Cascara is a small tree or shrub ranging from BC through Northern California, and East into Montana. In the Eastern and Southern parts of its range, it adopts shrubby forms, some of which may be distinct subspecies.

The scientific name appears to be in transition. While the Integrated Taxonomical Information System still lists it as Rhamnus, many up-to-date sources (Jepson 2nd. Ed.; WTU Herbarium; USDA database) have elevated the subgenus Frangula (thornless buckthorns with five petals and no leaf scales) to the genus level.

The common name Cascara comes from the Spanish “Cascara Sagrada” or “sacred shell”, named for its medicinal bark. The bark of the Cascara is an effective and relatively mild laxative. It was accepted into the western pharmacoepia until 2002, when the FDA banned it for over the counter use, for lack of studies proving its safety. As it is slow-acting, there is danger of overdose, and long term use can cause habituation. Although there are reports of people eating the fruits, they probably contain some toxins. Parts of the cascara plant are also uesd to produce yellow and green dyes.

Cascara has a high value to wildlife. The Lepidoptera Caterpillar Host Plant Database lists 22 species that use Frangula purshiana. A cascara in flower tends to be full of insect pollinators. Many birds, including grosbeaks, grouse and band-tailed pigeons consume the fruits, as do many mammals. However, it ranks as poor forage for ungulates, making it a relatively deer-proof plant.

Cascara most often grows as an understory tree, easily overlooked if you are not paying close attention, though the reddish bark and long, pleated leaves are quite pleasing. Individuals planted in the sun become much fuller than those in the shade. Since there is a market for the bark, large cascaras are rare in the wild. Many harvesters peel off the bark from a standing trunk. This kills the tree. Cutting the tree down and leaving a tall stump allows for substantial bark harvest, and allows the tree to grow back, albeit in a coppiced form.

Red alder is another iconic Northwest Coast lowland plant. It ranges from Southern Alaska in the North to Santa Cruz County in the South, mostly on the West slope of the Cascades, though there is a disjunct population in far Eastern Washington, Central Idaho and Western Montana. It is the largest species of Alder in North America (a recent champion tree, in Clatsop County, OR, was measured at 104′ height, 49′ spread, 245″ circumference).

Red alder is a short-lived, early-seral species; its seeds are both wind pollinated and wind dispersed, and its seedlings do best on bare mineral soil. It is difficult to propagate vegetatively. Young red alders grow very quickly, but rarely reach their hundredth year. Red alder is tolerant of saturated soils, but not of drought.

Alnus rubra is actinorhizal. It a forms a symbiotic relationship with an actinomycete filamentous bacterium in the genus Frankia, which has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The relationship begins with an intracellular infection of a root hair, which leads to cell division in the pericycle, eventually growing a multi-lobed root nodule. Both the roots and the leaf litter significantly increase the amount of available nitrogen in the soil. Douglas fir grows faster in conjunction with red alder than without it.

Red alder has also become the most important commercial hardwood in the PNW. Although the wood rots quickly out of doors, its workability makes it a favorite for furniture, cabinetry, and toymaking. Red alder is not a chosen browse of most ungulates (deer will preferentially eat dropped leaves in the fall, but avoid them on the tree), but the bark is an apparent delicacy for mountain beavers. Red alder trees are an important winter forage for pine siskins, chestnut backed chickadees, and kinglets. Sapsuckers are considered a pest of commercial stands; their feeding holes damage the wood, sometimes even girdling the tree, or weakening it to the point that the top blows out in a storm.

