, symmetrical at base, abruptly

pointed at tip, lance- to egg-shaped or reversely lance- to

reversely egg-shaped; pith small; fruits (samaras) dry, seedlike,

winged from top, in loose branched clusters at leaf scars of

preceding year, on female trees; common in river valleys, w.,

rare e. of Cascades, Oreg., Wash.

Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia).

Oregon ash Western red elder

21 Field notes are needed to determine relationship between western red elder

and Pacific red elder {Sambucus callicarpa) ; the latter is typically a tall shrub or

small tree, shade tolerant and growing with the redwoods of the California Coast

Ranges. Pacific red elder was originally described by Dr. E. L. Greene (Flora

Franciscana, p. 343. 1892.) as having light brown, flaky rather than fissured

bark, white pith, and the young twigs and leaves with sparse, short, stiff hairs.

Stipules are described as straplike, the leaves with 2-5 pairs of leaflets which are

often with conspicuous stipellae, or the later leaves on sucker shoots as being

doubly compound (bipinnate). The flowers were noted as white, the fruit bright

red and in small but broad and flat-topped clusters. Some authors regard these

two red-berried elders as a single species, S. callicarpa.
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • FALL AND

WINTER

Buds, Twigs Alternate

Plants Armed

1. Twigs spiny-tipped.

2. Shrubs with sagebrush odor and taste, to nearly 2 feet high,

much-branched, densely whitish-hairy; bark shreddy; twigs of

2 kinds: (a) short, rigid, spiny-tipped twigs, (b) stouter, unarmed, big-budded twigs that leaf out in late winter and shed

in early summer; desert or alkaline areas of Lake, Harney, and

Malheur Cos., s. Oreg., not reported from Wash.

bud sagebrush (Artemisia spinescens).^^

2. Shrubs without sagebrush odor and taste.

3. Twigs bright green, ridged and lined; leaf scars raised, hidden

by dark, swollen leafstalk bases to which 2 tiny, pointed

stipules often remain attached; buds small, in leafstalk-base

axils; bud scales several; stems often arching; much-branched

shrubs to 10 feet high; dry, rocky limestone areas, Harney

Co. to Snake River canyons in ne. Oreg., se. Wash.

Snake River greasebush (Forsellesia stipulifera).

3. Twigs not as above; fruits and/or leaves sometimes persistent;

buds without bud scales, the tiny, undeveloped, whitishscurfy-hairy leaves naked in axils of leaf scars or of persistent

leafstalk stumps; shrubs of dry, rocky soils or of alkahne sites.

4. Fruits top-shaped with encircling wing near middle, sometimes persistent in leaf-scar axils on the spiny-tipped twigs

or leaving a pocketlike cavity lined with fine, white, protruding hairs after falling; spiny-tipped twigs sometimes

with dark stubs of male flower-scale stalks scattered along

their withered tips, often with somewhat spongy bark;

twigs ridged downward from middle of the broadly V- or

U-shaped (sometimes opposite) leaf scars; bundle traces 3;

leaf scars often partly covered by membrane which is split

down on 1 side between 2 bundle traces by the bud which

emerges at an angle to left or right from the leaf-scar axil ;

buds sometimes 2 (1 above the other) in some of the leafscar axils; much-branched shrubs to 8 or 10 feet high, with

whitish to gray or brownish stems and hard, greenish,

fibrous wood; often in almost pure stands in alkaline flats

or low, moist sites; poisonous to sheep if eaten to excess;

s. and e. Oreg., e. Wash.

black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus).

4. Fruits not as above; shrubs to about 4 feet high.

5. Buds evident, globe-shaped, the tiny, undeveloped leaves

white-scurfy, clustered in axils of persistent leafstalk

stubs which hide leaf scars; fruits saclike, reddish, rarely

winter-persistent; bushy shrubs with brown to dark gray,

shreddy bark; dry, rocky sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa).

22 See Evergreen Key for low sagebrush (Artemisia arbúsculo) which often has

weakly spiny-tipped twigs.

106
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 107
108 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Shadscale saltbush
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 109

5. Buds not evident; spiny-tipped twigs rigid, short, tan or

straw-colored, with indistinct leaf scars in axils of which

are usually 3 to several tiny stumps where flowers or

fruits were attached; roundish leaves persistent on lower

twigs, densely whitish-scurfy with branlike scales as are

also the few leaflike fruits sometimes persistent on spinytipped twigs; compact, rounded shrubs of dry alkaline

sites, Lake, Harney, and Malheur Cos., se. Oreg., not

reported from Wash.

shadscale saltbush (Atriplex contertifolia) P

1. Twigs not spiny-tipped; plants armed with thorns (aborted twigs,

not leaf-bearing), with spines (strong, woody, sharp-pointed

outgrowths mostly from the wood of the twig or stem), and/or with

prickles (small, weak, spinelike outgrowths borne irregularly on

the bark).

6. Plants with thorns in leaf scar axils (thorns sometimes lacking

on young or sucker shoots); buds small, globe-shaped; bud

scales several, overlapping; ''berries'' (pomelike drupes) persistent; small trees or erect shrubs, often thicket-forming; moist

sites, flood plains, river valleys, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

hawthorns (Crataegus spp.).

23 See Evergreen Key for fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), the twigs of

which are weakly spiny-tipped and the leaves are winter-persistent.

Undeveloped

„. leaves
lio HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7. Thorns stout, to 1 inch long; twigs shiny, reddish brown,

hairless or nearly so; ^'berries^^ purplish black, hairless; commonest hawthorn in e. Oreg., e. Wash.

Douglas hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii).

7. Thorns slender, to 21/2 inches long; twigs brown.

8. "Berries" dark red to purplish, hairless; thorns averaging

shorter, straight; shrubs or small trees, to 15 feet high.

Columbia hawthorn {Crataegus columhiana).

8. "Berries" coral red, hairy; thorns longer, often reflexed;

shrubs to 10 feet high.

Piper hawthorn {Crataegus piperi).^^

6. Plants without thorns.

9. Spines present.

10. Twigs densely white-woolly-hairy; spines recurved or

spreading, formed from hardened, persistent midribs of

primary leaves; buds and leaf scars indistinct, in spine

axils; flower-head bracts 5-6 in a single series, persistent;

stiff, much-branched shrubs to 5 feet high; dry, sandy or

alkaline sites, se. Oreg., not reported from Wash.

cottonthorn horsebrush {Tetradymia spinosa).

10. Twigs not densely white-woolly-hairy, often with scattered

prickles and/or bristles in addition to simple or 3- to 9-

parted spines bordering the usually narrow leaf scars;

bundle traces 3; buds evident, somewhat Qgg- or spindleshaped; bud scales papery, several, overlapping, persistent

after buds open; short, spurlike twigs common; pith

spongy; erect or spreading shrubs, often with arching

branches and crown-sprouting or layering after fire or top

injury; alternate hosts of white pine blister rust.

currants, gooseberries {Ribes spp.).

11. Spines 3- to 9-parted, usually to about % inch long;

prickles and/or bristles commonly present, especially in

sunny sites; twigs brown or deeply straw-colored; buds

symmetrical, at 30^ angle to twig; fruit-cluster stalks

(peduncles) elongate, often drying-persistent with 4-20

bracted berry stalks (pedicels) attached; berries with

gland-tipped bristles, usually not persistent-„currants.

12. Twigs with gland-tipped bristles; spines rigid, rather

stout; buds rounded at tips, end buds about same size

as side buds; stiff-branched shrubs to 4 feet high; on

rocky exposed sites at higher (often subalpine)

altitudes.-gooseberry currant {Ribes montigenum).

12. Twigs finely whitish-hairy but bristles not glandtipped; spines less rigid, rather slender; buds pointed

at tips, end buds larger than side buds; much-branched

shrubs, erect and to 3 or 4 feet high, or, if in shade,

trailing and with weaker spines and prickles; moist

sites in open mountain woods; very susceptible to

white pine blister rust.

prickly (or swamp) currant {Ribes lacustre).

2* Piper hawthorn is listed in the Check List of Native and Naturalized Trees

of the United States (U. S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Handb. 41. 1953) as a synonym of

Columbia hawthorn; these need field study.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 111

F-494074

Prickly (or swamp) currant Columbia hawthorn Douglas hawthorn

471114 O-60-8
112 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

11. Spines single or 3-parted; prickles and/or bristles present

or lacking; twigs distinctly ridged or lined downward

from ends of leaf scars; bark often split and peeling

somewhat spirally ; fruit-cluster stalks (peduncles) sometimes persistent but berry stalks (pedicels) falling with

the berries gooseberries.

13. Twigs hairless or nearly so, usually without prickles

or bristles.

14. Spines mostly single; end buds about same size as

side buds.

15. Twigs whitish or pale straw-colored; spines few,

weak, short (V4 to % inch long); side buds appressed, flattened on side next to twig; older

bark reddish brown; branches often drooping or

trailing; moist to rather dry sites along streams;

widely distributed, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; susceptible

to white pine blister rust.

whitestem gooseberry (Ribes inerme).

15. Twigs yellow or deeply straw-colored, often longarching; spines strong, to about V^ inch long,

straight, spreading at almost right angles to twig;

side buds somewhat egg-shaped, about % inch

long, not appressed or flattened on side next to

twig; older bark gray; shrubs often thicket-forming, growing along dry, rocky ledges; from

northern Crook Co. through John Day Gorge

to Blue and Wallowa Mts., ne. Oreg., upper

Snake River canyons, se. Wash, (type locality,

5 miles w. of Imnaha, Wallowa Co., ne. Oreg.).

Goodding gooseberry {Ribes gooddingii).

14. Spines often 3-parted, to nearly 1 inch long, ascending on younger shoots, spreading or recurved on

older branches, darker than buds and the cinnamon

or reddish-brown twigs; prickles and bristles lacking

or few, weak, short, reflexed; older bark dark gray;

buds sometimes clustered at twig tips; fruit-cluster

stalks (peduncles) to 2 inches long, slender, drooping, often persistent; berry stalks (pedicels) very

slender, sometimes persistent with the large, bluish

black berries; widely branching shrubs to 13 feet

high; rocky banks or gravelly soils in moist sites

along streams of ne. Oreg., se. Wash.

snow gooseberry (Ribes niveum).

13. Twigs hoary with whitish or grayish hairs; spines,

prickles and/or bristles usually reflexed; fruit-cluster

stalks (peduncles) short (to about 1 inch long),

sometimes persistent.

16. Spines mostly single except on vigorous twigs

where they are often 3-parted, to nearly V2 inch

long; prickles and/or bristles usually on older parts

of twigs; twigs pale gray or straw-colored, with

very fine, short whitish hairs, not glandular; erect

shrubs to 10 feet high, with widely spreading

branches; somewhat susceptible to white pine blister
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 113

rust; along streams, Wallowa, Blue Mts., ne. Oreg.,

se. Wash, (type locality, Blue Mts., lat. 46° 330-

Idaho gooseberry (Ribes irriguum).

16. Spines mostly 3-parted, to slightly more than Vi

inch long; prickles and bristles often numerous;

twigs rather densely whitish- or grayish-hairy, with

many gland-tipped hairs; stems slender, long-arching,- somewhat vinelike, to 13 feet long; along

streams, ne. Oreg., e. Wash, (type locality along

Umatilla Eiver near Pendleton, Oreg.).

Umatilla gooseberry {Ribes cognatum).

Spongy pith)

Enlarged tip of vigorous ^

shoot/ part of older stem

and berry about natural

(Enlarged twig, near tip) size

(Enlarged portion

of twig)

Leaf scar

Simple spine

Goodding gooseberry Snow gooseberry Whifestem gooseberry
114 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

9. Spines lacking; prickles and/or bristles present.

17. Fruits berrylike, red, showy, persistent; shrubs with erect

or arching, perennial woody stems; prickles often paired

beneath the very narrow leaf scars; buds small, often

slightly above the leaf scar; end buds present; stipule

scars lacking; bundle traces 3 roses {Rosa spp.).

18. Calyx lobes persistent on fruits; twigs hairless or nearly

so, brown or red; not shade tolerant, growing in open,

moist sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

19. Fruits large (to more than Vz inch across), usually

single (sometimes 2 or 3 together) ; stems or branches

usually not arching; twigs brown, without a whitish

''bloom/' sometimes bristly in addition to the paired,

straight prickles under the leaf scars; bushy shrubs,

usually about 3 feet high.

Spalding rose (Rosa spaldingii).^^

19. Fruits smaller (less than l^ inch across), usually

clustered; fruiting branches often arching a little;

twigs reddish, with a slight whitish ^'bloom''; vigorous,

sterile shoots often overtopping the fruiting stems;

tall, often clumpy shrubs, to 9 or 10 feet high.

interior rose {Rosa ultramontana).

18. Calyx lobes not persistent on the small, somewhat

egg-shaped, single fruits; twigs green, often with intermixed bristles and straight, slender prickles; tackshaped glands on fruit stalks, also on the often persistent leafstalks; small, straggly shrubs of shady woods.

baldhip rose {Rosa gymnocarpa).

17. Fruits not berrylike (aggregate drupes), their whitish cores

sometimes persistent; prickles and/or bristles scattered

on stems; buds egg-shaped, with several overlapping bud

scales, in axils of persistent leafstalk stumps; bundle

traces 3 ; older bark flaking or peeling.

salmonberry, raspberries {Rubus spp.).

20. Twigs and branches zigzag; stems erect, woody, perennial; prickles straight, few, short and weak, or lacking;

shrubs spreading by underground stems;, moist woods

along streams, common w., occasional e. slopes of

Cascades, Oreg., Wash.

salmonberry {Rubus spectabilis).

20. Twigs and branches not zigzag; stems (canes) erect or

spreading, soft-woody, large-pithy, living only 2 years

(leafing first year, flowering, fruiting and dying second

year), suckering or with runners at base but not arching

and rooting at tips (as does white-bark raspberry), often

with whitish waxy ''bloom"; tack-shaped glands on

younger parts and on the often persistent leafstalks;

stiff bristles usually present, sometimes gland-tipped

when young; straight prickles sometimes present; moist

to rather dry sites, open woods, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

American red raspberry {Rubus strigosus).^^

25 Spalding rose of eastern Oregon and Washington has often been confused

with Nootka rose {Rosa nutkana) of western Oregon and Washington. Nootka

rose has prickles usually large, stout, and more or less flattened near their bases.

2^ This is not the red raspberry of cultivation.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

•stent Side bud

115

Fruit without persistent

calyx lobes

Tack-shaped

glands

End bud

Interior rose

Leafstalk stump

American red raspberry
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • FALL AND WINTER

Buds, Twigs Alternate

Plants Unarmed • With Catkins

[Willows, oak, aspen, cottonwood, hazelnut, alders, and birches]

1. Catkins hidden in buds until late winter or spring; leaf scars often

on raised cushions; bundle traces 3 or more; stipule scars linelike

or ridgelike, at ends of leaf scars; buds in the % arrangement on

twigs (each bud at 144"^ around twig from bud next below or above).

willows, oak, aspen, cottonwood.

2. End buds lacking, twig tips dying back to topmost side bud;

bud scale 1, caplike, centered over leaf scar, opening on side

next to twig, membrane-lined; catkin buds sometimes larger

than leafy-shoot buds and opening before them (as in the pussy

willows) ; pollen- and seed-producing catkins on separate plants,

usually erect or spreading; twigs and buds often highly colored

(red, yellow, orange, or bronze), shiny or dull, or with bluish

or whitish ^'bloom" easily rubbed or washed off (pruinose) ;

twigs flexible near tips, brittle near base, often breaking off and

rooting in moist soils; bark very bitter, in some species known

to contain the antirheumatic and tonic glucoside (salicin)

formerly a source of aspirin; shrubs or trees commonly stumpor root-sprouting or layering, often thicket-forming; along

streams, on sand or gravel bars, or sometimes in open woods

(as, for example, the 2 common upland species, Bebb and Scouler

willows) willows (Salix spp.).

2. End buds present, like side buds but often larger; bud scales

several to many, spirally overlapping; pith somewhat 5-angled

in cross section.

Oregon white oak, quaking aspen, black cottonwood.

3. Twigs, buds finely fuzzy with yellowish-rusty, star-shaped

or clustered hairs; buds clustered at twig tips; egg-shaped,

bluntly pointed at tip, to K inch long; bud scales many, in

5 nearly vertical rows; pollen-producing catkins stringlike,

soon withering, drooping from buds near tip of last year's

twigs, on same plant as the single or paired acorn-producing

flowers in leaf axils of new twigs; bundle traces to 12; stipules

narrowly strap-shaped, persistent or leaving small, indistinct

stipule scars; usually trees (shrubby at higher elevations),

stump- or root-sprouting; common w., abundant locally e.

slopes of Cascades, Yakima Valley, Wash., and southward

to Mt. Hood National Forest, Oreg.

Oregon white oak {QuercuB garryana).

3. Twigs, buds shiny, usually hairless or nearly so; buds resinous, not clustered at twig tips, egg- or cone-shaped, taperpointed, often curved at tip; bud scales 6 or 7, the lowest

(smallest) one centered over leaf scar; catkin buds plumper

than leafy-shoot buds and opening before them; twigs often

somewhat spurlike and roughened by raised, crowded leaf

scars; bundle traces 3, simple or compound; pollen- and seedproducing catkins on separate trees, drooping, stalked, from

116
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 117

Topmost

side

bud

m

m
118 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Pollen-producing flower

and scale

Quaking aspen Black coMonwood
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 119

V/i to nearly 8 inches long, many-flowered; each flower in

shallowly cup-shaped disk attached to deeply cleft, hairyfringed, often soon-falling flower scale; seed pods (capsules)

greenish, to % inch long, cone- or globe-shaped, splitting down

from top into 2 or 3 parts (valves) ; seeds many, tiny, silkyor cottony-hairy-tufted; fast-growing trees, stump- or rootsprouting; moist sites along river valleys, or on cut- or burnedover mountain areas_ „quaking aspen and black cottonwood.

4. End buds to a/g inch long, only slightly resinous, reddish

brown, little (if any) larger than the often appressed and

incurved side buds; twigs with 5-lobed pith; pollen-producing catkins to 2 inches long, each flower with 6-12 red,

maroon, or purple anthers; seed-producing catkins to 4

inches long in fruit, each flower tipped by 2 slender, 2-lobed

pollen-receiving organs (stigmas) ; flower scales 3- to 8-cleft ;

seed pods cone-shaped, thin-walled, splitting into 2 parts;

bark of young trees greenish to chalky white, with dark

scarlike patches; trees, often in almost pure stands, commonly 20-40 feet high, often much taller, widely distributed

at middle elevations, mountains of e. Oreg., e. Wash.

quaking (or golden) aspen (Populus tremuloides).

4, End buds to nearly 1 inch long, very resinous (drops of

fragant reddish resin often on bud scales), orange brown,

often curved and a little larger than side buds; twigs with

5-sided pith (star-shaped when dry); pollen-producing

catkins to 3 inches long, each flower with 30-60 purplish

anthers; seed-producing catkins to nearly 8 inches long in

fruit; each flower tipped by 3 broad, deeply lobed pollenreceiving organs (stigmas) ; flower scales cleft into many,

narrow (almost threadlike) lobes; seed pods globe-shaped,

thick-walled, hairy, splitting into 3 parts; bark of young

trees smooth, greenish to yellow or gray; large trees (to

more than 100 feet high in river valleys w. of Cascades),

e. Oreg., e. Wash.

black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa).^^

Catkins visible in fall and winter; pollen-producing catkins preformed and out of the bud by late summer, tassellike, erect or

drooping, single or clustered; pollen- and seed-producing flowers

on same plant; twigs with small, compressed or triangular pith.

hazel, alders, and birches.

5. Only pollen-producing flowers in catkins; hazelnuts sometimes

persistent, in bristly-hairy, brownish, fringe-beaked husks, single or 2- to 4-clustered at twig tips; catkins hoary, tan or strawcolored, 1-3 inches long, erect at first, soon spreading or drooping, appearing almost stalkless but at tips of very short side

twigs; hazelnut-producing flower buds globe-shaped, plumper

than leafy-shoot buds, each with 2 bright red, short, threadlike

pollen-receiving organs (stigmas) visible at tip in early spring;

end buds lacking; leaf scars triangular to half-round, 2-ranked;

bundle traces 3 to several, scattered and indistinct; both buds

27 The very similar balsam poplar {Populus balsamifera) has egg-shaped, hairless

seed pods that split into only 2 parts; it is introduced in Multnomah Co., Oreg.,

otherwise not reported from Oregon or Washington.
120 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

and leaf scars in 1/2 arrangement on twigs (each bud or leaf

scar 180^ around twig from bud or leaf scar next below or

above) ; twigs slender, zigzag, with spreading yellowish (often

gland-tipped) hairs; clustered shrubs (sometimes treelike and to

25 feet high), often suckering from base, sometimes thicketforming; mostly w., occasionally e. of Cascades.

California hazel (Corylus cornuta var. californica).

5. Both pollen- and seed-producing flowers in catkins; buds and

twigs somewhat resinous; leaf scars with 3 simple (or sometimes

compounded) bundle traces; buds and leaf scars in 1/3 arrangement on twigs (each bud or leaf scar 120° around twig from bud

or leaf scar next below or above) alders and birches.

6. Seed-producing catkins conelike, persistent, with woody,

mostly 5-lobed scales, stalked, in stalked clusters at twig

tips; twigs faintly 3-angled, smooth, with pale, dothke pores

(lenticéis) but not warty with resin dots; pith triangular in

cross section; end buds present, stalked; roots often with (presumably nitrogen-fixing) nodules; buds in clockwise spiral on

twigs alders (Alnus spp.).

7. Bud scales overlapping, at least 3; buds stalkless or nearly

so (except end buds), sharply taper-pointed at tips, dark

purplish; '^seeds'' (nutlets) tissue-papery-winged ; last season's seed-producing catkins long-stalked ; next season's seedproducing catkins hidden in the bud until leaves unfold;

seasonal twigs yellow brown, shiny-resinous as are also the

pollen-producing catkins; tall, slender shrubs or small trees,

often thicket-forming; along cool mountain streams, Cascade,

Wallowa, and Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

Sitka alder (Alnus sinuata).

7. Bud scales meeting at edges but not overlapping (valvate),

2 or 3; buds distinctly stalked, bluntly pointed or rounded

at tips; last season^s seed-producing catkins short-stalked to

almost stalkless; next season's seed-producing catkins out

of the bud by winter but small and undeveloped (white

alder usually earlier than red alder).

8. Trees, commonly to 40 feet high, often much taller; bark

pale grayish or whitish, smooth except on lower trunks;

new twigs and pollen-producing catkins shiny-resinous.

9. Inner bark and sapwood turning orange or bright red

when freshly cut; pollen-producing catkins brownish to

red; "seeds'' with narrow (often nearly encircling)

papery wings; seasonal twigs often clear bright red;

buds dark red ; valuable hardwood trees, often in almost

pure stands on cut- or burned-over areas; mostly w. of

Cascades, Oreg., Wash.

red (or Oregon) alder (Alnus rubra).

9. Inner bark and sapwood not as above; pollen-producing catkins pale green to olive brown, becoming reddish; **seeds" narrowly margined, scarcely winged;

twigs greenish at first, becoming dark orange red; buds

bright red; both sides of Cascades, common along

streams e. Oreg., e. Wash.

white alder (Alnus rhombifolia).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

Hazelnut-producing flower

bud

Last season's Ions-stalked

seed-producing catkins

Sitka alder

Winged "seed** and

woody "cone" scale
122 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

"Cone" scale

"Cone" scale (enlarsed)

Western paper birch '-^''^°"'

Seed-producing catkin

Northwestern paper birch
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 123

8. Tall shrubs or small, straggly trees; bark gray brown and

smooth on young stems, reddish brown and scaly on old

trunks; pollen-producing catkins and seasonal twigs dullwaxy-resinous, minutely ashy-hairy; last season's seedproducing catkins commonly disfigured by disease;

^^seeds'' narrowly margined, scarcely winged; commonest

alder of e. Oreg., e. Wash.

thinleaf (or mountain) alder (Alnus tenuitolia).

Seed-producing catkins somewhat conelike or tassellike,

stalked, single (sometimes clustered), erect or drooping at

tips of dwarf side twigs, not persistent except for their central, erect or recurved stalks from which the 3-lobed papery

scales fall—either with or after shedding of the tissue-paperywinged ^^seeds'' (nutlets or samaras) ; next season's seed-producing catkins hidden in the bud until leaves unfold in spring;

twigs slender, round, sparsely resin-dotted or densely warty

with resin glands when young, becoming smooth and marked

with pale pores (lenticels) ; pith compressed, somewhat 3-sided;

end buds lacking, stem tips dying back to topmost side buds

except on dwarf side twigs; buds only slightly resinous, to )i

inch long, stalkless but sometimes appearing stalked at tips

of dwarf side twigs; bud scales at least 3, spirally overlapping;

leaf scars somewhat crescent-shaped; bundle traces 3; buds

and leaf scars in counterclockwise spiral on twigs; shrubs or

trees of moist sites, sometimes thicket-forming.

birches (Betula spp.).

10. Bark shredding or separating into papery layers at base

of old trunks; seasonal twigs sparsely resin-dotted but not

warty with resin glands; seed-producing catkins rather

plump, soon drooping, their scales sometimes persistent

until late fall; trees to 60 or 90 feet high.

paper birches (varieties of Betula papyrifera).

11. Seasonal twigs orange brown, with a few straggly white

hairs; bark of lower trunk warm brown, shredding to

show orange brown or creamy layers underneath; large

trees to 90 feet high; both sides of Cascades in n. Wash,

and on the Colville Indian Reservation, also in Blue

Mts., se. Wash.; not reported from Oreg.

western paper birch (Betula papyrifera var.

commutata).

11. Seasonal twigs finely hairy or almost hairless, reddish

brown to gray; bark of lower trunk dark silvery gray,

peeling to show purplish or whitish, shreddy layers

underneath; trees to 60 feet high, sometimes with clustered trunks; rather rare, in Wallowa Mts. of ne. Oreg.,

Blue Mts. of se. Wash.

northwestern paper birch (Betula papyrifera var.

subcordata).

10. Bark not shredding or separating into layers as above;

twigs densely warty with resin glands, minutely hairy

under a lens; seed-producing catkins often erect; shrubs

or small trees, often thicket-forming.
124 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

12. Bushy trees to 40 feet high, or tall shrubs; branches

wandlike, ascending; bark bronze, dark red to purplish

brown or gray, shiny,, marked with elongated, brownish

pores (lenticels); twigs with mostly reddish or amber

colored resin glands; seed-producing catkins rather stout,

usually single, erect or drooping; "seeds" broadly

winged; wooded areas along streams; commonest birch

of e. Oreg., e. Wash.

water birch (Betula occidentalis).^^

12. Much-branched, spreading shrubs to 8 or 10 feet high;

branches flexible; twigs dark reddish brown with whitish, warty resin glands; seed-producing catkins rather

slender; "seeds" narrowly winged; often in dense

thickets in mountain bogs, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

bog birch {Betula glandulosa).

Water birch Bog birch

28 A drooping-branched variety of water birch (Betula occidentalis Hook., var.

fecunda Fern., Rhodora 47:317. 1945.), with paired or clustered seed-producing

catkins and dark bronze bark, was originally described by Piper and Beattie in

The Flora of the Palouse Region, p. 55, 1901, from material growing on ''Springy

hillsides near Almota," Garfield Co., e. Wash., but was not given any name,

being merely the third ''B". Perhaps this is the same as Guthrie birch (Betula

guthriei Sudw., A New Western Birch. Amer. For. and For. Life 33 (401): 386-

387. May 1927.), which Major Guthrie found in 1924, ''in northeastern Oregon

growing along the Imnaha River and its tributary canyons from the mouth of

the river to a point 35 miles above, reaching elevations of from about 2.500 to

4,500 feet."
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • FALL AND WINTER

Buds, Twigs Alternate

Plants Unarmed • Without Catkins

1. Plants with sagebrush odor, taste; low, rigidly branched shrubs

to 2 feet high, losing their (mostly deeply 3- to 5-cleft) leaves by

late fall; twigs tan to brownish, finely white-woolly-hairy to almost

hairless; older bark stringy-fibrous, dark; buds present except on

the dead (but drying-persistent) annual seed-head twigs, small,

to % inch long, topmost bud larger than side buds; bud scales several, overlapping, hard to see (even under lens) because of dense,

white-woolly hairs; leaf scars often edged with torn leaf-base remnants, bundle trace 1; shrubs not layering or root-sprouting; poor

rocky soils, common locally in scablands, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type

locality, plains of Snake River.

stiff sagebrush (Artemisia rigida),^^

i

[ Topmost bud

) Leafy-tw¡3 tip Annual Howering twig, dying in fall after "seeds"

are shed

Leaves failing in iate

October

Leafy-twig tip

Single bundle trace

Twig, much enlarged to

show buds, bud scales,

leaf scars, and bundle

traces

Stiff sagebrush

29 In spring and summer, stiff sagebrush is often confused with threetip sagebrush {Artemisia tripartita) which is evergreen, as are also low sagebrush {A. arhuscula), silver sagebrush {A. cana) and big sagebrush {A. tridentata). Bud sagebrush

{A. spinescens) also sheds its leaves, but it has spiny-tipped twigs.

125
126 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

1. Plants without sagebrush odor or taste.

2. Seed-head or fruit clusters persistent, distinctive (even after

seeds have fallen), often conspicuous at a distance.

[Alternate 2, p. 136.]

3. Shrubs fall-blooming; flower heads bracted, with tiny, yellow

disk flowers, ray flowers lacking; seed heads stalked, narrowly

cylindrical or bell-shaped, in usually broad (elongate in fetid

rubber rabbitbrush), roundish-topped end clusters; seed-head

bracts firm-papery, often keeled, overlapping, in 4 or 5 more

or less vertically ranked rows; ''seeds'^ (achenes) hairy,

crowned by ring of whitish or tawny, hairlike bristles (pappus) ;

leaves often drying-persistent, threadlike to (mostly) linear,

1- and/or 3- to 5-nerved, plane or spirally twisted; leaf buds

not developing until spring or, when moisture and temperature favorable, clusters of tiny leaves remain in leaf-scar or

leaf-base axils; usually round-bushy shrubs 1-6 (or 8) feet

high; common, often with sagebrush, in dry (sometimes in

alkaline) sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

rabbitbrushes (Chrysothamnus spp.).

4. Twigs flexible, whitish or greenish, hairy (loosely whitewoolly-hairy, or grayish- to greenish-feltlike and so resinmatted that scraping twig is necessary to detect hairiness),

not or indistinctly striate; seed heads to K inch long; seedhead bracts to 25, in distinctly vertical ranks; leaves usually

1-nerved, plane; stems often with appreciable rubber content; shrubs with deep taproots, sprouting from base after

cutting but rarely after burning; reportedly somewhat

poisonous to livestock under certain conditions; varieties

(or subspecies) with various intergrading characters, often

hard to tell apart.

rubber rabbitbrushes (Chrysothamnus nauseosu^).

4. Twigs brittle, white to pale green, hairless or minutely

stiff-hairy (finely sand-papery to the touch), sometimes

shiny, often sticky-resinous near seed heads or with resin

drops in leaf or leaf-scar axils, striate; seed heads to ji inch

long; seed-head bracts to 15, often in indistinctly vertical

ranks, sometimes broadest near their bent-inward tips;

leaves 1- and/or 3- to 5-nerved, often spirally twisted,

usually linear (sometimes to nearly ji inch wide) ; stems

usually much-branched from near base; varieties (or subspecies) with various intergrading characters, often hard to

tell apart.

Douglas rabbitbrushes (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus).

3. Shrubs not fall-blooming (mallow ninebark, shinyleaf spires,

creambush rockspirea, deerbrush ceanothus, redstem ceanothus, smooth sumac, mountain-ashes. Pacific poison-oak,

western poison-ivy).

5. Bark peeling in many layers; seed pods (follicles) usually

2 for each flower, in drooping, somewhat umbrella-shaped

clusters (corymbs) at tips of short side twigs; sucker shoots

common, usually stouter, taller than other branches, and

with smooth, deep reddish or purplish bark; buds with several overlapping bud scales; leaf scaxs with 3 (rarely 5)

bundle traces and with a stipule scar on either side at top
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 127

Rubber rabbitbrush ""^^''^^T

edge of leaf soar; star-shaped hairs on twigs, seed pods and

bud scales; rootstocks long-spreading, with yellow pith;

much-branched, erect slirubs to 6 feet high; burned or cutover areas, rocky dry liillsides, waslies, open woods or

roadsides; common, Wallowa and Blue Mts., ne. Oreg., se.

Wasli mallow ninebark {Physocarpus malvaceus).

Bark not peeling in many layers as above, sometimes loosestringy or flaking off in small, thin patches on older stems.

6. Fruits more or less seedlike (achenes, follicles, capsules),

massed in distinctive clusters; true end buds lacking,

stem tips dying back to topmost side bud.

471114 O-60-9
128 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7. Seed-head clusters roundish- to flattish-topped (corymbose), to 4 inches across, at tips of erect, shiny, tanto brown-barked, low, often unbranched stems which

grew from buds on shallow, trailing, woody underground stems; seed pods (follicles) splitting down from

top along inner groove; buds tiny (to % inch long) ; bud

scales several, overlapping; leaf scars indistinct, bordered by torn edges of leafstalk base; bundle trace

single; buds, bud scales, leaf scars hard to see without

hand lens; stipules, stipule scars lacking; low shrubs

to 2 or 3 feet high, stems sometimes dying back to near

ground line; commonest spirea of middle altitudes; dry

hillsides, open woods; Cascades, Wallowa and Blue

Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

shinyleaf (or birchleaf) spirea (Spiraea lucida).

Seed-head clusters elongate, narrow to broad, sometimes much-branched, nearly erect, ascending or drooping, at twig or stem tips; bud scales 2 to several, about

equally sized, overlapping little if any, soon spreading,

sometimes falling, exposing tiny, densely hairy, undeveloped leaves; bundle traces ;3 (sometimes appearing fused into 1 in ceanothus).

8. Seed pods (achenes) tiny, long-white-hairy, beaked,

5 for each flower, on a disk, opposite the 5 persistent

/

Somewhat umbrella-shaped

eed-head clusters

' 0 L

Twig enlarged to show

buds, bud scales, leaf

scars, and stipule scars

Mallow ninebark
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 129

Sferile stem tip dying back

Empty seed head enlarged

to show bracts

Enlarged bud and leaf scar

with single bundle trace

Shinyleaf spirea
130 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

calyx lobes, massed in much-branched, pyramidal,

drooping end clusters; twigs, bud scales finely, often

thinly hairy; buds to % inch long; bud scales 2 (or 3),

purplish brown, with leaflike veining toward tips,

soon spreading, falling, exposing tiny, densely

white-hairy, undeveloped leaves, buds then appearing naked; leaf scars crescent- or broadly V-shaped,

cushioned ; stipules, stipule scars lacking; twigs lined

or ridged downward from leaf scars; erect, bushy

shrubs with slate-gray bark; stems, branches often

arching near tips, 3-20 feet high; open woods, cutover lands or canyon bottoms, e. Oreg., e. Wash.;

type locality, Clearwater River, Idaho.

creambush rockspirea, or oceanspray (Holodiscus

discolor).

8. Seed pods (capsules) 3-parted, sticky-resinous,

mostly fallen from their stalked, cuplike disks which

persist in elongated, branched, compound, stalked

clusters; twigs dotted with tiny, reddish resin blisEnlarsed, persistent calyx

lobes, disk, "seed"

Enlarged twig showing leaf

scars, bundle traces,

buds, and bud scales

Creambush rockspirea
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 131

ters; side buds often stalked; bud scales several, dark,

resembling stipules, spreading to expose tiny, densely

hairy, undeveloped leaves and/or flower-bud clusters;

stipule scars reddish-resinous-glandular, on either

side at top edge of leaf scar; bundle traces 3 but

often appearing single because of a resinous-corky

substance soon covering the leaf scar; loosely

branched or erect shrubs 3-12 feet hi^h, stumpsprouting after cutting.

ceanothus {Ceanothus spp.)-

Redstem ceanothus

(note stalked buds)
132 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

9. Leaves (at least a few) winter-persistent, entiremargined; seed-pod clusters to 6 inches long, 4

inches wide; leaf scars present on lower part of

the 3- to 5-inch long stalk (peduncle) bearing the

seed-pod clusters; side buds erect or nearly so,

stalkless or short-stalked, slender; outer bud scales

lance-shaped; twigs and branches greenish, tan or

reddish brown, slender, often slightly drooping,

usually hairy; loosely branched shrubs 3-12 feet

high; rare e. of Cascades; along roads near Columbia River, Klickitat Co., Wash., Hood River Co.,

Oreg.

deerbrush ceanothus (Ceanothus integerrimus).

9. Leaves not winter-persistent; seed-pod clusters

2-4 inches long, on 2- to 3-inch long stalks (peduncles) that have no leaf scars; side buds at an angle,

often stalked, mostly globe-shaped; outer bud scales

broad, rounded or somewhat pointed at tips; twigs

and branches reddish purple, rather stout but flexible, hairless or nearly so; erect shrubs to 10 feet

high; along streams, in thickets, in open woods or

on burns or sunny hillsides; e. lower slopes. Cascades, Wallowa and Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

redstem ceanothus (Ceanothus sanguineus).

6. Fruits berrylike, winter-persistent, clustered.

10. **Berries" red (sometimes orange or scarlet); bark

usually dotted with pale pores (lenticels).

11. **Berries" (drupes) sticky, red-glandular-hairy, each

bearing single, bony seed; true end buds lacking;

sap resinous, thin-milky, soon hardening and blackening after exposure to air, not poisonous; stipules,

stipule scars lacking.

skunkbush and smooth sumacs.

12. Flower buds conspicuously scaly, catkinlike, in

mostly compound spikes at (or near) twig tips;

leafy-shoot buds without bud scales, tiny, hairy,

each borne singly and almost hidden between

twig and persistent stump of leafstalk base; leaf

scar at tip of leafstalk stump, nearly circular,

covered with dried resinous sap which makes the

7 or 8 bundle traces hard to see; "berries" with

mixed red-glandular and clear whitish (hyaline)

hairs, in small, elongate clusters near twig tips;

slenderly much-branched shrubs to 4 or 5 feet

high, flowering before leaves appear, with unpleasant aromatic odor when crushed; dry hills,

se. Oreg., not reported from Wash.

skunkbush (or lemonade) sumac

(Rhus trilobata).

12. Flower buds, leafy-shoot buds not as above; leaf

scars large, somewhat C-shaped, nearly encircling

the small, roundish, hairy buds which lack bud

scales; bundle traces easy to see, several, often

in 3 groups of 3 each; **berries" with mixed red-
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 133

Dcnsel y hairy undeveloped leaves

Topmost side bud

Dark, spreading outer bud

scales

Stalked capsule cups

Topmost side bud in axil

of topmost leafstalk

Seed-pod-clusters stalk;

leaf scars present

Redstem ceanothus Deerbrush ceanothus
134 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

11.

glandular and red-stained hairs, in large, muchbranched, pyramidal end clusters; few- and

staghorn-branched shrubs with coarse, 3-sided

twigs, to 6 feet or more high, flowering after

leaves appear; often in large patches connected

underground by long-running root branches, along

streams, extending to roadsides and upward along

dry, rocky hillsides, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

smooth sumac (Rhus glabra),

"Berries" (pomes) not as above, hairless or nearly

so, 2- to several-seeded, in usually large, flat- or

roundish-topped end clusters (compound corymbs) ;

true end buds present, mostly larger than side buds,

ellipsoid or somewhat conical, about ji inch long;

\ Topmost side bud

"Berries" red with whitishwaxy "bloom"

Skunkbush sumac Cascades mountain-ash
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 135

bud scales several, unequal, overlapping, sometimes

appearing twisted, outer ones stipulelike, less hairy

than inner ones; stipules sometimes remaining attached to base of persistent leafstalks after leaflets

fall; stipule scars absent; leaf scars crescent- to

broadly U- or V-shaped, raised on narrow darkened

ledges, often with band of tiny reddish glands along

inner border or around bud base; bundle traces

usually 5, arranged in a single curved line; low to

tall, few-branched mountain shrubs often growing

in clumps in or near clearings in moist wooded

sites, Cascades, Blue and Wallowa Mts., e. Oreg.,

e. Wash. mountain-ashes (Sorbus spp.).

13. Buds dull brown, finely yellowish- to gold-brownhairy; lowest bud scales often red or purplish;

"berries" red with whitish-waxy "bloom,'' ellipsoid, 14-40, in roundish-topped clusters; seeds

dark or chestnut brown, oval to egg-shaped,

somewhat flattened; pointed and lop-sided at

base; bark gray; pores (1 enticéis) oblong; shrubs

2-10 feet high; Cascades (also Coast Ranges), at

4,000 feet in n. Wash, to 7,500 feet in s. Oreg.;

type locality. Cascades, 49° N. lat.

western mountain-ash (Sorbus occidentalis).

13. Buds shiny, sticky or gummy, greenish or greenish-brown, white-hairy (sometimes only sparsely

so) ; "berries- globe-shaped.

14. "Berries" glossy, orange to scarlet, 80-200, in

dense, flat-topped clusters; seeds light brown,

oblong; bark reddish, thick; pores elongate;

bud scales usually sparsely white-hairy; shrubs

to 13 feet high; conspicuous on lower slopes,

e. watershed of Cascades; the only native

mountain-ash in Wallowa and Blue Mts., ne.

Oreg., se. Wash.; type locality, near Pagosa

Peak at 9,000 feet alt., sw. Colo.

Greenes mountain-ash (Sorbus scopulina).^^

14. "Berries" scarlet, often with whitish-waxy

"bloom", 30-60, in somewhat roundish-topped

(convex) clusters; seeds dark brown, eggshaped, flattened; bark gray; pores nearly circular; bud scales (at least the inner) often rather

densely white-hairy; shrubs to nearly 17 feet

high; mostly w. side of Cascades, at elevations

of 3,000 feet in n. Wash, to 6,000 feet near

Crater Lake, s. Oreg.; type locality. Frog

Heaven, Mt. Rainier, Wash.