This month I have a flower request from the folks at the plant sale. Yellow-eyed grass is one of the two common species of Sisyrinchium native to Western Washington. It ranges mostly along the western slope of the Cascades from BC South through California. A lover of damp places, it can be found at the edges of wetlands, along seeps, and in wet meadows.
Sisyrinchiums are members of the iris family. The name comes from Theophrastus, although the modern usage applies to a New World genus. Sisyrinchium have their center of diversity in Argentina, and genetic evidence seems to point to two separate waves of expansion into North America. Sisyrinchium idahoense (blue-eyed grass), our other common Sisyrinchium here in Western Washington, comes from a different branch of the genus than californicum does. There are also a couple of endemic Sisyrinchiums in the state that may have speciated from the more common varieties during an ice age.
In the garden, it is a short-lived perennial that re-seeds in damp spots (like the well-watered beds in the nursery). Usually less than a foot tall, the symmetrical yellow flowers that peek out between the strap-shaped leaves open on sunny mornings and often close by afternoon. When not in bloom, it forms pleasing clumps of pale green mini-iris. The dry leaves turn a purplish black, providing a nice contrast.
Bibliography:
Lisa Karst, Ph.D. Phylogeny, Character Evolution, and Biogeography of Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae)
http://www.duke.edu/~lk38/

The Coast Douglas fir is one of the tallest trees in the world. The Mineral tree, near Mineral, in Lewis County, was measured at 120 meters (393 feet) in 1924. There is a 1901 report of logging a douglas fir 411 feet tall. However, the tallest living Douglas fir today is only 326 feet, easily eclipsed by the largest Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) at 379 feet tall. The tallest tree ever measured was an Australian mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans), 435 feet tall. That tree was also promptly logged.

Douglas fir is still economically important here in Wastern Washington. In 2010, 46,052 thousand board feet of Douglas fir were harvested in King County alone. Douglas fir wood has a very high strength-to-weight ratio, so is used extensively for structural timbers and plywood. Douglas fir also accounts for more than half the Christmas trees produced in Washington State.

Douglas fir is an early seral species. After a disturbance such as fire or logging, the forest can regrow into an almost pure Douglas fir stand, though most timberlands are now planted with seedlings to give them a jump on the red alders (Alnus rubra) which can otherwise shade them out. Since a Douglas fir can live over 750 years, they remain an important species in older forests as well.

Douglas firs begin to produce strobili (cones) at about 12-15 years of age. It takes about 17 months from the start of bud development to cone maturation. The seeds are wind dispersed, and usually fall within 150 meters of the parent tree, though they can travel for over a kilometer. Seed production varies by year, with a heavy crop every seven years or so. Trees 200-300 years old produce the most seeds.

Another edible early spring bloomer is Rubus spectabilis, or salmonberry. It is native to the west coast (East into Idaho, though mostly from the Cascades West) from Alaska through Northern California, a perrenial, thicket-forming shrub 1-4 meters tall. Though salmonberries have some prickles on their young growth, they are less armored than most other members of the genus Rubus.
Salmonberry shrubs can be identified by their tripartate leaves. If you fold the middle leaf back, the two remaining ones have the shape of a butterfly’s wings. In winter, the orangey-tan color of the stems is diagnostic.
The leaves and magenta flowers appear early in the spring, sometimes while there is still snow on the ground. Rufus hummingbirds time their spring return to the flowering of salmonberry. (Keep your eyes open. See if you can find a rufus hummingbird before you’ve noticed salmonberry in bloom. As soon as you see a blooming salmonberry, keep your eyes open for a rufous hummingbird.)
Ripe salmonberry fruit varies in color from yellow to orange to red. According to one study, birds prefer the red ones, but for humans, the flavor varies more between salmonberry patches than among colors of fruit, which can vary even on individual shrubs. It is also possible that individual people have different reactions to salmonberry flavinoids, as reports on the flavor of the berries vary widely. Native peoples ate the early spring shoots as well as the berries, often serving salmonberries with salmon or roe. Some sources claim that is the reason it’s called salmonberry. It is also supposed to help with digestion – especially if one has overindulged in its namesake fish. Modern recipes use the berries in pie, jellies and wine. The berries have too much water in them to dry easily.
Salmonberries are found mostly along streamsides and in damp woods, often under stands of alder. They establish best in disturbed soils, but patches can exist almost indefinitely, “moving” by sending out runners as parts of the patch are shaded out. Salmonberry can be propagated by seed, live staking, layering stems, or transplanting runners. It is deep-rooted enough to be useful in fighting erosion, and is a valuable wildlife plant both for food and shelter. In some areas, it is sought out as sheep forage.