Cascades mountain-ash (Sorbus

cascadensis).^^

^^ Greenes mountain-ash and Cascades mountain-ash have both been confused

with Sitka mountain-ash {Sorbus sitchensis) and with Siberian mountain-ash

(S. sambucifolia) neither of which occurs in Washington or Oregon; both Sitka

mountain-ash and Siberian mountain-ash have the yellowish- or golden-brown

hairiness characteristic of western mountain-ash (Sorbus occidentalis),
136 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

10. "Berries" (drupes) whitish, shining, appearing ribbed

or lined, their papery outer coats finally shed and

exposing waxy, fibrous inner coats surrounding hard,

ridged, single seeds, borne in dense erect or ascending

clusters (racemes) or in lax, spreading or drooping

clusters (panicles) in leaf-scar axils; true end buds

lacking; buds without bud scales, the tiny, hairy,

undeveloped leaves exposed; leaf scars crescentshaped; bundle traces mostly 5, arranged in a single

curved line; sap resinous, milky, poisonous to the

touch for humans; shrubs or vines often browsed by

cattle and sheep.

poison-ivy and poison-oak (Toxicodendron spp.).

15. Stems simple or erect-branched, sometimes clambering but not vinelike, often connected underground ;

leafstalks persisting awhile after their 3 leaflets have

fallen; "berries" in dense, erect or ascending clusters; shrubs to 3 or 4 feet high ; in sunny but rather

moist sites, often common locally, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

western poison-ivy {Toxicodendron rydbergii).^^

15. Stems often vinelike, climbing by aerial rootlets;

leafstalks not persisting after leaflets fall; "berries"

in loose, drooping clusters; slender-branched, often

tall shrubs; dry woods, roadsides, mostly w. of Cascades but coming through Columbia River Gorge to

e. of the Dalles on both the Oregon and Washington

sides of the river.

Pacific poison-oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum).

2. Seed-head or fruit clusters not persistent and distinctive as

above. [Alternate 2, p. 126.]

16. Buds undeveloped or tiny and hard to see.

17. Twigs densely white-woolly-hairy, at least in interconnected ridges or lines and around buds; seed-head bracts

4, in a single row, a few persisting until late fall; leafcluster scars resembling very short spurs; low, strongscented shrubs of dry open sites; poisonous to sheep,

especially in spring just before flowering and when browsed

together with sagebrush.

horsebrushes (Tetradymia spp.).

18. Branching rather rigid, broomlike; woolly-hairiness

close, evenly matted, thinning with age especiafly below

the tiny, spurlike leaf-cluster scars; shrubs with rough,

shreddy bark, not so poisonous as littleleaf horsebrush;

dry scablands or sagebrush areas, e. Oreg., e. Wash.;

type locality along the Columbia River.

gray horsebrush {Tetradymia canesçens).

18. Branching slender, spreading; woolly-hairiness in fluffy,

interconnected lines or ridges, persistent, twigs bare or

nearly so between them; more poisonous than is gray

horsebrush; bark gray, shreddy; dry open sites, often

with sagebrush, central and se. Oreg., not reported from

Wash littleleaf horsebrush {Tetradymia glahrata).

Some authors reduce Toxicodendron rydhergii to synonymy under T. radicans.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 137

Pacific poison-oaU Wesfern poison-ivy
138 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

17. Twigs not as above, reddish to purplish brown and finely

gray- or yellowish-hairy when young, becoming dark gray

and nearly hairless; spurlike twigs numerous, densely leafscarred, to 1 inch or more long, sometimes branched, often

with drooping-stalked, 4- to 6-seeded "berries" (pomes)

hanging near tips until late fall; end buds and side buds

similar, about % inch long, abruptly pointed at tips; leaf

scars narrow, slightly raised; bundle traces 3, tiny; stipule

scars lacking; rigidly much-branched shrubs with smooth

gray bark, to 6 feet high; often growing with western juniper

or ponderosa pine, e. Oreg., not reported from Wash.;

type locality, '' . . . dry hillsides near the Blue Mountains

of the Oregon.''

squawapple (Peraphyllum ramosissimum).

16. Buds not as above.

19. Leafstalk stumps and their attached stipules persistent,

partly surrounding the oblong or egg-shaped buds, distinctive; true end buds lacking; leaf scars raised, cushioned

on leafstalk stumps between the stipules; bark brown,

shreddy or peeling in thin layers; low to tall shrubs.

20. Twigs soft-woody, canelike, dying back from tips, sometimes slightly zigzag, nearly hairless to densely and

stiffly glandular-hairy; stipules lance-shaped, brittle,

more or less twisted and bent back; leaf scars shriveled,

often torn, with 3 indistinct bundle traces, hard to see;

tiny secondary (collateral) buds sometimes produced

near base and at side of other buds; stem joints (nodes)

appearing knotted and ragged with buds, persistent

leafstalks, stipule remnants, and bud scales; outer bud

scales 2 or 3, brownish or purplish, broad, rounded at

tips, with indistinct midribs; inner bud scales several,

densely pale-silky-hairy; dried, branched thimbleberry

stalks'^ tipped by 5 persistent calyx lobes surrounding

the hairy disk from which fruit has fallen, remaining

through late fall or early winter; several-stemmed shrubs

to 6 feet or more high, from erect, woody, elongated

root crowns; moist, shady woods, mountain areas,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.

western thimbleberry (Rubus parviñorus)^^

20. Twigs not soft-woody or canelike as above; leaf scars

raised, cushioned on leafstalk stubs between the stipules;

bundle trace 1.

21. Short, spurlike twigs numerous (especially on old,

stagnated growth), scarred with persistent leafstalk

stumps which, with their attached stipules, overlap

like bud scales and appear partly telescoped into each

other; vigorous new twigs often appearing jointed

because of encircling stipule scars (when leafstalk

stump pulled off, 1 bundle trace is from it and the 2

outer ones for the stipules); tiny, wedge-shaped,

winter-persistent leaves with 3-lobed tips sometimes

32 See Plants Armed Key for winter characters of salmonberry (Rtibus

spectahilis).
KEY TO IMPUKTANT WOODY PLANTS 139

present; typically tall and rigidly branched shrubs or

else moundlike and with arching branches, but often

low and prostrate after long overgrazing; open places

in ponderosa pine woods or with sagebrush, e. Oreg.,

e. Wash, .antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata).

Western fhimbleberry

Enlargement of young^ fastgrowing twig

Antelope bitterbrush
140 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

21. Short, spurlike twigs lacking; leafstalk stumps conspicuous, 3-nerved (outer 2 nerves apparently passing up and out to near tips of the attached, tan to

brownish, tissue-papery stipules), nearly enclosing the

comparatively large buds and almost encircling the

twigs; bud scales about 4, striate; bark tan to cinnamon or dark reddish brown, mostly finely silky-hairy

(hairs usually from tiny, pimplelike bases), soon

shreddy; low, bushy or straggly shrubs less than 5

feet high, often with twisted stems and the lowest

twigs almost stolonlike; moist mountain valleys or

meadows, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

bush cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa).

19. Leafstalk stumps, stipules, and leaf scars not as above.

22. Leaf scars with only 1 bundle trace.

23. True end buds lacking, stem tips dying back to tiny

stub at side of topmost side bud; fruit berries.

24. Bud scales 2, meeting at edges but not overlapping

(valvate).

25. Twigs grooved and/or angled.

26. Shrubs low (to 15 inches high), broomy with

fine bright green, deeply grooved, sharp-angled

twigs; berries red; often in carpetlike patches

under lodgepole pine; Cascades, Wallowa and

Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

grouse whortleberry {Vaccinium scoparium).

26. Shrubs tall (to 3 feet or more high).

27. Twigs often bright red (sometimes green in

shady sites), ascending to somewhat spreading, shallowly grooved, slightly angled, often

hoary with tiny, whitish, curved hairs, rarely

with white-waxy '^bloom"; flowering with or

after leaf-unfolding ; berries purplish-black,

flattened-globe-shaped; e. slopes of Cascades,

Wallowa and Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

big whortleberry {Vaccinium

membranaceum) .^^

27. Twigs reddish in grooves, greenish on

angles, hairless, glandless, with slight whitewaxy *'bloom, ^^ rather deeply grooved near

tips, nearly round toward base; flowering

before leaves unfold ; berries blue with whitewaxy ''bloom,'' globe-shaped; usually straggling shrubs (to 12 feet high in good sites);

common on e. slopes of Cascades, Wash, and

n. Oreg., scattered or rare in s. Oreg.

ovalleaf whortleberry (Vaccinium

ovalifolium).

33 In the Blue Mountains area of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, big whortleberry shrubs tend to be less coarse and not so tall as tnose

of the Cascades, and their berries are more flattened and less juicy, These big

whortleberries of the Blue Mountain area are referred to the Z''ífl!'''^JÍ%^ IZ^

complex by some authors. (See Dr. Ray J. Davis' Flora of Idaho. 1952, also

Dr. W. H. Camp. Britt. 4: 205-247. 1942.)
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 141

Enlarged twig, angled,

grooved

Grouse whortleberry

Stipules

Leafstalk stumps with af-

^^^ tached stipules

Bush cinqueioil

Topmost side bud

Stem tip dying back

Leaf scar^

Single bundle trace

Enlarged twig, buds

Big whortleberry
142 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

25. Twigs round or very slightly angled; low, muchbranched or tufted shrubs to 1 foot high, often

in patches connected by underground stems;

berries deep blue with white-waxy '^bloom/'

tipped by disklike flange (calyx) ; moist sites in

mountains, usually at higher altitudes. Cascades,

also in Wallowa and Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e.

Wash. blueberries {Vaccinium spp.).

28. Shrubs densely tufted, usually less than 8

inches high; twigs slender, shiny brown or

hoary with tiny, whitish, curved hairs, rarely

with a white-waxy ''bloom"; often in patches

in old lodgepole pine burns.

dwarf blueberry (Vaccinium cespitosum)^^

28. Shrubs much-branched, to nearly 1 foot high;

twigs relatively coarse, pale with a whitewaxy ^'bloom,'^ hairless; moist subalpine meadows, limited to and common in Cascades,

Wash, and n. Oreg., less common south of the

nrhree Sisters.

delicious (or Cascades) blueberry

(Vaccinium deliciosum).

24. Bud scales several, overlapping; buds tiny (about

)i inch long); leaf scars distinct, semicircular;

bundle trace easily seen; twigs round, rigid, ascending, often with a white-waxy ''bloom''; berries

blue, 1 to 3, from scaly buds near tips of secondyear twigs; much-branched shrubs to 3 feet high, in

mountain bogs or marshes, Cascades, Wallowa and

Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

westernbog blueberry (Vaccinium occidentale).

23. True end buds present; leafy-shoot and flower buds

separate; larger buds with several overlapping bud

scales at or near twig tips; smaller side buds often

with only 2 visible bud scales, especially near twig

base; seed pods (capsules) persistent, stalked, glandular-hairy, split down from top into 4 or 5 parts and

separated from central core; calyx lobes persistent

at seed-pod base; twigs often appearing whorled;

erect shrubs usually 2-6 feet high, poisonous, sometimes causing sheep losses on poorly managed summer

range; moist mountain sites. Cascades, Wallowa and

Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

29. Seed pods split into 4 parts, shallowly cupped m

4 tiny, glandular-hairy-fringed calyx lobes, clustered at tips of second-year twigs and between

bases of 2 usually unequally sized first-year twigs

(the larger twig usually tipped by a flower-cluster

bud and the smaller twig by a leafy-shoot bud);

3* At lower altitudes in mountain areas in both e. Oreg. and e. Wash., there are

erect, taller and coarser shrubs with redder twigs than those of dwarf blueberry.

These are referred by some botanists to taller dwarf blueberry {Vaccinium cespitosum var. arbúsculo) ; other botanists regard these coarse shrubs as possibly

polyploid and as a separate species {Vaccinium arbuscula).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 143

flower-cluster buds larger and with more and

variously sized bud scales than the leafy-shoot

buds which have fewer and nearly equally sized

bud scales; buds, twigs, and seed-pod stalks hoary

with tiny, whitish, curved hairs (often also glandular-hairy) ; bud scales white-hairy-fringed, with

rather coarse, often bent-back, white hairs at tips

and yellowish- or white-chaffy hairs along middle

back; bark brownish, often shreddy; moist, crushed

twigs often with rank odor rusty menziesia.

{Menziesia ferrugined) ; probably not specifically

distinct from smooth menziesia (M. glabelld).

, Seed-pod cluster, with

glandular-hairy stalks

Western bog blueberry

^Leaf scar with single bundle trace

Rusty menziesia

471114 O-60-10

Dwarf blueberry
144 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

29. Seed pods split into 5 parts, more deeply cupped

in 5 conspicuous calyx lobes, often with flat-tipped

style persistent and extending out from central

core; flower buds several, along first-year twigs

below leafy-shoot buds which are at or near twig

tips; buds and new twigs with rather coarse, appressed, dark- or coppery-red hairs; bark smooth,

gray brown; moist, crushed twigs often somewhat

fragrant.

Cascades azalea, or false-azalea (Rhododendron

alhiñorum).

22. Leaf scars with 3 bundle traces.

30. Buds without bud scales (tiny, brownish, hairy, undeveloped leaves and flowers exposed) ; true end buds

lacking, topmost side bud larger than other side buds

on same twig; leaf scars oval, slightly raised; stipule

scars present; new twigs green, hairy; older twigs

red brown, hairless or nearly so; "berries" (drupes)

black, often emetic-cathartic, stalked, in stalked,

umbrellalike clusters in leaf-scar axils; ''seeds''

(nutlets) 2 or 3, smooth on outer side; bark (cascara

sagrada of drug trade) smooth, gray, often stripped

for medical use; tall shrubs or small trees, stumpsprouting after cutting; moist sites, mostly w. of

Cascades, also in e. Oreg., e. Wash, at lower altitudes

(3,000 feet) ; type locality along Clearwater River near

Kamiah, Nez Perce Co., Idaho.

cascara buckthorn (Rhamnus purshiana).

30. Buds with bud scales.

31. Twigs zigzag, 2-ranked, that is, each bud half way

(180 degrees) around twig from bud next above or

below, often distorted by witches' brooms (fungus

disease); pith closely chambered, at least near

''joints" (nodes) ; true end buds lacking; buds sniall,

almost globe-shaped; bud scales 4, overlapping,

2-ranked; "berries" (drupes) slender-stalked, borne

singly in leaf-scar axils on new twigs, dull orange

to dark cinnamon- or reddish-brown or purplish,

with single bony ''seed" (nutlet); small trees or

shrubs with smooth or warty bark; rocky canyon

slopes, or valleys along streams, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

netleaf hackberry (Celtis reticulata) J^

31. Twigs not zigzag or 2-ranked as above; pith not

chambered; bud scales several to many spirally

overlapping, 2 lowest above leaf-scar ends, fruits

berrylike (drupes or pomes), or true berries.

32. Buds usually clustered at twig tips, sharptipped; many side buds nearly as large as end

buds; stipule scars present; fruit-cluster stalks

35 Netleaf hackberry is a very variable species, with many intergrading forms.

Syns. Celtis douglasiiy C. laevigata var. reticulata; C. occidentalis var. reticulata.

The type locality of netleaf hackberry is "Base of the Rocky Mountains," Colorado

or New Mexico; the type locality of Douglas hackberry {Celtis douglasii) is along

the Columbia River.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

I Leafy-shoot bud

145

Twig, buds, enlarged

Leafy-shoot bud

(enlarged)

Hairs mostly dark- or

coppery-red

Leaf scar with tiny side bud

in its axil, and single

bundle trace (enlarged)

Cascara buckthorn Netleaf hockberry
146 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cascara buckthorn "-"*""'

(sometimes with dried fruits attached) on secondyear twigs, often winter persistent; bark bitter,

dotted with pale pores (lenticels) ; trees in favorable sites, shrubs sometimes thicket-forming in

poor sites; in mountain areas, near streams, or

woods after fire or clearing, e. Oreg., e. Wash.;

also w. of Cascades.

common chokecherries, bitter cherry.

33. Bud scales many, all about same size, brownish, rounded and thin-papery along upper

edges, often slightly notched at "midrib" tips

buds often to 72 inch long; twigs hairless or
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 147

Leaf scar, enlarscd to show

3 bundle traces

nearly so; bark hard to peel, with strong or

peach-pit odor when freshly bruised; varieties

hard to tell apart after chokecherries fall.

common chokecherry {Prunus virginiana).

34. Ripe fruits bright red, often drying dark

purplish and persistent, less astringent and

sweeter than black common chokecherry;

type locality, 'Tlains of the Oregon (Columbia) towards the sea, and at the mouth of

the Wahlamet (Willamette).''

western common chokecherry

(Prunis virginiana var. demissa).

34. Ripe fruits black, astringent, often falling

with stalks attached, leaving circular, mostly

callus-covered scars on the persistent fruitcluster stalks.

black common chokecherry

(Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa).

33. Bud scales several, lower usually shorter than

upper, often shiny-sticky, somewhat hairy and

glandular-fringed; stipules sometimes persisting at bud bases; buds small, to Vi inch long;

twigs shiny red and nearly hairless to dull,

dark gray brown and finely but densely hairy;

outer bark easily separated from inner, very

bitter bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata).

Bitter cherry Chokecherry
148 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

32. Buds rarely clustered at twig tips; bark not

bitter or with peach-pit odor.

currants, alder buckthorn, serviceberries.

35. Twigs ridged or lined downward from leaf-scar

ends; pith porous or spongy; bark of new twigs

thin-papery, splitting, shredding or peeUng,

soon shed; pale pores (lenticels) lacking; leaf

scars narrowly U- or V-shaped to broadly

crescent- or heart-shaped, slightly raised; spurlike, leaf-scarred twigs common; buds often

short-stalked; true end buds present; fruitcluster stalks sometimes persistent; alternate

hosts for white pine blister rust, some species

more susceptible than others. [Alternate 35,

p. 155.]

currants (Ribes spp.)

36. Buds, new twigs yellow-resin-dotted; buds to

% inch long; wood sometimes with bad odor;

branches few, erect, ascending or sprawling;

coarse-stemmed shrubs of moist woods.

37. Leaf scars heart-shaped; buds egg- to

globe-shaped, hairless, brown to purple

Heart-shaped

leaf scar

Golden currant

M Yellow resin drops on buds

'' and new twigs,- replaced

by black pinpoint dots

on second-year twigs

Blood currant

F-494094

Western black currant

F-486438

Stink currant
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

Buds bright red à Loose bud scales

End bud

149

Blood currant

F-486447, 486448, 486454

reddish; resin dots few; older bark dark

gray or brown; shrubs to 12 feet high;

common w., occasional e. slopes of Cascades ; type locality near mouth of Columbia River.

stink currant {Ribes bracteosum).

37. Leaf scars crescent-shaped, extending ji

way around twig; buds pinkish, oblong,

pointed at tips, finely, shortly whitishhairy; twigs mostly hairless; yellow resin

dots replaced by black pinpoint dots on
150 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Starting point 0

Fast growing shoots, with

2/5 arrangement of buds

and twigs

Branches with spurlil<e twigs

^ I 1 . F-486453, 486450, 486461 uolden currant

second-year twigs; highly susceptible to

white pine blister rust, blamed for many of

first long-range rust introductions into

Inland Empire areas ; shrubs to 6 feet high ;

mts., 6. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, w.

base. Rocky Mts., lat. 48-52°.

western black currant {Ribes petiolare).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 151

36. Buds, new twigs not yellow-resin-dotted as

above.

38. Buds red, conspicuous, to 3/4 inch long,

slender, pointed at tips; bud scales often

3-veined (veins merging near bud-scale

top, protruding beyond it in a dark,

glandular tip), lower shorter than upper,

spreading at tips; fruit-cluster stalks erect,

usually with a few stalked glands and dark

glandular dots ; leaves finely whitish-hairymatted on under surface, sometimes persistent; shrubs to 12 feet high, often cultivated for its beautiful red flowers ; common

in moist soils w., occasional along road

cuts or streams, e. slopes of Cascades; type

locality, Columbia River.

blood currant {Ribes sanguineum),

38. Buds not red or as above.

39. New twigs shiny, pale to golden- or

reddish-tan, usually hairless (rarely with

fine, short, whitish hairs or with longer,

gland-tipped hairs); end buds about

same size (% inch long) as the usually

appressed side buds; leaves rolled

lengthwise (convolute) in the bud, other

native Oreg. and Wash, currants have

leaves accordion-pleated (plicate) in

the bud; sometimes cultivated for its

spicy-fragrant, golden-yellow blossoms;

shrubs to 8 feet high; common along

streams, moist hillsides, or often in rocky

sites with sagebrush, e. Oreg., e. Wash.;

type locality, '^On the banks of the rivers

Missouri and Columbia."

golden currant {Ribes aureum).

39. New twigs, buds not as above, sometimes sticky-shiny (viscid) or sugary-

(crystalline-) waxy; young bark reddish

brown to reddish tan, with fine, short,

ashy-white hairs; older bark gray,

smooth ; bud scales very finely glandularhairy-fringed on margins.

sticky currant, wax currant.

40. Gland-tipped hairs short, rather

coarse, present on new twigs; young

bark peeling off in patches; end buds

like side buds but larger (to V2 i^^ch

long), broadly egg-shaped, with

pointed tips; bud scales broad, thinpapery, finely gland-dotted, pale pinkish tan to purplish brown, often 3-

veined (veins merging near bud-scale

top, protruding beyond it in a short,

dark glandular tip) ; stiffly branched.
152 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Sticky currant ^-*«<'*"

bushy shrubs to 5 feet high, with taproots, not sprouting or layering, heavy

seed-producers; highly susceptible to

white pine blister rust; not very

shade tolerant; on open ridgetops,

cut- or burned-over areas or along

rights-of-way in wooded areas; often

; with western larch, lodgepole, or

ponderosa pine, also at higher elevations with subalpine fir; Cascades,

Wallowa and Blue Mts., Oreg., Wash. ;

type locality. Rocky Mts.

sticky currant (Äffte« viscosissimum).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 153

Wax currant

(Showins branching habit and short, branchlike twigs)
154 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Wax currant

(% arransement of buds on fast-growins shoots)
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 155

40. Gland-tipped hairs lacking from twigs;

the reddish or yellowish, sticky-shiny

resin on buds and twigs often drying

sugary-waxy; young bark splitting,

shredding; end buds like side buds,

about K inch long, oval, mostly blunt

at tips; buds in ^/s arrangement ^^ on

the twig (buds of all other native

Oreg. and Wash, currants are in 2/5

arrangement); much-branched shrubs,

to 6 feet high; common, dry woods,

rocky hillsides, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type

locality, upper Columbia River- in

Wash__wax currant (Ribes cereum).

35. Twigs not ridged or lined downward from leafscar ends; pith continuous (not spongy or

porous); bark of new twigs not splitting,

shredding or peeling; fruits berrylike (drupes or

pomes). [Alternate 35, p. 148.]

41. Buds egg-shaped, to Vi inch long, true end

buds lackihg; bud scales 5, lowest 2 longer,

sheathing base of upper 3; stipule scars

present; the usually 3 bundle traces sometimes fused into 1; ^^berries'^ (drupes) black,

juicy but bitter, stalked, mostly single, in

leaf-scar axils on new twigs, their disktipped stalks often persistent; '^seeds^' (nutlets) 3, ridged near tips; twigs reddish brown,

becoming gray; spreading shrubs to 6 (or

10) feet high; wet sites, mountain meadows

to 7,000 feet or more elevation, e. Oreg., e.

Wash.

alder buckthorn (Rhamnus alnifolia)»

41. Buds conical, often asymmetrical, varying

in color, hairiness, size, often conspicuous;

true end buds present on some twigs (on

fruiting twigs, the topmost side bud at base

of persistent stub of the fruit-cluster stalk

functions as an end bud) ; visible bud scales

usually 6, often twisted, finely white-hairyfringed (ciliate) on margins (sometimes redglandular-tipped or -edged) ; inner bud scales

usually finely long-white-hairy; bark of new

twigs red, reddish brown, or purplish, dotted

36 In the Ys bud arrangement, the 8th bud above or below any given bud on

the same twig (and of a single season's growth) is the first bud directly above or

below it and exactly 360 degrees around the twig from it; each bud on the twig is

135 degrees (% of 360 degrees) around the twig from the bud next above or below it.

This is best seen on a fast-grown twig.

In the }i bud arrangement, the 5th bud above or below any given bud on the

same twig (and of a single season's growth) is the first bud directly above or below

it and exactly 360 degrees around the twig from it; each bud on the twig is 144

degrees (ji of 360 degrees) around the twig from the bud next above or below it.

See diagrams on p. 3.
156 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

with pale pores (lenticels); pith slightly 5-

angled; leaf scars narrowly crescent-shaped;

stipule scars lacking; ''berries" (pomes)

sometimes drying-persistent, tipped by 5

bent-back (rarely nearly erect) calyx lobes

rimmed around inside base by 10-20 persistent anther stalks; seeds 4-10, small,

smooth, dark brown, sometimes asymmetrical; species often hard to tell apart; slender

shrubs or small trees, in exposed sites or

when overbrowsed sometimes dwarfed and

prostrate; moist sites, open woods or springy

hillsides in drier sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.)

42. New twigs purplish red, hairless, with

whitish-waxy **bloom" or slightly glossy;

buds conspicuous, to V2 inch or more long,

purplish red, hairless except for whitehairy fringe on bud-scale margins; branches

many, slender, wandlike, flexible; shrubs

to 10 feet high; common on basaltic ledges

along rivers, e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, ''On stony hillsides, Union County,

Oregon.'^

Cusick serviceberry (Amelanchier

cusickii).

42. New twigs and buds not as above, finely

soft-white-hairy (sometimes only sparsely

so), hairs not matted.

43. Bud scales (at least some) densely longhairy; buds 1/4 to % inch long, dark purplish; twigs dark reddish or purplish

brown, slender, erect; slender shrubs 3-

15 feet high, or sometimes small trees;

mostly w. of Cascades, sometimes in

Columbia Gorge area, Oreg., Wash.;

type locality, "Northwest America,/'

probably along the lower Columbia

River, near Vancouver, Wash.

Pacific serviceberry (Amelanchier

florida).

43. Bud scales (at least some of them)

sparsely, shortly silky-hairy; buds to V4

inch long, reddish to dark brown; twigs

reddish brown; bark of older twigs dark

gray; shrubs or small trees to 20 feet or

more high; e. slopes of Cascades, Wallowa. Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

saskatoon serviceberry (Amelanchier

alnifolia).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

Topmost side buds

I Side buds

157

y

F-49409r)

Cusick serviceberry

Pacific serviceberry

Saskatoon serviceberry
PLANTS DECIDUOUS • FALL AND WINTER

Buds, Twigs Opposite

1. Plants woody climbers or vinelike shrubs.

2. Stems climbing by tendrillike leaflet stalks, ridged, grooved,

swollen at joints; leafstalks persistent, hiding leaf scars; old

bark shredding in long strips; buds conspicuous at joints of old

wood; ''seeds'' (achenes) with long, hairy tails, clustered, sometimes persistent; moist sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

clematis and virginsbower {Clematis spp.).

3. Leafstalks with 5-7 leaflet stalks; stems high-climbing, often

over trees; common in stream valleys.

western virginsbower (Clematis ligusticifolia,.

3. Leafstalks with only 3 leaflet stalks; stems low-climbing or

clambering over rocks; moist sites in open mountain woods.

Columbia rock clematis (Clematis verticillaris

var. colum^hiana).

2. Stems and leafstalks not as above; leaf scars visible, each pair

connected by ridge or line; bundle traces 3 ; in moist woods.

4. Stems spirally twining, to 30 feet long, often climbing over

trees; pith hollow; buds pale straw-colored, hairless; end buds

present; bud scales lance-shaped, at least 2 pairs visible, equal

in size; berries orange to bright red, in short-stalked heads,

rarely persistent but leaving tissue-papery bracts at their

darkened attachment scars; e. slopes of Cascades, Wallowa

and Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

western trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa).

4. Stems reclining or arching and rooting at tips to form tangled

thickets; pith solid, white to yellowish; buds bright red, tiny

()i inch long), bluntly pointed or white-hairy-tufted at tip,

white-hairy-fringed around base; true end buds sonietimes

developed but usually the top 2 side buds erect at twig tips;

fruits (''keys,'' or samaras) long-stalked, their wings in a

nearly straight line, sometimes persistent at twig tips; common w., occasional e. of Cascades, Oreg., Wash., Wallowa Mts.,

ne. Oreg. vine maple (Acer circinatum)J^

1. Plants erect shrubs (sometimes with arching or reclining branches)

or trees.

5. End buds lacking, twig tips dying back to top pair of side buds.

(See also vine maple, under''4''.)

6. Leaf scars conspicuous, crescent- or shield-shaped, meeting

or connected by line or ridge on which dark glandlike or

wartlike stipules or stipule scars are sometimes present;

bundle traces 5 (or 3-7); buds solitary or multiple, stalked or

stalkless; several pairs of bud scales visible; pith large, soft,

white to yellowish or dark brown; branched fruit-cluster

stalks persistent after '^berries'' (drupes) fall; tall shrubs or

small trees of moist sites elders (Sambucas spp.).

" In open sites vine maple grows also as an erect shrub or as a small tree; however it is not included again in this winter key.

158
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 159

7. Twigs, "berries" waxy-whitened (glaucous); stipules, stipule scars lacking; buds relatively small, egg-shaped; pith

white to yellowish; '^berries^^ blue, in flat-topped, severalrayed clusters ; ''seeds" (nutlets) cross-wrinkled; tall shrubs

or trees; roadsides or stream valleys, lower to middle altitudes; commonest elder of e. Oreg., e. Wash.

blueberry elder (Sambucas glauca).

F-494096

Western virginsbower Columbia rock clematis Western trumpet honeysuckle

471114 0-60-11
160 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7. Twigs, "berries" not waxy-whitened; stipules (or stipule

scars) usually present; buds relatively large; pores (lenticels) corky or warty, often conspicuous; pith yellowish to

brown; ''berries'^ in rounded or pyramidal end clusters with

central axis; shrubs of moist mountain woods.

8. Stipules black, glandlike, crescent-shaped, usually 2,

flattened against line or ridge between leaf scars; buds

almost globe-shaped; ''berries" shiny-black; ''see:ds" crosswrinkled; erect shrubs; stems sometimes arching or reclining, often in patches; e. slopes of Cascades, Wallowa

and Blue Mts., e. Oreg., e. Wash.

blackbead elder (Sambucas melanocarpa).

8. Stipules strap-shaped with callus tips, not winter-persistent but leaving several wartlike scars along line or ridge

between leaf scars; buds egg-shaped, with pointed tips;

''berries" red; "seeds" smooth; shrubs with spreading

stems, forming loose, open clumps; Cascades, Oreg.,

Wash., not reported from Wallowa or Blue Mts.; type

locality. Crater Lake area, Oreg.

western red elder {Sambucus leiosperma).^^

6. Leaf scars not as above.

9. Clustered seed pods (capsules) conspicuous even at a distance, stalked, top-shaped, 3- to 5-celled, splitting down

middle-back of each cell; sterile shoots with bright reddishtan, cross-checked bark; leaf scars with thin, tissue-papery

membranes covering buds until they start swelling, then

spHtting down between the 3 bundle traces; branches upcurving, wide-spreading; common in moist sites in open

woods or along roads, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

Lewis mockorange {Philadelphus leivisii).

Wifhered stem tip

Topmost pair of side buds

i •'''^ :\ Í

%

^ mi

LMä ^l>3laC^

k ^ <P ".V N>^: T' -^

I m

Glandlike, crescent-shaped

stipules

Blackbead elder ^

everai wartlike stipule

scars

Three bundle traces in leaf

scar

Western red elder

3 8 Field observations needed to determine relationship between western red

elder and Pacific red elder {Sambucus callicarpa) typically a shade-tolerant tall

shrub or small tree of the redwoods area of the California Coast ranges.

Pacific red elder was originally described by Dr. E. L. Greene (Flora Franciscana,

p 343. 1892.) as having white pith, small winter buds and strap-shaped stipules

with callus tips. Some authors regard these two red-berried elders as one species,

Sambucus callicarpa.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 161

Clustered seed pods lacking; white berries often persistent;

leaf scars indistinct, with only 1 bundle trace; twigs slender;

side buds tiny (about Ys inch long), with several pairs of bud

scales visible snowberries (Symphoricarpoa spp.).

10. Pith hollow; twigs hairless; bark of older branches gray;

berries globe-shaped, clustered at twig tips; commonest

snowberry of lower and. middle altitudes, e. Oreg., e.

Wash. ; type locality, Holmes Creek, near Laurel, Falcon

Valley, Klickitat Co., Wash.

Columbia snowberry (Symphoricarpas rivularis).

F-494098

Columbia snowberry

Sterile shoot (enlarged)\

Lewis mocl<oran9e
162 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

10. Pith solid; twigs faintly hoary with fine, whitish, curved

hairs ; bark of older branches dark brown ; berries ellipsoid, single or in pairs at upper joints; moist to dry

sites, at higher altitudes, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

whortleleaf snowberry (Symphoricarpos vaccinioides).

5. End buds present, twig tips not dying baclc.

11. Buds (at least some) stalked.

12. Twigs and buds brown-scurfy with silvery-fringed scales;

leaf scars with only 1 bundle trace; buds of 2 kinds: (a)

tiny, globe-shaped flower buds in branched clusters, and

(b) larger leaf buds with only 1 pair of bud scales visible ;

shrubs to 6 feet high; open woods, medium altitudes. Blue

Mts., ne. Oreg., rare in e. Wash.

russet buflfaloberry {Shepherdia canadensis).

12. Twigs and buds not brown-scurfy; leaf scars with 3 bundle

traces.

Whortleleai snowberry
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

Stolon

163

Russet buffaloberry Red-osier dogwood
164 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Ê

Purple-flower honeysuckle

Fruit stalk _

Western wohoo ^'^^^^^^
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 165

13. Stems bright or purplish red, pliable, sometimes lodging,

rooting at tips and forming stolons; fruit-cluster stalks

branched, persistent at twig tips after the whitish or

bluish ''berries'' (drupes) fall; plumper end buds contain

flower-bud clusters, side buds and other end buds are

leafy-shoot buds with a single pair of leaflike bud scales

visible; stream banks or moist sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera).

13. Stems not as above.

14, Bud scales brown, outer pair fused at edges, appearing

as a single bud scale, last year's bursted scales often

hanging collarlike around twig bases; buds hairless, to

% inch long; squashed reddish ''berries'' (drupes)

persistent, in stalked, branched clusters; tall straggling

shrubs; moist sites; occasional, e. slopes of Cascades,

Wallowa and Blue Mts., ne. Oreg., se. Wash.

moosewood (or squashberry) viburnum (Viburnum

edule).

14. Bud scales bright red, outer pair meeting at edges

(valvate) but not fused as above, sometimes spreading

at tip to show second pair, hairless outside, densely

white-woolly-hairy inside ; fruit-cluster stalks persistent; fruits ("keys," or samaras) with wings erect or

nearly so, forming an acute angle with each other; erect

shrubs or small trees; e. slopes of Cascades, Wallowa

and Blue Mts.; commonest maple of e. Oreg., e.

Wash.

Douglas maple (Acer glabrum var. douglasii)^^

11. Buds stalkless.

15. Only 1 pair of bud scales visible.

16. Leafstalks broken off near base, their persistent stubs

hiding leaf scars; bundle traces 3 ; twigs ascending, with

a few straggly hairs; bark dark reddish brown; subalpine meadows; s. from Mt. Adams along Cascades and

lower sites on e. slopes.

red mountain-fly honeysuckle (Lonicera cauriana).

16. Leafstalks not as above; leaf scars visible; bundle trace

1; twigs slender, green, ridged or lined; pith greenish,

spongy; buds purplish, to % inch long; seed pods (capsules) long-stalked, deeply 3- (or 5-) lobed; seeds with

red fleshy outgrowths (^rils) ; tall, erect or straggling

shrubs; moist woods along streams; occasional e. slopes of

Cascades; type locality near Vancouver, Wash., along

Columbia River.

western wahoo or western burningbush

(Euonymus occidentalis).

15. More than 1 pair of bud scales visible (except in poorly

developed buds of bearberry honeysuckle).

17. Leaf scars with 3 bundle traces; buds sometimes one

above the other (superposed) ; pith solid ; shrubs of moist

sites, often at higher elevations, in mountains, e. Oreg.,

e. Wash. honeysuckles (Lonicera spp).

39 For vine maple {Acer circinatum) see under vinelike shrubs.
166 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

18. Bud scales firm, in 4 vertical rows, pointed at tips,

persistent, appearing tightly laced around twig base

for several months; bark grayish brown; shrubs to 5

feet high; at higher sites.

purpleflower honeysuckle (Lonicera conjugialis),

18. Bud scales thin-papery, not as above.

19. Twigs 4-lined or 4-ridged, appearing square, often

coarse, finely hairy, glandular-hairy, or hairless;

bud scales about equal in size, straw-colored, pointed

at tips; berry bracts stalked, dark reddish, dryingpersistent after berries fall, on youngest twigs (stalks

often persisting for 2 years) ; erect or straggling

shrubs to 10 feet high; middle to higher altitudes;

commonest honeysuckle in e, Oreg,, e. Wash.

bearberry honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata),

19. Twigs not as above; lower bud scales smaller and

straw-colored, upper ones larger, purplish with

whitish veins, rounded at tips; bark gray or strawcolored; branches widely spreading; erect shrubs to

5 feet high; at higher sites.

Utah honeysuckle (Lonicera utahensis).

17. Leaf scars with 5 or more bundle traces; twigs coarse,

their bark with small, whitish pores (lenticéis) ; end buds

about Yi inch long, larger than side buds ; fruits (samaras)

with winged ''seeds" (nutlets), stalked, in stalked,

elongated clusters, often winter-persistent; valuable

hardwood timber trees; on rich, moist soils, river

valleys; common w., occasional or rare e. side of

Cascades, Oreg., Wash. ash, maple.

20. Bundle traces many, fused into a band; leaf scars

broadly U-shaped to half-round, not meeting or connected by line or ridge around twig; buds dark brown

to nearly black, conical; end buds pointed at tip, with

4 pairs of bud scales visible, sometimes with an erect

leafstalk at one side; fruits persistent, in stalked

clusters (panicles) from leaf scars on second-year

wood, each "seed" tipped by a single wing which runs

down on each side to near its base; twigs somewhat

brownish-scurfy-hairy at first, becoming nearly hairless and a shiny dark reddish brown.

Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia).

20. Bundle traces 5-7, distinct; leaf scars narrow, ' Vshaped, meeting or connected by line or ridge around

twig ; buds about same color as twigs; end buds with 3

pairs of bud scales, almost globe-shaped, abruptly

pointed or rounded at tip; fruits in stalked, elongated

clusters (racemes) at tips of twigs on female trees, each

2-winged and with 2 yellowish-hairy ''seeds,'^ the

wings at almost right angles to each other; twigs pale

to bright green or dark reddish, often with whitish,

waxy "bloom''; the only native maple in Oreg. and

Wash, with milky sap; often planted for shade in cities.

bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS

Upper purplish bud scales

Lower, smaller bud sea

167

Leaf scar 3 bundle traces

Utah honeysuckï^e

End bud

Side bud

Leaf scars with fused bundle traces

Side buds

Leaf scar with 7 bundle

traces

Bigleof maple
PLANTS EVERGREEN, or With Winter-Persistent

Leaves

1. Leaves scale-, awl-, or needlelike.

2. Plants producing berrylike cones requiring 2 years to mature,

often with strongly aromatic or resinous odor and taste; ^'berry'^-

and pollen-producing flowers usually on separate plants; trees

or prostrate, high-altitude shrubs_ .junipers {Juniperus spp.).

3. Leaves mostly scalelike, overlapping, close-pressed to twigs

(leaves on young twigs sometimes awllike and slightly spreading) ; winter buds without bud scales (naked) ; trees, or in unfavorçible sites sometimes shrubby.

4. Twigs round in cross section, rather stout, reddish, paperscaly; leaves in whorls of 3, resin-dotted, gray green; ripe

''berries'^ blue black with a whitish ^^bloom"; trunk bark

cinnamon brown, long- and flat-ridged and widely and

shallowly furrowed, stringy; trees, usually 15-30 (rarely

over 60) feet high; e. slopes of Cascades, Oreg., Wash., often

growing with sagebrush, commonest juniper of mountain

areas of e. Oreg., rather rare in e. Wash., occasional in

Snake and Grande Ronde River valleys, se. Wash.; type

locality, ''Common on the higher parts of the Columbia at

the base of the Rocky Mountains.^^

western (or Sierra) juniper {Juniperus occidentalis).

4. Twigs flattened, slender, brownish; leaves opposite, each

pair at right angjes to pair next above or below (decussate),

gland-pitted, dark green, often with a whitish ''bloom'';

ripe "berries" bright blue with a whitish "bloom"; trunk

bark reddish brown, with a network of low, narrow ridges

and furrows, shreddy; trees (or sometimes shrubby), often

15-20 feet high, or sometimes more than 45 feet high in

favorable sites; Waflowa Mts., ne. Oreg., near Spokane,

e. Wash.

Rocky-Mountain juniper {Juniperus scopulorum).

3. Leaves all awllike, spreading, chalky-white on upper surface,

dark green on lower surface, in whorls of 3; winter buds scaly;

"berries" bright blue, with a whitish "bloom"; prostrate

shrubs with stout branches; dr\^ slopes/at higher altitudes,

Cascades, Oreg., Wash.

mountain common juniper {Juniperus communis var.

saxatilis).

Dots of resin

Gland pits f |

Western juniper

168

Rocky-Mountain juniper

F-494103

Mountain common juniper
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 169

2. Plants not producing berrylike cones as above; shrubs heathor heatherlike, matted or clumped, to 2 feet high; flowers bell- or

urn-shaped, 4- or 5-Iobed, stalked, in somewhat umbrellalike

end clusters; stamens 8-10; anthers opening by end pores; seed

pods (capsules) 4- or 5-celled, globe- or egg-shaped; subalpine

or alpine bogs or wet meadows mountainheaths, cassiope.

5. Leaves fir- or heathlike, alternate, to about Vè inch long,

crowded near ends of branches, stiffly ascending or spreading,

jointed to erect ^leafstalks" grown fast to twig; midrib

prominent on under surface, paralleled by 2 grooves lined

with glands and stomata; margins rolled under; seed pods

splitting down from top along partitions between cells.

mountainheaths {Phyllodoce spp.)^^

6. Flowers bell-shaped, reddish; calyx lobes K as long as corolla ;

flowers and flower stalks nearly hairless, or with a few

gland-tipped hairs; leaves glandular-hairy only on margins

or along edges of midrib; straggly shrubs; Cascades,

Wallowa and Blue Mts., Oreg., Wash.

red mountainheath (Phyllodoce empetriformis).

6. Flowers urn-shaped, yellowish; calyx lobes % as long as

corolla; flowers densely glandular-hairy as are also flower

stalks; leaves glandular-hairy on both sides as well as along

margins; bushy shrubs; Cascades, Oreg., Wash.; Wallowa

Mts., ne. Oreg.

cream mountainheath (Phyllodoce glanduliñora).

5. Leaves scale- or heatherlike, opposite, to Vi inch long, 4-

ranked, overlapping, erect or ascending; flowers white, bellshaped, few; stamens with pair of recurved awns at anther

tips; seed pods splitting down middle-back of each cell;

Cascades, Oreg., Wash.; Wallowa Mts., ne. Oreg.

Mertens cassiope (Cassiope mertensiana).

1. Leaves not scale-, awl-, or needlelike.

7. Leaves simple. [Alternate 7, p. 202.]

8. Leaves opposite or whorled (3 or more at a joint). [Alternate

8, p. 177.]

9. Leaf margins spiny-toothed (hollylike), leaves broadest

above middle, wedge-shaped at base, thick and leathery,

to Iji inches long and % inch wide, shiny green on upper

surface, whitish between veins on under surface; stipule

bases swollen, somewhat corky, persistent; flowers blue,

fading lavender, stalked, in small, somewhat umbrellalike

clusters; seed pods (capsules) globe-shaped, borne in

cup-shaped disks, 3-celled, each cell prominently horned

and also wrinkled, ridged or crested near tip; prostrate

shrubs with rigid branches to 6 inches high and dark,

creeping stems often rooting in contact with soil but not

crown-sprouting after fire or cutting, forming mats to 10

^^ Red and cream mountainheaths sometimes crossbreed where their ranges

overlap, producing hybrids with characteristics variously intermediate between

those of the two parents (see W. H. Camp, Phyllodoce Hybrids. The New Flora

and Silva 12: 207-211. Aug. 1940). For descriptions, illustrations, and discussion of leaf structure, see Herbert F. Copeland, A Study, Anatomical and Taxonomic, of the Genera of Rhododendroideae. Amer. Midi. Nat. 30: 533-627. Nov.

1943, and also Fred Stoker, The Genus Phyllodoce. The New Flora and Silva

12: 30-42. Nov. 1939.
170 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

feet across; in dry, burned- or cutover pine woods, e. slopes

of Cascades from Klamath Co., s. Oreg., n. to Klickitat

Co., s. Wash.

squaw-carpet (or Mahala-mat) ceanothus

(Ceanothus prostratus).

9. Leaf margins and leaves not as above.

10. Leaf margins entire, rolled under on young leaves;

leaves sometimes in whorls of 3, to nearly 1 inch long,

almost stalkless, green on upper surface, whitish and

with prominent midrib on under surface; flowers openly

bowl-shaped, pink or pale purplish, stalked, in somewhat

umbrellalike end clusters, each flower with 10 pouches

where anthers rest until stamen stalk is tripped by

insect (or touched with a pin) when they spring out and

Flowers

F-481216, 481825, 494104 Merfens cassiope
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 171

Cross-section of leaf (enlarged)

Red mountoinheath
172 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Squaw-carpef ceanothus

Dark, pointed stipules

F-49410«

dust pollen from end slits in the anther sacs; seed pods

(capsules) globe-shaped, 5-celled, splitting along partitions between cells (and also part way down middleback of some cells), at last falling and leaving a ñanged

core topping their stalks; dwarf alpine or subalpine

shrubs less than 2 feet high, with several stems from

underground rootstocks; poisonous to livestock; Cascades, Oreg., Wash.; Blue and Wallowa Mts., ne. Oreg.

alpine bog kalmia (Kalmia polifolia VSLT. microphylla).

10. Leaf margins toothed; shrubs or half-shrubs of moist

sites in open or dense woods.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 173

Flowers showins pouches

for anther sacs

Leaves, enlarsed to show

upper and lower surfaces, and rolled-under

margin

Seed pod (enlarged), style

still attached

Alpine bog kalmia
174 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

11. Stems vinelike, trailing, to 4 or 5 feet long, slender,

slightly woody, leafing, rooting, or sending up short

(to 8 inches high), finely glandular-hairy shoots at

stem joints (nodes) or tips; leaves to nearly 1 inch

long, variable, usually round in outline and wedgeshaped at base, dark shiny green on upper surface,

pale and veiny on under surface; margins scalloptoothed; flowers pinkish, tubular-bell-shaped, to K

inch long, stalked, in pairs at tips of nearly leafless

flowering shoots; twin, awl-shaped bracts near base of

each flower and at tip of flowering shoot; seed pods

(capsules) egg-shaped, glandular-hairy, yellowish,

crowned with 5, sharply pointed, soon-falling calyx

lobes; common in favorable sites, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

American twinflower (Linnaea borealis var. americana).

11. Stems not vinelike or trailing.

12. Shrubs to 3 or 4 feet high, much-branched; branches

spreading or ascending, dark, rigid, 4-sided, ridged,

usually very leafy; leaves variable, egg- to spatulashaped, to V/i inches long; margins finely sawtoothed (at least above the middle), often slightly

roUed-under ; flowers greenish or reddish, small, few,

in nearly stalkless clusters in leaf axils; seed pods

(capsules) pale, egg-shaped, to % inch long, splitting

down from top into 2 valves; seeds 1 or 2, shiny

brown or black, more or less enclosed by whitish,

deeply fringed outgrowth (aril); Blue and Wallowa

Mts., at middle elevations, also in the Cascades;

type locality, Lolo Trail near Hungry (Lolo) Creek,

n. Idaho myrtle (or mountainlover) pachistima (Pachistima myrsinites).

12. Half-shrubs to 1 foot high, clumped or matlike,

erect, from long, scaly, underground stems; leaves

shiny, sharply toothed, in annually produced whorllike clusters or (mostly) opposite, green and persistent 3-8 years before long-stalked flower clusters

appear at shoot tips; buds in leaf axils not opening

until after flowering, then developing into leafy

branches which bear smaller flower clusters at their

tips; flowers 1-9, stalked, whitish or pink to purplish,

saucer-shaped; calyx lobes finely toothed, persistent;

stamen stalks swollen, white-hairy near base; anther

sacs erect at first, hanging when mature, shedding

pollen from round pores at tips ; seed pods (capsules)

globe-shaped, 5-angled, opening along middle-backs

of the 5 cells, topped by persistent, close-fitting,

shield-shaped stigma; seeds many; moist evergreen

woods; middle altitudes^ Cascades, mts. of e. Oreg.,

e. Wash.

pipsissewa, or princes-pines (Chimaphila spp.).^^

^1 See Herbert F. Copelaiid. Observations on the Structure and Classification of

the Pyroleae. Madrono 9: 65-102. 1947.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 175

Seed pod (enlarged)

Myrtle pachistima

471114 0-60-12
176 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Leaves bright green, broadest near tips, to 3

inches long, in 3-8 whorllike clusters; stems

yellowish green, to 1 foot high; bud scales narrow,

soon falling; flowers 3-9; common e. Oreg., e.

Wash.; type locality. Pine Creek valley, near

Farmington, Latah Co., Idaho

western pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata

var. occidentalis).

Leaves dark green, sometimes white-mottled

along veins, broadest at or below middle, to 2

inches long, often with only 1 whorllike cluster of

3, other leaves opposite or scattered; stems often

dark reddish, to 4 inches high; bud scales broad,

persistent; flowers 1-3; less common, e. Oreg., e.

Wash.; type locality, nw. coast of America.

Menzies pipsissewa {Chimaphila menziesii).

Leaves (X 1/2)

Leaves (X 1/2)

Flowers

Persistcnf

bud scales

^ F-481825

Western pipsissewa

F-481826

Menzies pipsissewa
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 177

Leaves alternate. [Alternate 8, p. 169.]

14, Leaves 3-vemed from near base, broadly elliptic, to 3

inches long, shiny green (bronze in winter) and stickyvarnished on upper surface, pale-velvety on under surface;

odor spicy-resinous; leaf margins with fine, gland-tipped

teeth; flowers creamy white, in umbrellalike bunches

massed in showy end clusters; seed pods (capsules) cupped

in shallow disks, stalked, somewhat globe-shaped, 3-lobed,

smooth or slightly roughened and/or with tiny crests at

lobe tips, often sticky-glandular; roots with (probably

nitrogen-fixing) nodules; round-topped shrubs with spreading branches, 2-15 feet high; rather common. Cascades;

mts. of e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality, ^^Subalpine hills

near the source of the Columbia, and at Kettle Falls,^^

(Wash.)__snowbrush ceanothus (Ceanothus velutinus).'^'^

Flower (enlarged)

Seed pod (enlarged)

^2 See the Summer and V^inter Keys for deerbrush ceanothus {Ceanothus

integerrimus), the leaves of which are somewhat winter-persistent.
178 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

14. Leaves with 1 main midrib.

15. Leaf margins entire. [Alternate 15, p. 189.]

16. Under leaf-surfaces (often also leafstalks, young

twigs, bud scales and seed pods) dotted with tiny

yellow resin drops (glistening in the sun), whitened

(glaucous) ; upper leaf-surfaces dark green, finely

crinkly with vein network; leaves oblong to broadly

egg-shaped, to 2 inches long, abruptly pin-pointed at

tip, clustered near branch tips, fragrant; leaf margins

not rolled under; end buds larger than side buds, with

spirally overlapping bud scales, producing umbrellalike clusters of small white flowers; petals 5, separate;

stamens 10, with long stalks white-hairy below; each

anther sac with pore near tip; seed pods (capsules)

splitting up from base along partitions between their 5

cells; seeds tiny, white, long-tailed; erect shrubs to 6

feet high in favorable sites; probably somewhat

poisonous to livestock if browsed; wet mountain

meadows or subalpine bogs. Cascades; Wallowa and

Blue Mts., ne. Oreg., not reported from se. Wash.

western ledum, or smooth Labrador-tea (Ledum

glandulosum)^^

16. Under leaf-surfaces not resin-dotted.

17. Leaf margins rolled under.

18. Leaves dark green and shiny resinous on upper

surface, white- or yellowish-hairy on under

surface, aromatic, single or clustered near tips of

spurlike twigs; twigs brown, whitish-hairy, soon

gray and smooth; flowers in leaf axils near twig

tips; petals lacking; calyx soft-hairy, abruptly

flaring top part falling after stamens shed pollen,

tubular lower part persistent around long-,

twisted-, feathery-tailed "seed" (achene) ; tall,

straggly shrubs or small trees with hard, brittle,

mahogany-colored wood ; warm, dry, rather rocky

ridges or slopes in pine woods openings or with

sagebrush, mt. areas, e. Oreg., Blue Mts., se.

Wash.

curlleaf cercocarpus (Cercocarpus ledifolius) J^

18. Leaves (as well as rest of plant) densely white-

(aging rusty-) hairy with both star-shaped and

straight hairs, linear, to 2 inches long, erect, often

with smaller leaves clustered in their axils,

winter-persistent; seed leaves (cotyledons) broad,

green; scaly winter buds lacking; pollen- and

43 C. Leo Hitchcock in a recent paper, The Ledum Glandulosum Complex (Leafl.

West. Bot. 8 (1): 1-8. 1956.), states (p. 4), ^\ . there is a complete transition

between 'columhianum^ and L. glandulosum, . ."; he regards L. columhianum

Piper as a subspecies of L. glandulosum.

44 In southern Oregon, curlleaf cercocarpus sometimes crossbreeds with longtail

birchleaf cercocarpus (Cercocarpus betuloides var. macrourus), producing hybrids

with characters intermediate between the two parents. See p. 193 for illustration.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 179

Flower, enlarged to show

5 separate petals, 10

stamens, and anther

sacs opening by end

pores

Seed pod, enlarged to

show splitting from base

toward top along the

partitions between cells

Seed-pod clusters

f /// Western ledum
180 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Section of flower showing

stamens in rows on inside

of calyx (enlarged)

Curlleai cercocorpus
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 181

seed-producing flowers usually on same plant

(sometimes only seed-producing flowers present) ;

pollen-producing flowers smaller, above the larger,

long-white-silky-hairy seed-producing flowers in

the leafy-bracted, spikelike end clusters; low halfshrubs, much-branched at base, with several to

many stems from a deep taproot; dry, alkaline

soils; locally, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

common winterfat (Eurotia lanata).

Pollen-producins flowers,

one enlarged

Seed-producing flowers,

one enlarged

Leaves, one enlarged to

show roHed-under margin and prominent midrib on under surface

uch-branched base and

taproot

Enlargement to show hairs

and new clustered leaves

in old leafstalk axil

F-494112

Common winterfat
182 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

17. Leaf margins not rolled under.

19. Leaves densely silvery-hairy or white-scurfy,

narrow.

20. Plants with sagebrush odor and taste; freely

branching at base; shoots erectly parallel, of 2

kinds: (a) perennial, evergreen-leafy, and (b)

annual, drying-persistent after producing leafyAnnually proclu<:ed flowerhead shoots, drying persistent

Silver sagebrush
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 183

bracted flower heads in loose- or narrowbranched end clusters during July, Aug. ; leaves

densely silvery-hairy, linear or reversely lanceshaped, entire, pointed at tip, rarely with 1 or 2

irregular teeth or lobes, to 2K inches long; scaly

winter buds lacking; rounded shrubs 2-3 (or 5)

feet high,-often root-sprouting or layering after

top injury or fire; locally in big sagebrush areas,

central and s. Oreg., not in Wash.

silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana).^^

Annual, drying-persistent

flower-head shoots

Perennial, evergreen-leafy

Silver sagebrush '''°°''

(winter condition) F-481883

« See George H Ward. Artemisia, Section Seriphidium, in North America.

A Cytotaxonomic Study. Dudley Herb. Contrib. 4 (6): 155-205. Dec. .30, 1953.
184 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

^ Seed-producing plant

Fourwing saltbush

20. Plants without sagebrush odor or taste, usually

salty to taste; branches spreading; twigs pale

straw-colored to white-scurfy with branlike

scales, often becoming sharp- or spiny-tipped;

leaves white-scurfy, narrowly oblong, to 2

inches long and % inch wide ; scaly winter buds

lacking; pollen- and seed-producing flowers

usually on separate plants; fruits 4-winged,

clustered and persistent along end twigs; much-
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 185

Fourwins saltbush "-*'""«

branched shrubs 2-6 (or 10) feet high; dry,

sandy to strongly alkaUne soils; locally e. Oreg.,

e. Wash.

fourwing saltbush {Atriplex canescens).*'

19. Leaves green, narrow to broad; bark reddish,

purplish, chocolate, or dark reddish brown, smooth

and polished or rough-scaly and shreddy; flowers

urn-shaped, white, pink or rose, usually 5-lobed,

stalked, in scaly-bracted end clusters; stamens

10; anther sacs tipped by recurved awns, opening

by end pores ; "berries" (drupes) creamy white to

yellowish brown, red,, or brown to blackish;

"seeds" (nutlets) 4-10, fused or separable; matforming, low and depressed, or erect shrubs with

crooked branches and to several feet high.

bearberry (or kinnikinnick) and manzanitas

{Arctostaphylos spp.).

21. Shrubs low and depressed, or prostrate, stems

often rooting or branches layering, not forming

burls at ground line and crown-sprouting after

fire; leaves narrow, broadest above middle, to

1 inch long, short-stalked; "berries" red.

*' See Plants Armed sections of Summer and Winter Keys for shadscale saltbush

{Atriplex confertifolia).
186 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

22. Stems long-creeping; branches flexible, to 8

inches high; bark rough-scaly, shreddy, dark

reddish brown; leaves rounded or broadly

and shallowly notched at tips; stomata only

on under surface; trailing or matted shrubs

with bright red "berries"; often on acid or

granitic soils; at lower as well as higher

elevations, Cascades; Wallowa, Blue Mts.,

ne. Oreg., se. Wash.

bearberry, kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos

uva-ursi),

22. Stems much-branched from near base;

branches rigid, to 2 feet high; bark smooth

after scaly flaking; leaves mostly abruptly

sharp-pointed at tip (mucronate or cuspidate) ;

stomata on both surfaces; "berries" light red;

often on basaltic soil; usually at elevations

over 4,000 feet; Cascades, Wallowa and Blue

Mts., ne. Oreg.; type locality. Sierra Nevada,

Calif., at elevations of 8,000 to 10,000 feet.

pinemat manzanita {Arctostaphylos

nevadensis).

21. Stems erect or spreading, to 8 feet high; leaves

broad, oval to egg-shaped in outline, to 2 inches

long, often somewhat pointed at tip; stomata

on both sides; twigs, leafstalks, ñower-cluster

Branch of older plant, with

flowers

Seedlins Pinemat manzanita
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 187

Upper and lower leafsurfaces of bearberry

Lengthwise section of

flower, enlarged to show

inside structure. Note

pores and recurved awns

at tips of anther sacs

BeorberrV/ or Kinnikinnick

Upper and lower leafsurfaces of pinemat manzanita
188 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

branches and the awl- to broadly lance-shaped

or triangular flower bracts often glandularhairy; shrubs, often layering and in large

patches or thickets; open pine woods at moderate altitudes, mostly e. of Cascades from near

Mt. Hood (possibly from s. Wash.), s. and e.

to Lake Co., Oreg.

pine and greenleaf manzanitas.^^

23. Bark scaling off; leaves erect or erectspreading; sepals almost circular, tissuePine manzanita

" The original descriptions of pine and greenleaf manzanitas have been rather

closely followed here.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 189

papery-margined; "berries" creamy white

to yellowish brown, shining, splitting irregularly (often while still on plant), mealy flesh

curling back to expose 3-5 smooth, light

brown ^'seeds'' ; layering but not forming burls

or crown-sprouting, killed by fire; type

locality, 7,500 feet elevation. Mesa Co., w.

Colo.

pine manzanita (Arctostaphylos parryana

var. pinetorum).

23. Bark smooth; leaves spreading or drooping

(never vertical) on leafstalks; ''berries"

chestnut brown to blackish; ''seeds" often

fused into a deeply, irregularly lobed body;

crown-sprouting after fire, forming burls,

sometimes layering after heavy snows; not

killed by fire; type locality, "... dry rocky

ridges in pine woods of middle altitudes in

the Sierra Nevada, California."

greenleaf manzanita {Arctostaphylos

patula).^^

15. Leaf margins toothed or lobed. [Alternate 15, p. 178.]

24. Leaves broad, oval or elliptic to almost round, eggshaped or reversely egg-shaped in outline; shortstalked to almost stalkless.

25. Dwarf, much-branched shrubs; stems creeping and

rooting or trailing and prostrate; branches often

with rusty, gland-tipped hairs; leaf margins finely

toothed, each tooth ending in gland-tipped hair

pointed toward leaf tip; flowers small, white,

broadly bell-shaped, single at tips of short, bracted

stalks in leaf axils; "berry" (capsule enclosed in

fleshy calyx) spicy, juicy, bright red, smooth or with

gland-tipped hairs, often hidden under leaves;

usually on moist mountain slopes; Cascades, Oreg.,

Wash.; Blue and Wallowa Mts., ne. Oreg., not

reported from se. Wash.

wintergreens (Gaultheria spp.).

*8 L. R. Abrams {Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States 3: 314. 1951.) and

J. E. Adams {A Systematic Study of the Genus Arctostaphylos Adans. Elisha

Mitchell Sei. Soc. Jour. 56: 1-62. 1940.) regard both Arctostaphylos parryana

var. pinetorum (Rollins) Wiesl. & Schreib. (1939) and A. obtusifolia Piper (1902)

as synonyms of A. patula Greene (1891). However, for the present at least, it

seems preferable to keep the nonsprouting pine manzanita separate from the

crown-sprouting greenleaf manzanita (A. patula). Recent Forest Service field

studies of large patches of manzanita plants (apparently typical Arctostaphylos

obtusifolia) from Black Butte, Oreg., (the type locality of A. obtusifolia) have

proved these plants to be nonsprouting and without burls. Moreover, this

material was compared with Cusick's type specimen of A. obtusifolia (in the

Herbarium of the University of Oregon at Eugene) and both seemed to be identical

with the nonsprouting pine manzanita. If indeed A. pinetorum Rollins (1937)

and A. obtusifolia Piper (1902) prove to be synonymous, the latter name (having

35 years' priority) should stand for both. It would not be surprising if further

field studies prove that the crown-sprouting greenleaf maznanita is rare (if present

at all) in this Oregon area, and that the correct scientific name of the common

nonsprouting manzanita there is A. obtusifolia Piper.
190 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cross section of "berry"

(enlarged)

Greenleai manzanita

26.

26.

Leaves to ^^ inch long, oval to almost round in

outline; margins very finely toothed or almost

entire (gland-tipped hairs mark position of the

tiny teeth); flowers, ''berries^^ hairless or nearly

so; corolla little longer than calyx; plants matlike,

with leafy shoots to 4 inches high, sometimes

with a few gland-tipped hairs ; higher elevations (to

subalpine slopes.

western wintergreen (Gaultheria humifusa).

Leaves to IV2 ii^ch long, egg- or somewhat heartshaped in outline; veins impressed on upper surface; margins finely but distinctly toothed; flowers

and ^^berries^' with gland-tipped hairs; corolla

much longer than calyx ; plants with trailing or

prostrate stems and bushy-spreading branches to

1 foot high, often rather densely hairy with

rusty, gland-tipped hairs; lower elevations; type

locality, '^Cascade Mountains, borders of British

Columbia, Washington Territory, and northern

Oregon.'^

Oregon wintergreen (Gaultheria ovatifolid).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 191

.jM«»tpiP'

471114 0-60-13
192 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

25. Tall shrubs or small trees; wood hard, brittle,

mahogany-colored; leaves elliptical to egg- or reversely egg-shaped, wedge-shaped at base, single

or clustered near tips of short, scarred spurlike

twigs; side veins 4-10 pairs, parallel from midrib to

tips of marginal teeth; "seeds" (achenes) long-,

twisted-, hairy-tailed; ponderosa pine woods; Cascades, Deschutes Co., s. to Lake and Klamath Cos.,

Oreg., not in Wash.

cercocarpus (Cercocarpus spp.).

27. Mature leaves to iVz inches long, narrowly

reverse-egg-, or egg-shaped to elliptical*^ side

veins 4-6 pairs; marginal teeth short, broad,

triangular, abruptly short-pointed; small tree, to

26 feet high; type locality, '^mountains of Santa

Barbara, California: April.^'

birchleaf cercocarpus (Cercocarpus betuloides),

27. Mature leaves to 3 inches long, broadly reverseegg- to egg-shaped; side veins 6-10 pairs;

marginal teeth coarse, egg-shaped or triangular;

''seeds" to K inch long, with tails to 4 inches long;

shrub or small tree to 16 feet high; type locality,

''on rocky hillsides, Modoc County, California."

longtail birchleaf cercocarpus

(Cercocarpus betuloides var. macrourus).^^

24. Leaves not as above, narrow and wedge- or reversely

lance-shaped, or broader and fan-shaped, 3- (or 4-

to 9-)toothed or lobed at tips, stalkless or nearly so;

very bitter to taste, aromatic.

antelope bitterbrush and sagebrushes.

28. Leaf margins rolled under (revolute); leaves green

or softly white-hairy, or (under lens) finely glanddotted on upper surface (more coarsely so on

margins), white-woolly-hairy between veins on

under surface, to % inch long, winter-persistent,

single on fast-growing shoots, or (mostly) clustered

near tips of short, scarred, spurlike twigs; twigs

brown, whitish-hairy, sometimes with tack-shaped

^^ In southern Oregon, curlleaf and longtail birchleaf cercocarpus sometimes

crossbreed, resulting in hybrids with characters intermediate between those of the

two parents. Near Logan, Utah, where some winter deer-feeding experiments

were made with native browse plants, curlleaf and mountain cercocarpus (Cercocarpus montanus) have crossbred. Concerning the hybrid, Arthur D. Smith reports

{Feeding Deer on Browse Species during Winter, Jour. Range Mangt. 3: 130-132.

1950.): ''Mountain mahogany {Cercocarpus ledifolius) p(r)oved most desirable of

all the plants offered. Next in importance in the list, although based upon but

one offering, was material from a hybrid between C, montanus and C. ledifolius."

More field notes are needed on the occurrence, reproduction, and browse values of

cercocarpus hybrids.

Plants of the Cercocarpus genus are almost universally known in the West as

''mountain-mahogany." However, in the new Forest Service Check List "cercocarpus'' (which perhaps might better be abbreviated to cercocarp) was adopted

as the approved common name. This action stems from Federal Trade Commission hearings on fair trade practice in "mahogany" in which the old Forest Service

ruling that "mahogany" should not be employed for any plants but species of the

genus Svnetenia was cited.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 193

Curlleaf cercocarpus

Lonstail birchleaf cercocarpus

Birchlcai cercocarpus
194 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Upper leaf-surface

Antelope bitterbrush

glands, appearing jointed because of encircling

stipule scars; scaly winter buds in axils of persistent

leafstalk bases to which stipules are attached,

developing into leafy spurlike twigs; bundle trace 1

for leaf and 1 on either side for the attached stipules;

flowers funnel-shaped, with 5 yellow spreading

petals, solitary at tips of short side twigs; ''seeds'^

(achenes) to K inch long, spindle-shaped, grooved,

tipped by persistent tapering style; typically tall

and rigidly branched shrubs or else moundlike and

with arching branches, but often low and prostrate

after long overbrowsing ; open places in ponderosa

pine or with sagebrush, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

antelope bitterbrush {Purshia tridentata).

28. Leaf margins not rolled under; leaves densely

white- gray- or silvery-hairy on both sides; variable

in size and shape (especially new spring leaves and

the often entire ones on the flowering shoots), single

or clustered and in all stages of development; twigs

and branches erectly parallel, of 2 kinds: (a)

perennial, evergreen-leafy shoots and (b) annual,

leafy-bracted, drying-persistent, flowering shoots;

scaly winter buds lacking; dwarf to tall shrubs with

sagebrush odor and taste; arid places, e. Oreg.,

e. Wash sagebrushes {Artemisia spp.).^^

29. Leaves of evergreen-leafy shoots mostly reversely

lance-shaped and deeply 3-lobed at tips (lobes

sometimes again 3-cleft), or some entire and

linear (as are many on the flowering shoots), or a

few lobed to the middle (pinnatifid), to nearly l}i

inches long; flower-head clusters (panicles) usually

much-branched, rarely spikelike; leafy bracts of

flower heads not overtopping end clusters (as

so See George H. Ward. Artemisia, Section Seriphidium, in North America. A

Cyfotaxonomic Study. Dudley Herb. Contrib. 4 (6) : 155-205. Dec. 1953.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 195

Enlarged twig tip with end

bud and scaly winter

buds in leafstalk base

axils. One leafstalk

base (with 2 attached

stipules) removed to

show leaf and stipule

Diagram of twig with encircling stipule scars

Enlarged short, scarred,

s p u r I i k e twig. Two

twigs, about natural size,

showing short spurlike

branches and buds

Two single leaves with

stipules (enlarged)

Antelope bitterbrush
196 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Flower (enlarged) ^^ // ^^)&/

'Seed" with persistent style

Antelope bitterbrush
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 197

Three-tip sagebrush F-48I881, 494121

they usually do in stiff sagebrush—compare

illustrations) ; flower-head buds appearing in June,

not opening until early Sept.; rounded or bushy

shrubs to 4 feet high, branched from near base,

often root-sprouting, sometimes layering; locally,

e. Oreg., e. Wash.

three-tip sagebrush (Artemisia tripartita).^^

"For stiflF sagebrush (Artemisia rígida), which sheds its leaves in winter, see

pages 41 and 125.
198 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

29. Leaves of evergreen-leafy shoots mostly wedgeto fan-shaped and 3-toothed or 3-lobed at tips,

sometimes entire, never pinnatifid; plants not

root-sprouting, seldom layering.

30. Tall, rounded shrubs with short trunk, fewbranched from near base (or sometimes spreading and topped by long-stalked flower-head

clusters), 2-15 feet high; leaves of evergreenleafy shoots mostly wedge-shaped and bluntly

3-toothed at tips, to 2 inches long, silvery- or

Stiff sasebrush
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 199

gray-hairy and often slightly sticky; flower

heads usually comparatively small and in

much-branched end clusters; flower buds appearing in June, not opening until late Sept.

or Oct.; type locality, plains of the Columbia

and Snake Rivers; commonest sagebrush of

e. Oreg., e. Wash.

big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).

Annual, drying-persistent

flowerins shoot

Big sagebrush
200 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Low sasebrush

Dwarf, spreading shrubs to 16 inches high;

leaves of evergreen-leafy shoots usually broadly

wedge- or fan-shaped and not more than 1/2

inch long; leafy bracts of flowering shoots

sometimes narrowly and deeply 3-lobed at tips;

flower heads comparatively large (small in se.

Oreg. form with reddish flowering shoots),

usually in spikelike clusters; flowering shoots

often becoming sharp- or weakly spine-tipped

after "seeds" faU; type locality, arid plains of

Snake River; often on scablands; Columbia

plateau, slopes of Cascades, Chelan, Yakima,

and Kittitas Cos., Wash., and s. and e. Oreg.

low sagebrush (Artemisia arbúsculo).
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 201

Part of twig, enlarged to

show leaf scars

Desertsweet
202 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7. Leaves compound. [Alternate 7, p. 169.]

31. Stems unarmed; erect or prostrate shrubs.

32. Leaflets finely divided, fern- or tansy-like, winter persistent,

clustered near tips of short, leaf-scarred, spurlike twigs or

scattered along flowering shoots, with both reddish glandtipped and white-woolly star-shaped hairs, fragrant;

stipules lance-shaped, entire, leaving scar with a single

bundle trace at either end of leaf scar when they finally

fall; leaf scars with 3 bundle traces; twigs reddish, with

tack-shaped glands, often very resinous; flowers white, in

branched, pyramidal end clusters (panicles) ; seed pods

(follicles) splitting across top and down on inner side, 5 for

each flower, united at base and cupped in persistent, 5-lobed

calyx fringed inside by many drying-persistent stamens;

central fruit-cluster stalk hardening and becoming sharpScaly undersröund stem

Leaflet, with typically

rounded tip

Creeping mahonia or Hollygrape
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 203

tipped after fruits fall;erect, often straggly shrubs, to 6 feet

high; among lava rocks in dry sites, Deschutes and Crook

Cos., s. and e. in Oreg.; not reported from Wash.

desertsweet, or tansybush (Chamaebatiaria

millefolium).

32. Leaflets broad, hollylike, 3-23, odd-pinnately compound

(or end leaflet sometimes lacking) ; berries blue, with whitish

waxy "bloom" (glaucous), in end clusters (racemes) ; shrubs

with yellow wood and very bitter inner bark.

mahonia, hollygrape, and Oregongrape {Mahonia spp.).

33. Stems prostrate, runnerlike or short-upright, from long,

much-branched, scaly underground stems; leaflets

usually 5 (3-7), thin-leathery, with 1 main midrib, dull

bluish green on upper surface, whitish with microscopic

"pimples" (papillae) on under surface, rounded at tip,

turning brilliant red in fall except where leaflets overlap

or where growing in shade ; hillsides or open pine woods;

common, e. Oreg., e. Wash.

creeping mahonia, or hollygrape (Mahonia repens)

F-494126, 48fi43fi

Oregon-srape
204 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

LeaFlet, 3-veined From near

base

d bud with showy, sharptipped bud scales persistent

Cascades mahonia F-481828, 494127
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 205

31.

33. Stems erect; leaflets glossy green, pointed at tips;

common w., occasional e. side of Cascades and mountain

areas of e. Oreg., e. Wash.; type locality for both, the

Cascades of the Columbia River.

Cascades mahonia and Oregon-grape.

34. Leaflets 7-23, each 3- to 5-veined from near base,

thick-leathery; leaves nearly erect, clustered near

stem tip; stems usually single, unbranched, to 1 or 2

feet high, arising from long, scaly underground st.ems

and ending in showy bud K to 2 inches long; bud scales

rigid, sharp-tipped, persistent.

Cascades mahonia {Mahonia nervosa).

34. Leaflets 5-9, with 1 main midrib, turning red, bronze,

or purplish in winter; leaves spreading, scattered along

branches; stems often clustered, branched, and suckering at base; end buds with triangular, soon-falling bud

scales about ji inch long; shrubs to 10 feet high, or

sometimes dwarfed; flowers in clustered, somewhat

drooping racemes; often cultivated; the Oregon State

flower Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium).

Stems armed with curved and hooked prickles (as are also

the leafstalks, the midribs and veins on under side of leaflets,

the flower stalks, and the flower-cluster stalks), coarse, angled,

much-branched, often to 10 feet long, perennial, vinelike,

creeping on ground or clambering over other plants, rocks,

etc. ; leaves of the main stems with 5 leaflets, leaves on flowering shoots with 3 leaflets (or sometimes only 1); leaflets

deeply and variously cleft or parted; flowers mostly pink or

rose-colored; blackberries large and juicy; somewhat weedy;

naturalized from the Old World; commoner w. of the Cascades; occasional e. Oreg., e. Wash.

cutleaf blackberry (Rubus laciniatus).

Cutleai blackberry
NOTES ON FORAGE VALUE

Acer spp.

The foliage of maples is of fair palatability for domestic stock.

Leaves are also eaten by big game and in the fall and winter deer and

elk heavily browse the twigs.

Alnus spp.

For livestock, deer, and elk, the palatability is rather low. Forage

value is further depreciated by frequent inaccessibility of the plants.

Seeds are relished by doves and some other birds.

Amelanchier spp.

Palatability of most species of Amelanchier appears to be fair to good

for livestock, and good to excellent for deer and elk. Serviceberries

are considered to be among the more valuable and nutritious browse

plants of the region. Some Idaho studies suggest that on sheep range

the proper-use factor for A. alnifolia is 60-65 percent.

Aplopappus bloomeri

Is of low value to worthless for livestock.

Arctostaphylos spp.

A. nevadensis and A, uva-ursi are unpalatable to domestic livestock.

Deer and elk make limited use of them, particularly in the winter.

Tender shoots, buds, and leaves of A. parryana var. pinetorum are

palatable to sheep and especially deer, but older parts are of small

forage value except when there is a near shortage of winter browse.

Artemisia arbuscula

Various species of sagebrush,' particularly A. arbuscula^ are important year-long food items for pronghorn antelope on Hart Mountain,

Oreg., range.

Artemisia cana

In most localities where this species occurs, it is considered to be of

little value for sheep feed, and of no value for cattle.

Artem^isia rigida

Fair forage for sheep and particularly liked by horses.

Artem,Í8Ía spinescens

Probably its inost important use in some places has been as sheep

browse. Use by antelope has been noted.

Artemisia tridentata

Although of low palatability, big sagebrush is important because of

its wide distribution, abundance, and its unwanted invasions of some

depleted range lands. With the exception of sheep use on desert

winter ranges, the species is considered to be of almost no value for

livestock. Big sagebrush is a moderately palatable winter food supply

for elk and mule deer, and apparently very palatable for antelope.

There is also an eastern Oregon record of considerable summer use of

big sagebrush by elk. Body weights, health, and productivity of deer

206
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 207

are not maintained by a winter diet of mostly sagebrush, despite its

rather high phosphorus and protein content.

Artemisia tripartita

Value of this species for domestic stock is very low.

Atriplex spp.

Flowers, leaves, and twigs of A. canescens have a good palatability

rating for all classes of livestock except horses. The seeds are highly

palatable. Deer freely use this shrub, especially on winter range.

A. canescens is considered as one of the better spring and winter feeds

for antelope. Nutritive value is high. There is speculation that elk

would use A. canescens and A, confertifolia if the animals ever again

get into the sagebrush plains.

Betula spp.

The western species appear to be fairly palatable to livestock and

big game.

Cassiope mertensiana

This alpine plant may furnish forage for mountain goats. Known

to be nibbled by mountain sheep.

Ceanothus integerrimus

This species is good to excellent summer browse for domestic

livestock and probably a year-round food item for deer. Protein

content is fairly good, but declines about the time seed matures.

Ceanothus prostratus

Is of little forage value for any class of domestic livestock, but is one

of the species preferred by deer. Its protein content in summer is

rather good.

Ceanothus sanguineus

Both leaves and twigs are considered to have a fair to good palatability for livestock. It is probably equal or better in palatability

than C. velutinus for big game, but it is of lesser importance because

of its tendency to grow out of reach of browsers and its lesser abundance. Proper-use level suggested by some Idaho studies for C.

sanguineus is 60 percent where the shrub is grazed in late summer and

early fall.

Ceanothus velutinus

Although this species is purported to be worthless for cattle and

horses and of only slight palatability for goats and sheep, domestic

livestock will consume it in fall and winter during a feed shortage.

Protein content of snowbrush, at least in the summer, is relatively

high. Deer will eat C. velutinus at any season and it is part of the elk

diet from late summer to spring. According to studies in eastern

Oregon and eastern Washington, the three most important species in

the winter diet of deer and elk are O. velutinus^ Purshia tridentatay and

Cercocarpus ledifolius. According to clipping studies made in eastern

Oregon, the level of use for maximum sustained production of C.

velutinus on winter ranges is 35 to 40 percent.

Celtis reticulata

Is eaten by livestock where it occurs on their winter ranges.

471114 O-60-14
208 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cercocarpus spp.

C. betuloides and C. ledifolius are used to a limited extent by domestic

stock in fall and winter where available. These highly nutritious

species are relished feed for deer. C. ledifolius is rated as one of the

three most important winter browse plants for deer and elk in eastern

Oregon and eastern Washington. The old and tall plants of C.

ledifolius can be easily highlined and converted to trees whose twigs

cannot be reached by big game animals. Varying degrees of pollarding have been tried, with fair success, to induce good quantities of

accessible twigs and leaves. Benefits of this rather expensive measure

are short-lived if overuse by browsing animals continues. It has been

suggested that the level of winter use for maximum sustained production of C. ledifolius is about 50 percent.

Chamaebatiaria millefolium

Probably a fair browse for sheep and goats and of slight value for

deer.

Chimaphila spp.

These partially herbaceous species are fair forage for elk, but of

lower value for deer.

Chrysothamnus spp.

Palatability of C. nauseosus is ordinarily low for livestock, but

rated as good for antelope. It is a poor to fair winte^^ browse for deer

and elk where it is available to them. Clipping studies in Oregon

have shown it could withstand heav}^ winter browsing. Attempts to

eradicate it from overgrazed ranges by fire and some mechanical

methods have not been very successful. It has been noted, however,

that it will succumb to girdling by rodents. The species produces

chrysil, a good rubber which vulcanizes readily. C, viscidiflorus is

another species of low value for livestock, yet it is used on some winter

ranges or when feed is in short supply. Use by antelope has been

noted. C. viscidiflorus var. lanceolatus is considered as poor to worthless for forage.

Clematis spp.

Domestic stock have been reported to use lightly various species of

Clematis when the plants are young and tender. Importance of the

species to big game is also slight.

Cornus stolonifera

This species is rated as of slight importance to sheep and of no value

to cattle. Deer and elk probably browse it occasionally.

Corylus californica

Is of low palatability to domestic stock and onlj^ slightly used by big

game.

Crataegus spp.

Although a little use by domestic stock and big game has been

reported, the thorny species are rated as poor forage.

Eriogonum spp.

The various species are of little importance to livestock or big game,

but both classes of animals do eat the fiowers and fruits and antelope

will eat the foliage.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 209

Euonymus occidentalis

Not used by livestock.

Eurotia lanata

On some winter ranges it is a valuable source of food for deer, elk,

antelope, and all classes of livestock. Its protein content is above

minimum level for cattle nutrition.

Forsellesia spinescens

Use of this shrub by both sheep and deer has been reported for

certain ranges.

Fraxinus latifolia

A fair to good browse for sheep and cattle.

Gaultheria spp.

So far as can be determined from available records, 6. humifusa

and G. ovatifolia are of no forage value in eastern Oregon and Washington. However, in other areas some elk and considerable deer use

has been noted on other species of the genus.

Grayia spinosa

A good winter forage for sheep, cattle, and antelope.

Holodiscus spp.

Palatability is poor for cattle and sheep, and fair for deer and elk.

Results of clipping studies in eastern Washington suggest that the level

of winter use for maximum sustained production of H, discolor is about

60 percent.

Juniperus spp.

There is considerable variation in the acceptability by big game of

even one species of juniper from place to place. Supposedly the

berries are freely eaten by mule deer whenever available, but browsing

mainly occurs during the winter. Winter use of juniper by elk has

been reported for several species of juniper. Palatability of J.

occidentalis for antelope is rated as good in the fall.

Kalmia polifolia var. microphylla

This and one other species of Kalmia are unpalatable and poisonous

to domestic livestock. Use occurs only when stock are short of other

forage.

Ledum glandulosum

This rather poisonous species is seldom eaten by domestic livestock

and it is also of low palatability to big game.

Leptodactylon pungens

New growth in spring is a fairly good feed for livestock.

Linnaea borealis var. americana

This rather herbaceous creeper is eaten by elk and probably by

deer, but not by livestock.

Lonicera spp.

A poor to worthless forage for livestock, but sheep may use considerable amounts of it in some localities. According to clipping
210 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

studies in Idaho a proper-use factor of 60-65 percent should be applied

to L. utahensis where it is grazed by sheep.

Mahonia spp.

M. repens, a low-growing species, is acceptable to deer and elk

during the snow-free periods of the winter. ^ Use of the other species

of Mahonia by deer aad elk is also low to fairly good, depending upon

the availability of better feed. M. aquijolium^ the State Flower of

Oregon, is important in ornamental horticulture.

Menziesia ferruginea

Is of fair palatability for sheep and low for cattle; is also eaten by

elk. The closely related M. glabella is poisonous to sheep when eaten

in quantity.

Pachistima myrsinites

A palatable winter browse for deer and elk and may receive light

summer use by sheep. It is reported to have caused sickness in sheep

when heavily browsed in west-central Washington. Needs further

study.

Penstemon deustus

Of slight value to livestock or big game. Limited use of the

herbaceous parts has been observed.

Peraphyllum ramosissimum

A fair browse for sheep and cattle in spring and fall and for deer in

the winter.

Philadelphus leivisii

In some localities it is of fair palatability to cattle and sheep, but

relished by deer and elk.

Phyllodoce spp.

P. empetriformis is of no value for livestock forage and probably of

little or no value for big game. Furthermore, it is suspected of being

poisonous. It would appear that P. glanduliflora is also practically

worthless as forage.

Physocarpus malvaceus

A poor forage for cattle and fair for sheep. It is very palatable to

elk in the winter.

Populus spp.

Fair browse for cattle, sheep, and deer. It is a preferred species

for elk.

Potentilla fruticosa

Is of rather low palatability and practically of no value for cattle.

Used some by sheep and on some winter ranges by deer and elk.

Prunus spp.

Species of this genus are poor to fair forage for livestock; under certain conditions P. virginiana can be fatal to livestock if large quantities

are eaten. Palatability of these species rates from fair to good for deer

and elk. Protein content of P. emarginata is known to be relatively

high and it is a preferred species for deer and of moderate palatability

for elk.
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 211

Purshia tridentata

One of the three most valuable browse species in the Pacific Northwest for antelope, deer, and elk. Its palatability and nutritional

value is generally good to excellent and it is commonly cropped by

sheep, goats, and cattle, but not horses. Periods of use by big game

are most commonly late fall, winter, and spring, but it may be grazed

throughout the year. According to clipping studies made in easterti

Oregon, the level of use for maximum sustained production of this

shrub on winter range is 60 to 65 percent on best sites, and 50 percent

on poorer sites.

Quercus garryana

Palatability of leaves is rated as poor to fair for cattle and fairly

good for sheep.

Rhamnus spp.

Forage value of the species is low. Cattle make no use of them and

sheep only browse them lightly. They appear to be .of fair palatability

to deer and elk. Fruits relished by birds and R. purshiana is an

important medicinal species.

Rhododendron albiñorum

An unpalatable species; contains some toxic substances.

Rhus spp.

Palatability is low for livestock and big game.

Ribes spp.

Species of this genus are generally of poor palatability for cattle and

fair for sheep, deer, and elk. Important food sources of many birds,

such as grouse and prairie chickens, and of smaller wildlife such as

rodents,

Rosa spp.

Although roses are generally regarded as being rather poor forage,

R. gymnocarpa, R. spaldingii, and R. ultramontana are above the group

average in palatability. They are rated as fair for cattle and fair to

good for sheep, deer, and elk. Clipping studies on an Idaho sheep

range suggest that the proper-use factor for roses is 60 to 65 percent.

Valuable producers of food for birds and small wildlife.

Rubus spp.

Species of this group, while valuable food sources for many birds

and small mammals, are generally of secondary palatability to livestock, although R. macropetalus, R. parviflorus, and R. spectabilis rate

as fair sheep forage. These three species are also the most palatable

of the group for deer and elk, and rated as fair to good. R. leucodermis

is one of the most important feeds for the Olympic wapiti and Roosevelt deer.

Salix spp.

Willows are a common and important source of browse along streams

and in moist meadows. Palatability varies with species, but they are

generally considered as fair forage for cattle and good for sheep.

Deer and elk will utilize some willows at all times, particularly in the

winter. The tall species are easily highlined, but if, following over-
212 HANDBOOK 148, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

use, they are given protection for a few years, new shoots from the

plant base will replace the destroyed parts.

Salvia carnosa

Palatability is low.

Sambucus spp.

These shrubs have a good to high palatabiUty in the fall. Their

importance is sometimes downgraded because they are not as abundant

as some of the other palatable shrubs. Cattle, sheep, deer, and elk

all eat shrubs of this genus.

Shepherdia canadensis

Palatability is low for domestic stock but the plant is taken quite

well by deer and elk in eastern Oregon.

Solarium dulcamara

Probably eaten by deer and elk.

Sorbus spp.

Palatability of S. occidentalis and S. scopulina is fair to good for

sheep. They are also eaten by deer and elk. Mildly toxic. Has been

known to poison rabbits.

Spiraea spp.

PalatabiUty of the group is generally low for domestic stock and

big game. S. menziesii is above the group average in palatabiHty,

rating fair to good, and S. lucida is rated as a fair browse for livestock

in eastern Oregon.

Symphoricarpos spp.

Species of Symphoricarpos are of low palatability for cattle and elk,

but of fair palatability for sheep and deer.

Tetradymia spp.

These are poor to worthless forage species. Some species may be

poisonous to sheep if a large amount is eaten.

Toxicodendron spp.

Although most people are susceptible to being poisoned (rhus

dermatitis caused by the oil urushiol), livestock and game can eat the

leaves without harmful effects. However, in the Northwest they are

considered worthless for cattle and of low value for sheep.

Vaccinium spp.

In general these plants are of low value for cattle, and but little

better for sheep. Deer, and especially elk, consume stems and twigs

in fall and winter. V. membranaceum, probably the most palatable

of the group, is fair forage for sheep and good browse for deer and elk.

Viburnum edule

Value for livestock is low. A little use by elk has been observed.

Selected References

The preceding information on various woody species of eastern

Oregon and eastern Washington is based largely on published observations and studies of several authorities and U. S. Forest Service range
KEY TO IMPORTANT WOODY PLANTS 213

workers. The following publications were consulted, and in many

instances they will supply additional details for the interested reader:

DAYTON, WILLIAM A.

1931. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr. MisC. Pub. 101,

214 Dp.

DENIO, R. M. ^

1938. ELK AND DEER FOODS AND FEEDING HABITS. Third North American

Wildlife Conference Trans., pp. 421-427.

DIXON, JOSEPH S.

1934. A STUDY OF THE LIFE HISTORY AND FOOD HABITS OF MULE DEER IN CALIFORNIA. Calif. Fish and Game 20: 3-4.

EiNARSEN, ARTHUR S.

1948. THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 238 pp. Wildlife

Mangt. Inst., Washington, D. C.

FOREST SERVICE, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

1937. RANGE PLANT HANDBOOK. [842 pp.]

FOREST SERVICE, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

1950. PLANT USE FACTORS—EASTERN OREGON AND EASTERN WASHINGTON.

Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Expt. Sta. and Region 6. 12 pp.

GARRISON, GEORGE A.

1953. EFFECTS OF CLIPPING ON SOME RANGE SHRUBS. Jour. Range Mangt.

6 (5): 309-317.

HAGEN, HERBERT L.

1953. NUTRITIVE VALUE FOR DEER OF SOME FORAGE PLANTS IN THE SIERRA

NEVADA. Calif. Fish and Game 39 (2): 163-175.

JAMESON, DONALD A.

1952. NUTRITIVE VALUE OF BROWSE ON MONTANA WINTER RANGES. Jour. Range

Mangt. 5 (5) : 306-310.

LASSEN, ROBERT W., FERREL, CAROL M., and LEACH, HOWARD

1952. FOOD HABITS, PRODUCTIVITY AND CONDITION OF THE DOYLE MULE DEER

HERD. Calif. Fish and Game 38 (2): 211-224.

MASON, ELLIS

1952. FOOD HABITS AND MEASUREMENTS OF HART MOUNTAIN ANTELOPE. Jour.

Wildlife Mangt. 16 (3) : 387-389.

MuRiE, OLAUS J.

1951. THE ELK OF NORTH AMERICA. 376 pp. Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, Pa.

REíD, ELBERT H.

1942. IMPORTANT PLANTS ON NATIONAL FOREST RANGES OF EASTERN OREGON AND

EASTERN WASHINGTON. Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Expt.

Sta. 64 pp.

SMITH, ARTHUR D.

1952. DIGESTIBILITY OF SOME NATIVE FORAGES FOR MULE DEER. JoUr. Wildlife

Mangt. 16 (3): 309-312.

VAN DERSAL, WILLIAM R.

1938. NATIVE WOODY PLANTS OF THE UNITED STATES, THEIR EROSION-CONTROL

AND WILDLIFE VALUES. U. S. Dcpt. Agr. Misc. Pub. 308, 362 pp.

YOUNG, VERNON A., and PAYNE, GENE F.

1948. UTILIZATION OF " KEY" BROWSE SPECIES IN RELATION TO PROPER GRAZING

PRACTICES IN CUTOVER WESTERN WHITE PINE LANDS IN NORTHERN

IDAHO. Jour. Forestry 46 (1) : 35-40.
INDEX

Accepted scientific names appear in boldface type, synonyms in ordinary italic,

and accepted common names in ordinary type.

Acer; maple Page

circinatum; vine m 92, 158

douglasii. See A. glabrum var. douglasii.

glabrum var. douglasii; Douglas m 92, 165

= A. douglasii

macrophyllum; bigleaf m 92, 166

Alder; Alnus

red; A. rubra 22, 120

Sitka; A. sinuata 22, 120

thinleaf; A. tenuifolia 22, 123

white; A. rhombifolia 22, 120

Alnus; alder

oregona. See A. rubra.

rhombifolia; white a 22, 120

rubra; red a_" 22, 120

= A, oregona

sinuata; Sitka a 22, 120

= A. sitchensis

sitchensis. See A. sinuata.

tenuifolia; thinleaf a 22, 123

Amelanchier; servicèberry

alnifolia; saskatoon s 62, 156

cusickii; Cusick s 60, 156

= "A, ñorida^' of some authors, NOT Lindl.

ñorida; Pacific s 62, 156

utahensis; Utah s - ,. 62

XAmelasorbus jackii. See Amelanchier ainiioiia and Sorbus scopulina.

Aplopappus (also spelled Haplopappus) ; goldenweed

bloomeri; rabbitbrush g_ 79

= Chrysothamríüs bloomeri

Arctostaphylos; manzanita

nevadensis; pinemat m 186

obtusifolia. See A. parryana var. pinetorum.

parryana var. pinetorum; pine m 189

= A, obtusifolia

= A, pinetorum

patula; greenleaf m 189

= A, platyphylla

= A, pungens vsiT. platyphylla

pinetorum. See A. parryana var. pinetorum.

platyphylla. See A. patula.

pungens platyphylla. See A. patula.

uva-ursi; bearberry (kinnikinnick) 186

Artemisia; sagebrush

angusta. See A. tridentata.

arbuscula; low s 200

= A, tridentata ssp. arbuscula

= A. tridentata var. arbuscula

cana; silver s 183

rigida; stiff s - 41, 125

spinescens; bud s 5, 106

= Picrothamnus desertorum

tridentata; big s 199

= A, angusta

=^A, tridentata var. angustifolia

= A, vaseyana

tridentata angustifolia. See A. tridentata.

tridentata arbuscula. See A. arbuscula.

214
INDEX 215

Artemisia; sagebrush—Continued

tridentata trífida. See A. tripartita.

trífida. See A. tripartita.

tripartita; three-tip s 197

= A, tridentata ssp. trífida

— A, tridentata var. trífida

= A, trífida

vaseyana. See A. tridentata.

Ash, Oregon; Fraxinus latifolia.-- 105, 166

Aspen, quaking (includes golden a.); Populus tremuloides 28, 119

Atriplex; saltbush

canescens; fourwing s 185

= '*A, nuttalliV of some authors, NOT S. Wats.

confertifolia; shadscale s 6, 109

nuttallíí. See A. canescens.

Audihertia incana. See ¡^aivia carnosa.

Azalea, Cascades ; Rhododendron albiflorum 67, 144

Azalea, See Rhodendron.

Azaleastrum, See Rhodendron.

Bearberry (or kinnikinnick) ; Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 186

Berberís aquifolium. See Mahonia aquifoiium.

Berberís nana. See Mahonia repens.

Berberís nervosa. See Mahonia nervosa.

Berberís repens. See Mahonia repens.

Betula; birch

fontinalis. See B. occidentalis.

glandulosa; bog b 26, 124

guthriei; Guthrie b 124

microphylla. See B. occidentalis.

occidentalis; water b_-» 26, 124

— B, fontinalis

= "Ä. microphylla*' of some authors, NOT Bunge

occidentalis. See B. papyrifera commutata.

papyrifera var. commutata; western paper b 24, 128

= **B, occidentalis*' of some authors, NOT Hooker

= B, papyrifera var. occidentalis

papyrifera occidentalis. See B. papyrifera commutata.

papyrifera var. subcordata; northwestern paper b 24, 128

= B, subcordata

subcordata. See B. papyrifera subcordata.

Bigelovia, See Chrysothamnus.

Bigelovia douglasii. See Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus.

Bigelovia graveolens albicaulis. See Chrysothamnus nauseosus

albicauiis.

Bilberry ; Vaccinium (in part)

Birch; Betula

bog; B. glandulosa 26, 124

Guthrie; B, guthriei 124

paper; B. papyrifera 22, 123

northwestern paper; B. papylrifera var. subcordata 24, 123

western paper; B. papyrifera var. commutata 24, 123.

water ; B. occidentalis 26, 124

Bitterbrush, antelope; Purshia tridientata 139, 194

Blackberry; Rubus

cutleaf; R. laciniatuiâ 205

trailing; R. macropetalus 87

Blueberry; Vaccinium

delicious ; V. deliciosum 70, 142

dwarf; V. cespitosum 73, 142

taller dwarf; V. cespitosum var. arbuscula 73, 142

westernbog; V. occidentale 67, 142

Bryanthus, See Phyllodoce.

Buckthorn; Rhamnus

alder; R. alnifolia. 64, 155

cascara; R. purshiana 64, 144
216 INDEX

Buffaloberry, russet ; Shepherdia canadensis 96, 162

Burningbush, western (or western wahoo) ; Euonymüs {EvanymUs)

occidentalis 96

Caprifolium ciliosum. See Lonicera ciliosa.

Cassiope mertensiana; Mertens cassiope 169

Ceanothus; ceanothus

integerrimus; deerbrush c 48, 132

prostratus; squawcarpet c. (Mahala-mat c.) 170

sanguineus; redstem c 48, 132

velutinus; snowbrush c 177

Ceanothus; Ceanothus

deerbrush; C. integerrimus 48, 132

redstem; C. sanguineus. 48, 132

snowbrush; C. velutinus- 177

squawcarpet (or Mahala-mat) ; C. prostratus 170

Celtis; hackberry

douglasii. See C. reticulata.

laevigata reticulata. See C. reticulata.

occidentalis reticulata. See C. reticulata.

reticulata; netleaf h 51, 144

= C douglasii

= C laevigata var. reticulata

= C. occidentalis var. reticulata

Cerasus, See Prunus.

Cercocarpus; cercocarpus (mountain-mahogany)

betulaefolius. See C. betuloides.

betuloides; birchleaf c 192

= C betulaefolius

= C, betuloides var. multiñorus

= C, douglasii

= C, montanus var. glaber

= C. parvifolius var. betuloides

= C parvifolius var. glaber

betuloides var. macrourus; longtail birchleaf c 178, 192

= C macrourus

= **C, montanus'' of Abrams' Fl. Pacif. States, in part.

= C. montanus var. macrourus

betuloides multiñorus. See C. betuloides.

douglasii. See C. betuloides.

ledifolius; curlleaf c 178

macrourus. See C. betuloides macrourus.

montanus glaber. See C. betuloides.

montanus macrourus. See C. betuloides macrourus.

parvifolius betuloides. See C. betuloides.

parvifolius glaber. See C. betuloides.

Cercocarpus (or cercocarp) ; Cercocarpus

birchleaf; C. betuloides 192

curlleaf; C. ledifolius 17»

longtail birchleaf ; C. betuloides var. macrourus 178, 192

Chamaebatiaria millefolium;;desertsweet or tansybush 203

Cherry, bitter; Prunus emarginata 53, 147

Chimaphila; pipsissewa or princes-pine

menziesii; Menzies pipsissewa 176

occidentalis. See C. umbellata occidentalis.

umbellata var. occidentalis; western pipsissewa 176

= C. occidentalis

Chokecherry; Prunus

common; P. virginiana 54, 147

black common ; P. virginiana var. melanocarpa ^' if7

western common ; P. virginiana var. demissa 54, 417

Chrysothamnus; rabbitbrush

bloomeri. See Aplopappus bloomeri.

consimilis. See C. nauseosus consimilis.

humilis. See C. viscidiflorus humilis.

lanceolatus. See C. viscidiflorus lanceolatus.

nauseosus; rubber r 82, 126
INDEX 217

Chrysothamnus; rabbitbrush—Continued

nauseosus albicauHs; wbitestem rubber r 83

= Bigelovia graveolens albicaulis

= Chrysothamnus speciosus albicaulis

nauseosus artus, See C. nauseosus consimilis.

nauseosus consimilis; fetid rubber r 82

= C. consimilis

= C. nauseosus artus

= C. oreophilus

= C. oreophilus artus

nauseosus graveolens, See C. nauseosus speciosus.

nauseosus speciosus; tail rubber r 83

= €. nauseosus graveolens

= C. speciosus

oreophilus artus. See C. nauseosus consimilis.

puberulus. See C. viscidiflorus puberulus.

pumilus. See C. viscidiflorus pumiius.

speciosus. See C. nauseosus speciosus.

speciosus albicaulis. See C. nauseosus albicaulis.

stenophyllus. See C. viscidiflorus stenophyllus.

viscidiflorus; Douglas r 80, 82, 126

= Bigelovia douglasii

viscidiflorus humilis; Truckee r 80

= C. humilis

viscidiflorus lanceolatus; lanceleaf r 80

= C. lanceolatus

viscidiflorus puberulus; downy r 80

= C. puberulus

viscidiflorus pumiius; low Douglas r 82

= C. pumiius

viscidiflorus stenophyllus; small r 82

= C. stenophyllus

Cinquefoil, bush; Potentilla fruticosa 84, 140

Clematis; clematis, virginsbower

columbiana. See C. verticillaris columbiana.

ligusticifolia; western v 101, 158

verticillaris var. columbiana; Columbia rock c lOl', 158

= C, columbiana

Clematis, Columbia rock; Clematis verticillaris var. columbiana 101, 158

Cornus stolonifera; red-osier dogwood 99, 165

Corylus; hazel or filbert

californica. See C. cornuta var. californica.

cornuta var. californica; California h 20, 120

= C. californica

= C, rostrata californica

rostrata californica. See C. cornuta var. californica

Cottonwood, black; Populus trichocarpa 28, 119

Crataegus; hawthorn

brevispina. See C. douglasii..

columbiana; Columbia h , 19^ 110

columbiana piperi. See C. piperi.

douglasii; black (or Douglas) h 18, 110

— C, brevispina

piperi; Piper h 19, no

= C, columbiana var. piperi

Currant; Ribes

blood ; R. sanguineum 48, 151

golden; R. aureum 42 151

gooseberry; R. montigenum___ ll| no

prickly (or swamp); R. lacustre ll| no

sticky ; R. viscosissimum : 48, 152

stink ; R. bracteosum 42' 149

swamp ; R. lacustre ll[ no

wax; R. cereum 47' 155

western black; R. petiolare 45' 150

Dasiphora fruticosa. See Potentilla fruticosa.

Desertsweet (also called tansybush) ; Chamaebatiaria millefolium 203
218 INDEX

Distegia ¿nvolucrata. See Lonicera involucrata.

Dogwood, red-osier ; Cornus stolonifera 99, 165

Elaeagnus canadensis. See Shepherdia canadensis.

Elder; Sambucus

blackbead; S. melanocarpa 103, 160

blueberry; S. glauca 103, 159

Pacific red; S. callicarpa 105, 160

western red; S. leiosperma 105, 160

Eremosemium spinosum. See Grayia spinosa.

Eriogonum; eriogonum

heracleoides; Wyeth e 75

microthecum; slenderbush e 75

thymoides; thyme e 75

Eriogonum; Eriogonum

slenderbush ; E. microthecum 75

thyme ; E. thymoides 75

Wyeth; E. heracleoides :__ 75

Euonymus { = Evonymus) occidentalis; western wahoo or western burning bush 96

Eurotia ianata; common winterfat 181

Filbert (or hazel), California; Corylus cornuta var. californica 20, 120

Forsellesia; greasebush

= Glossopetalon

spinescens. See F. stipulifera.

stipulifera; Snake River g 5, 106

= **F. spinescens'' of some authors, NOT (A. Gray) Greene

= **Glossopetalon spinescens'' of some authors, NOT A. Gray

= Glossopetalon stipuliferum

Fraxinus; ash

latifolia; Oregon a 105, 166

= F, oregona

oregona. See F. latifolia.

Gaultheria; wintergreen

humifusa; western w 190

= G. myrsinites

myrsinites. See G. humifusa.

ovatifolia; Oregon w 190

Gilia pungens. See Leptodactylon pungens.

GiUa, granite ; Leptodactylon pungens 92

Glossopetalon. See Forsellesia.

Goldenweed, rabbitbrush ; Aplopappus bloomeri 79

Gooseberry; Ribes

desert; R. velutinum 17

Goodding ; R. gooddingii 17, 112

Idaho; R. irriguum 13, 113

Klamath ; R. klamathense 13

Mt. Adams; R. watsonianum 11

snow; R. niveum 16, 112

Umatilla; R. cognatum 13, 113

Watson ; R. watsonianum 11

whitestem; R. inerme 13, 112

Grayia spinosa; spiny hopsage 8, 106

= Eremosemium spinosum

Greasebush, Snake River; Forsellesia stipulifera 5, 106

Greasewood, black ; Sarcobatus vermiculatus 8, 106

Grossularia. See Ribes.

Hackberry, netleaf (includes Douglas h.); Celtis reticulata 51, 144

Haplopappus, See Aplopappus.

Hardhack ; Spiraea

H awthorn ; Crataegus

black (or Douglas) ; C. douglasii 18, 110

Columbia; C. columbiana 19, 110

Piper; C. piperi 19, 110

Hazel (filbert), California ; Corylus cornuta var. californica 20, 120

Hollygrape (or creeping mahonia) ; Mahonia repens 203
INDEX 219

Holodiscus; rockspirea

= Schizonotus

— Sericotheca

discolor; creambush r. or oceanspray- 56, 130

— Schizonotus argénteas var. discolor

= Schizonotus discolor

= Sericotheca ariaefolia

= Sericotheca discolor

~ Sericotheca discolor var. ariaefolia

=^ Spiraea discolor

microphyllus var. glabrescens; glandular littleleaf r 56

=^Sericotheca glabrescens

Honeysuckle; Lonicera

bearberrj^* L. involucrata ^9, 166

purpleflower ; L. conjugialis 100, 166

red mountain-fly ; L. cauriana 100, 165

Utah; L. utahensis 100, 166

western trumpet; L. ciiiosa 96, 158

Hopsage, spiny; Grayia spinosa 8, 106

Horsebrush ; Tetradymia

cottonthorn; T. spinosa 10, 110

gray; T. canescens 79, 136

littleleaf: T, glabrata 79, 136

**Huckleberry/' See Vaccinum.

Juniper; Juiliperus

mountain common ; J. communis var. saxatilis 168

Rocky-Mountain; J. scopulorum 168

western (or Sierra) ; J. occidentalis 168

Juniperus; juniper

= Sabina

communis var. saxatilis; mountain common j 168

= J, communis var. sibirica

= J, nana

= /. sibirica

communis var. sibirica. See J. communis var. saxatilis.

nana. See J. communis var. saxatilis.

occidentalis; w^estern (or Sierra) j 168

= Sabina occidentalis

scopulorum; Rocky-Mountain j 168

— Sabina scopulorum

sibirica. See J. communis var. saxatilis.

Kalmia, kalmia

glauca microphylla. See K. polifolia var. microphylla.

microphylla. See K. polifolia var. microphylla.

polifolia var. microphylla; alpine bog k 172

= K. glauca var. microphylla

= K, microphylla

Kalmia, alpine bog ; Kalmia polifolia var. microphylla 172

Kinnikinnick (or bearberry) ; Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 186

Kunzia, See Purshia.

Labrador-Tea, smooth ; Ledum glandulosum 178

Ledum glandulosum ; western ledum (smooth Labrador-tea) 178

Lepargyrea canadensis. See Shepherdia canadensis.

Leptodactylon

— Gilia, in part

pungens; granite gilia 92

=Gilia pungens

Linnaea borealis var. americana; American twinflower 174

Lonicera; honeysuckle

cauriana; red mountain-fly h 100, 165

~*'L. coerulea'' of some authors, NOT L.

^"L. villosa'' of some authors, NOT (Michx.) Roem. & Schult.

ciliata. See L. utahensis.

ciiiosa; western trumpet h 96, 158

= Caprifolium ciliosum

coerulea. See L. cauriana.
220 INDEX

Lonicera; honeysuckle—Continued

conjugialis; purpleflower h 100 166

= Xylosteon conjugiale ~ '

involucrata; bearberry h___ ___ 99 166

= Distegia involucrata ~ '

=Xylo8teon involucratum

iitahensis; Utah h IQO igg

. ="^. ci7íaía" of some authors, NOT Muhi.

villosa. See L. cauriana.

Mahonia; mahonia, hollygrape, Oregon-grape

— Berberisy in part

= Odostemon

aquifolium; Oregon-grape 205

= Berberís aquifolium

= Odostemon aquifolium

= Odostemon nutkanus

nervosa; Cascades mahonia 205

= Berberís nervosa

— Odostemon nervosus

repens, creeping mahonia, or hollygrape 203

= Berberís nana, B, repens

= Odostemon repens

Mahonia; Mahonia

Cascades; M. nervosa 205

creeping (or hollygrape) ; M. repens ílíl.íí~"l "_ _ 203

Oregon-grape; M. aquifolium _ 205

Manzanita; Arctostaphylos

greenleaf; A. patula 189

pine; A. parryana var. pinetorum ^ ~ 189

pinemat; A. nevadensis ~ 186

Maple; Acer

bigleaf; A. macrophyllum ._ 92, 166

Douglas; A. glabrum var. douglasii ]__"]"___ 92,' 165

vine; A. circinatum 92 158

Meadowsweet; Spiraea - - - >

Menziesia; menziesia

ferruginea; rusty m 57 143

glabella; smooth m ~_ 67 143

Menziesia; Menziesia '

rusty ; M. ferruginea 57 143

smooth; M. glabella 67 143

Mockorange, Lewis ; Philadelphus lewisii ^ 96^ 160

Mountain-ash; Sorbus

Cascades ; S. cascadensis 86, 135

Greenes ; S. scopulina 84 135

western; S. occidentalis 86¡ 135

Mountainheath; Phyllodoce

cream ; P. glanduliflora 169

red ; P. empetriformis 169

Mountain-mahogany; Cercocarpus 178, 192

Nightshade, bitter; Solanum dulcamara 52

Ninebark, mallow ; Physocarpus malvaceus 42, 127

Oak, Oregon white; Quercus garryana 20, 116

Oceanspray ; Holodiscus discolor 56, 130

Odostemon, See Mahonia.

aquifolium. See Mahonia aquifolium.

nervosus» See Mahonia nervosa.

nutkanus. See Mahonia aquifolium.

repens. See Mahonia repens.

Opulaster. See Physocarpus.

Oregon-grape; Mahonia aquifolium 205

Pachistima (also spelled Pachystima) myrsinites; myrtle (or mountainlover) pachistima 174

Padus, See Prunus.

Penstemon deustus ; scorched penstemon (or hot-rock p.) 96
INDEX 221

Peraphyllum ramosíssímum; squawapple 74, 138

Philadelphus lewisii; Lewis mockorange 96, 160

Phyllodoce; mountainheath

= Bryanthus

empetriformis; red m 169

= Bryanthus empetriformis

glanduHflora; cream m 169

Physocarpus; ninebark

= Opulaster

malvaceus; mallow n 42, 127

= Opulaster malvaceus

= Physocarpus pauciflorus

pauciftorus, See P. malvaceus.

Picrothamnus desertorum, See Artemisia spinescens.

Pipsissewa (or princes-pine) ; Chimaphila

Menzies; C. menziesü 176

western; C. umbeliata var. occidentalis 176

Plum, Klamath; Prunus subcordata 54

Poison-ivy, western ; Toxicodendron radicans var. rydbergii 87, 136

Poison-oak, Pacific; Toxicodendron diversilobum 87, 136

Populus; aspen, cottonwood

áurea. See P. tremuloides.

hastata. See P. trichocarpa.

tremuloides; quaking a 28, 119

= P. aurea

= P, trem,uloides var. aurea

tremuloides aurea. See P. tremuloides.

trichocarpa; black c ^ 28, 119

= JP. hastata

= P. trichocarpa var. hastata

trichocarpa var. hastata. See P. trichocarpa.

Potentilla; cinquefoil

fruticosa; bush c_-- 84, 140

= Dasiphora fruticosa

Prunus; cherry, chokecherry, plum

= Cerasus

= Padus

demissa. See P. virginiana var. demissa.

emarginata; bitter cherry 53, 147

= Cerasus emarginata

= Cerasus mollis

= Prunus emarginata var. crenulata

= Prunus emarginata var. erecta

^Prunus emarginata var. mollis

= Prunus emarginata var. villosa

emarginata crenulata. See Prunus emarginata.

emarginata erecta. See Prunus emarginata.

emarginata mollis. See Prunus emarginata.

emarginata villosa. See Prunus emarginata.

melanocarpa. See Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa.

oregana. See Prunus subcordata.

subcordata; Klamath plum 54

= Prunus oregana

= Prunus subcordata var. oregana

subcordata oregana. See Prunus subcordata.

Virginia; common chokecherry 54, 147

= Padus virginiana

virginiana var. demissa; western common chokecherry 54, 147

= Cerasus demissa

— Padus demissa

= Prunus demissa

virginiana var. melanocarpa; black common chokecherry 54, 147

= Cerasus demissa var. melanocarpa

= Padus melanocarpa

= Padus virginiana var. melanocarpa

= Prunus melanocarpa
222 INDEX

Purshia; bitterbrush

=Kunzia

tridentata; antelope b - 139, 194

= Kunzia tridentata

Pyrus, See Sorbus.

Quercus garryana; Oregon white oak _ 20, 116

Rabbitbrush; Chrysothamnus

Douglas; C. viscidiflorus 80, 82, 126

downy; C. v. puberulus - 80

fetid rubber; C. nauseosus consimilis 82

lanceleaf; C. v. lanceolatus 80

low Douglas; C. v. pumiius 82

rubber ; C. nauseosus 82, 126

small; C. v. stenophyllus 82

tall rubber; C. nauseosus speciosus 83

Truckee (also called low r.) ; C. v. humilis 80

whitestem rubber; C. nauseosus albicaulis 83

Ramona incana. See Salvia incana.

Raspberry; Rubus

American red; R. strigosus 88, 114

northwestern blackcap ; R. nigerrimus 88

whitebark ; R. leucodermis ^ 88

Rhamnus; buckthorn

alnifolia; alder b 64, 155

purshiana ; cascara b 64, 144

Rhododendron albiflorum; Cascades azalea (also called Cascades falseazalea) J 67,144

Rhus; sumac

= Schmaltzia

canadensis trilobata. See R. trilobata.

diversiloba. See Toxicodendron diversilobum.

glabra; smooth s 84, 134

= R, glabra var. occidentalis

= R. occidentalis

glabra occidentalis. See R. glabra.

occidentalis. See R. glabra.

radicans rydbergii. See Toxicodendron radicans var. rydbergii.

toxicodendron. See Toxicodendron radicans var. rydbergii.

trilobata; skunkbush (or lemonade) s 87, 132

= R. canadensis var. trilobata

= Schmaltzia trilobata

Ribes {= Grossularid); currant, gooseberry

ambiguum. See R. watsonianum.

aureum; golden c 42, 151

bracteosum; stink c 42, 149

cereum; wax c 47, 155

cognatum; Umatilla g 13, 113

= Grossularia cognata

divaricatum inerme. See R. inerme.

divaricatum irriguum. See R. irriguum.

divaricatum klamathense. See R. klamathense.

gooddingii; Goodding g 17, 112

inerme; whitestem g 13, 112

= Grossularia inermis

= Ribes divaricatum var. inerme

inerme klamathense. See R. klamathense.

irriguum; Idaho g 13, 113

= Grossularia irrigua

= Ribes divaricatum var. irriguum

klamathense; Klamath g 13

= Grossularia klamathensis

= Ribes divaricatum var. klamathense

= Ribes inerme var. klamathense

lacustre; prickly (or swamp) c 11? HO

lacustre molle. See R. montigenum.

lentum. See R. montigenum.
INDEX 223

Ribes (=Grossulana) ; currant, gooseberry—Continued

molle. See R. montigenum.

montigenum; gooseberry c 11, HO

= Ribes lacustre var. molle

= Ribes lentum.

= Ribes m,olle

niveum; snow g- _ _• 16, 112

= Grossularia nivea

petiolare; westçrn black c 45, 150

sanguineum; blood c 48, 151

velutinum; desert g 17

= Grossularia velutina

viscosissimum; sticky c 48, 152

watsonianum; Watson (or Mt. Adams) g H

= Grossularia watsoniana

= Ribes ambiguum S. Wats., NOT Maxim.

Rockspirea; Holodiscus

creambush; H. discolor 56, 130

glandular littleleaf; H. microphyilus var. glabrescens 56

Rosa; rose

californica ultramontana. See R. ultramontana.

gymnocarpa; baldhip r 90, 114

nutkana. See R. spaldingii.

pisocarpa ultramontana. See R. ultramontana.

spaldingii; Spalding r 90, 114

=^ "JK. nutkana" of some authors, NOT Presl

ultramontana; interior r 90, 114

= R. californica var. ultramontana

= R. pisocarpa VSLT. ultramontana

= R. woodsii var. ultramontana

woodsii ultramontana. See R. ultramontana.

Rose; Rosa

baldhip; R. gymnocarpa 90, 114

interior; R. ultramontana 90, 114

Nootka; R. nutkana 90, 114

peafruit ; R. pisocarpa 90

Spalding; R. spaldingii •_ 90, 114

Rubacer, See Rubus.

Rubus { — Rubacer); blackberry, raspberry, salmonberry, thimbleberry

hesperius. See R. nigerrimus.

idaeus melanotrachys. See R. strigosus.

idaeus peramoenus. See R.'strigosus.

idaeus strigosus. See R. strigosus.

laciniatus; cutleaf b 205

leucodermis; whitebark r 88

leucodermis nigerrimus. See R. nigerrimus.

macropetalus; trailing b 87

= "Ä. ursinus*' of some authors, NOT Cham. & Schlecht.

= *'R. vitifolius'' of some authors, NOT Cham. & Schlecht.

melanolasius. See R. strigosus.

nigerrimus; northwestern blackcap r 88

— R. hesperius

— R. leucodermis var. nigerrimus

nutkanus. See R. parviflorus.

parviflorus; western t 42, 138

='Rubacer parviñorum

=Rubus nutkanus

spectabilis; salmonberry 90, 114

strigosus; American red r 88, 114

= R. idaeus var. melanotrachys

= R. idaeus var. peramoenus

= R. idaeus var. strigosus

^**R. melanolasius'' of some authors, NOT Focke

ursinus. See R. macropetalus.

vitifolius. See R. macropetalus.

Sabina. See Juniperus.

Sage, desert; Salvia carnosa 99

471114 0-60-15
224 INDEX

Sagebrush; Artemisia

big; A. tridentata 199

bud; A. spinescens 5, 106

low; A. arbuscula 200

silver; A. cana 1 183

stiff; A. rígida 41

three-tip ; A. tripartita 197

Salix; willow 30, 116

amygdaioides; peachleaf w 32

argophylla; silverleaf w 31

barclayi; Barclay w 38

bebbiana; Bebb w 37

bella. See S. drummondiana var. beila.

caudàta; whiplash w 32

commutata; undergreen w 40

drummondiana var. bella; beautiful w 34

= S, bella

drummondiana var. subcoerulea; blue w 34

= S. subcoerulea

exigua; coyote w 31

geyeriana; Geyer w ^ ^ 1__ 37

lasiandra; Pacific w 32

lasiolepis; arroyo w 37

lutea; yellow w 38

mackenziana; Mackenzie w 38

melanopsis; dusky w 31

monochroma; greensides w : 40

nuttallii. See S. scouieriana.

pseudocordata; firmleaf w 38

= S. pseudomyrsiniteSf in part

scouieriana; Scouler w 34

= 5. nuttallii

sitchensis; Sitka w ^ 34

subcoerulea. See S. drummondiana var. subcoerulea.

Salmonberry ; Rubus spectabilis 90, 114

Saltbush; Atripiex

fourwing; A. canescens 185

shadscale; A. confertifolia 6, 109

Salvia {=Audibertia; Ramona); sage

carnosa; desert s - 99

=Audibertia incana

=Ramona incana

Sambucus; elder

callicarpa; Pacific red e 105, 160

cerúlea. See S. glauca.

glauca; blueberry e 103, 159

= S, cerúlea

leiosperma; western red e 105, 160

melanocarpa; blackhead e 103, 160

Sarcobatus vermiculatus; black greasewood 8, 106

Schizonotus, See Holodiscus.

Schmaltzia. See Rhus.

Sericotheca. See Holodiscus.

Serviceberry ; Amelanchier

Cusick; A. cusickii . 60, 156

Pacific; A. florida 62, 156

saskatoon; A. ainifolia 62, 156

Utah; A. utahensis 62

Shepherdia; buffaloberry

canadensis; russet b 96, 162

= Elaeagnus canadensis

= Lepargyrea canadensis

Snowberry; Symphoricarpos

Columbia; S. rivularis__- 95, 161

sharpleaf; S; acutus ^ 95

Washington ; S. hesperius ^ 95

whortleleaf; S. vaccinioides 95, 162
INDEX 225

Solanum dulcamara; bitter nightshade 52

Sorbus {=Pyrus, in part); mountain-ash

cascadensis;.Cascades m 86, 135

~S. sambucifolia of some authors in part, NOT Cham. & Schlecht.

= S, sitchensis of some authors in part, NOT Roem.

occidentalis; western m 86, 135

— Pyrus occidentalis

— Sorbus pumila

pumila. See S. occidentalis.

sambucifolia. See S. cascadensis and S. scopulina.

scopulina; Greenes m 84, 135

= Pyrus dumosa of some authors, NOT (Greene) Fern.

= 5. sambucifolia of some authors in part, NOT Cham. &Schlecht.

= S. sitchensis of some authors in part, NOT Roem.

sitchensis. See S. cascadensis and S. scopulina.

Spiraea; spirea (also called hardhack, meadowsweet, .and ste'©plebush)

arbuscula. See S. densiflora.

betulaefolia. See S. lucida.

cuneifolia. See S. menziesii.

densiflora; subalpine s ^ 58

= S. arbuscula

— S. helleri

discolor. See Holodiscus discolor.

douglasii; Douglas s 58

douglasii menziesii. See S. menziesii.

helleri. See S. densiflora.

lucida; shinyleaf s 58, 128

= "5. betulaefolia'' of Amer, authors, NOT Pall.

menziesii; Menzies s 58

= S. cuneifolia

= S. douglasii var. menziesii

Spirea; Spiraea

Douglas; S. douglasii 58

Menzies; S. menziesii 58

shinyleaf; S. lucida 58, 128

subalpine; S. densiflora 58

Squawapple ; Peraphyllum ramosissiihum 74, 138

Steeplebush; Spiraea

Sumac; Rhus

skunkbush; R. trilobata 87, 132

smooth; R. glabra 84, 134

Symphoricarpos; snowberry

acutus; sharpleaf s_„ 95

= S. mollis of some authors, NOT Nutt.

acutus. See S, vaccinioides.

albus. See S. rivularis.

albus var. laevigatus. See S. rivularis.

albus var, mollis. See S. hesperius.

hesperius; Washington s , ^ 95

= S. albus var. mollis of some authors, NOT Keck,

= S. mollis of some authors, NOT Nutt.

^ S. pauciñorus of some authors, NOT Robbins.

mollis. See S. acutus and S. hesperius.

oreophilus. See S. vaccinioides.

paucifolius. See S. hesperius.

racemosus. See S. rivularis.

racemosus var. laevigatus. See S. rivularis.

rivularis; Columbia s 95, 161

= S'. albus of some authors, NOT (L.) Blake.

= S. albus var. laevigatus.

— S. racemosus of some authors, NOT Michx.

= S. racemosus var. laevigatus

rotundifolius. See S. vaccinioides.

vaccinioides; whortleleaf s 95, 162

^5. acutus of some authors, NOT Dieck

= 5. oreophilus of some authors, NOT A. Gray

= 5. rotundifolius of some authors, NOT A. Gray
226 INDEX

Tansybush (desertsweet) ; Chamaebatiaria millefolium 203

Tetradymia; horsebrush

canescens; gray h 79, 136

= T. canescens var. inermis

= T. inermis

glabrata; littleleaf h 79, 136

inermis. See T. canescens.

spinosa; cottonthorn h 10, 110

Thimbleberry, western; Rubus parviflorus 42, 138

Toxicodendron; poison-ivy, poison-oak

= RhuSs in part

diversilobum; Pacific poison-oak 87, 136

= Rhus diversiloba

hesperium. See T. radicans var. rydbergii.

radicans var. rydbergii; western poison-ivy 87, 136

= T, hesperium

= r. rydbergii

=^Rhus radicans var. rydbergii

= "Rhus toxicodendron" of some authors, NOT L.

Twinflower, American; Llnnaea borealis var. americana - 174

Vaccinium; bilberry, blueberry, ''huckleberry," whortleberry

arbuscula. See V. cespitosum var. arbuscula.

cespitosum; dwarf blueberry 73, 142

cespitosum var. arbuscula; taller dwarf blueberry 73, 142

= F. arbuscula

deliciosum; delicious blueberry 70, 142

globulare; globeflower whortleberry ^ 140

macrophyllum. See V. membranaceum.

membranaceum; big whortleberry 70, 140

= F. macrophyllum

microphyllum. See V. scoparlum.

myrtillus microphyllum. See V. scoparium.

occidentale; westernbog blueberry 67, 142

ovalifolium; ovalleaf whortleberry 70, 140

scoparium; grouse whortleberry 69, 140

= F. microphyllum of some authors, NOT Reinw.

= F. myrtillus var. microphyllum

Viburnum; viburnumT

edule; moosewood (or squashberry) v 92 165

= F. pauciflorum

pauciñorum. See V. edule.

Viburnum, moosewood (also called squashberry v.); Viburnum edule 92, 165

Virginsbower, western ; Clematis ligusticifolia 101,'158

Wahoo, western (western burningbush) ; Euonymus occidentalis ' 96

Whortleberry ; Vaccinium

big ; V. membranaceum 70, 140

globeñower; V. globulare ' 140

grouse; V. scoparium 69, 140

ovalleaf; V. ovalifolium 70J 140

Willow; Salix 30,' 116

arroyo; S. lasiolepis 37

Barclay ; S. barclayi 38

beautiful; S. drummondiana var. bella 34

Bebb; S. bebbiana 37

blue; S. drummondiana var. subcoerulea 34

coyote; S. exigua 31

dusky; S. melanopsis 31

firmleaf; S. pseudocordata 38

Geyer; S. geyeriana 37

greensides; S. monochroma 40

Mackenzie ; S. mackenziana ^ 38

Pacific ; S. iasiandra 32

peachleaf; S. amygdaloides 32

Scouler; S. scouleriana 34

silverleaf; S. argophylla 31

Sitka ; S. sitchensis 34
INDEX 227

Willow; Salix—Continued

undergreen; S. commutata 40

whiplash; S. caudata 32

yellow; S. lutea__ 38

Winterfat, common; Eurotia lanata 181

Wintergreen; Gaultheria

Oregon ; G. ovatifolia 190

western ; G. humifusa 190

Xylosteon. See Lonicera.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1960 O—471 IM