Trees on the Trails D Think of This 4-Page Insert As Your “Cheat Sheet” for the Trees Most Often Found Along Washington’S Trails

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chiefelbein S ave Trees on the Trails D Think of this 4-page insert as your “cheat sheet” for the trees most often found along Washington’s trails. Within, you’ll find both conifers and flowering deciduous trees found everywhere from lowland forests to subalpine summits. Some of these trees are common west of the crest of the Cascades, while others are found only east of the crest. A few (such as Douglas-fir) are found on both sides of the divide. A few tips to help you identify trees: Study the needles or leaves. What do the cones look like? Is the bark smooth, rough or papery? We’ve tried to picture both the overall tree and a detail such as cones or needles to help you identify the tree. Other clues to consider: Where is the tree? Does the tree prefer higher elevations? Ponderosa pine

Does it thrive east of the crest? Does it crave shade or open sunlight? chiefelbein

Pinus ponderosa S

And last, some trees are tricky to tell apart. Some firs can’t be distinguished unless ave Distinctive, reddish-barked D you examine the cones (which stay high in the tree and rarely fall!). So have fun, and pine common in open park- don’t be too disappointed if you can’t get a positive I.D. on that mystery tree. lands east of the crest. Needles come in sets of three. auer ougal ougal B D D c c lan M M A u s an u s an S S auer auer B ougal B

Lodgepole pine Western white pine D Whitebark pine c lan lan A M Pinus contorta Pinus monticola Pinus albicaulis A u s an

Found west of crest (where it’s Once common, populations S A subalpine pine found east known as shore pine) and in were decimated by a disease in- of the Cascade crest. Clark’s eastern Cascades in abundance. troduced in 1910. Large cones, nutcrackers eat and disperse Needles come in sets of two. needles in sets of five. seeds. Needles in sets of five. e d er F s on aul P chiefelbein ylvia on S S D ave D auer auer ougal B B

Douglas-fir Western hemlock D Mountain hemlock c lan lan A A Pseudotsuga menziesii Tsuga heterophylla M Tsuga mertensiana u s an Abundant tree in both western Second only in abundance to S Distinguished from western rain forests and in drier forests Douglas-fir in westside forests hemlock by its larger cones and east of the crest. Old-growth below 3,500 feet, this tree is presence at higher elevations trees can reach 300 feet tall. very shade tolerant. (generally above 4,500 feet). WASHINGTON TRAILS August 2007 www.wta.org li m ec k y K chiefelbein S ri k a E

Big Trees ave D No doubt about it, there are some really big trees in Washington’s forests. Just what makes a “record” tree is complicated. Ameri- can Forests has a registry of the largest trees in the U.S., but for those of us in the Pacific North- west, that sometimes doesn’t help when British Columbia is rown ougal B Alaska yellow-cedar Western red cedar D thrown into the mix. c i m K Thuja plicata M Suffice to say, though, that Wash- Chamaecyparis nootkatensis u s an ington is home to some record- Found in moist sites west of Huge, slow-growing tree found S breaking trees. Olympic National the Cascade crest. Yellow inner in wet sites. Trees can top 1,000 Park, with its abundant rainfall, bark and prickly leaves set it years in age. Very important is home to the country’s largest apart from red-cedar. tree for early native peoples. subalpine fir (circumference 252 inches, height 130 ft.), Alaska yellow-cedar (circ. 451 inches, height ougal D

126 feet) and Pacific silver fir (circ. c chiefelbein M 260 inches, 218 feet). S ave u s an S Olympic National Park is also D home to “co-champions” such as mountain hemlock (circ. 234 inches, height 152 ft.) and western hemlock (including a tree with circ. 335 inches, height of 172 ft. and one circ. 273 inches, height 273 feet) a Douglas-fir (circ. 448 inches, height 298 feet) and a very Engelmann spruce Sitka spruce s on aul massive Western red cedar (circ. P chiefelbein Picea engelmannii on S 761 inches, height 159 feet). Picea sitchensis D ave

Common in the Rockies, this D One of the world’s largest Sitka Huge conifer found on coasts tree is found at elevations Spruce trees can be found near from SE Alaska to Oregon. To above 3,000 feet, east of the Lake Quinault in Olympic Na- identify, grab a branch—the Cascade crest. tional Forest (circ. 668 inches, needles are painfuly sharp. height 191 feet) and another record Douglas-fir is found in

Olympic National Forest (circ. r d ary A

505 inches, height 281 feet). chiefelbein S harle s ave C

East of the crest, you’ll find a D record subalpine larch in the Wenatchee National Forest (circ. 265 inches, heigh 103 feet). For more info on record trees, visit the National Register of Big Trees at www.americanforests. org/resources/bigtrees/ and Olympic National Park’s record auer trees page at www.nps.gov/ Western larch B Alpine larch lan A archive/olym/invrecord.htm. Larix occidentalis Larix lyalli chiefelbein S ave

Also, consult Robert Van Pelt’s This conifer loses its needles in Needles of conifer turn brilliant D book Champion Trees of Washing- winter. Found east and slightly gold in fall. Found higher than ton State (UW Press, 1996). west of the crest between 2,500 western larch, generally above and 5,000 feet of elvation. 5,800 feet of elevation. WASHINGTON WASHINGTON TRAILS TRAILS AugustAugust 2007 2007 www.wta.org ougal ougal ougal D D c D c c M M M u s an u s an u s an S S S rown ougal B

Pacific silver fir Grand fir D Subalpine fir i m c K chiefelbein M

Abies amabilis Abies grandis Abies lasiocarpa S ave u s an S Distinguished by flat, blunt Found east of crest at all eleva- You’ll find this fir as a stately D needles, these firs are found tions, and scattered on west- spire in high country or as from 3,000 to 5,000 feet of side. Needles have a strong gnarled, shrublike krummholz elevation in westside forests. lemon odor. near timberline. ougal ougal ougal D D c D c c M M M u s an u s an S u s an S S auer ougal ougal B

Noble fir Western juniper D Pacific yew D c c lan A Abies procera Juniperus occidentalis M Taxus brevifolia M u s an u s an Largest of state’s true firs, Small tree found in eastern S A small conifer (under 35 feet) S found mostly between 2,500 Washington shrub-steppe with scaly bark, found in shady and 5,000 feet, west of crest, ecosystems. Fragrant, blue westside forests. Its red “ber- south from Stevens Pass berry-like cones. ries” are poisonous.

Pacific Temperate Rain Forests

The Pacific temperate rain forest is a Bogachiel River Valleys, trees can reach

unique ecoregion found from Kodiak ages well over 500 years old. Even oile Island, Alaska south to Northern though these trees are ancient, the C aniel

Californa. Because of high quanti- ecosystem itself is relatively young. D ties of rainfall and few fires, these According to Daniel Mathews’ Cas- forests contain the most biomass of cade-Olympic Natural History, the Pa- any ecosystem on the planet, even cific temperate rain forest ecosystem tropical rain forests. Because most as we know it has only been active for of the moisture falls in these forests about 5,000 years. Prior to that, fires during the cold months, conifers tend and glaciers prevented development to out-compete deciduous trees. In of such old and massive trees. places such as the Queets, Hoh, and

WASHINGTON TRAILS JuneAugust 2007 2007 WASHINGTONwww.wta.org TRAILS ougal ougal D D

c What’s Krummholz? c M M Krummholz, from the German u s an u s an S S word meaning “crooked wood,” is the stunted, gnarled and often shrub-like form certain trees take in harsh, high altitude conditions. Snow cover (often for 10 months of the year) high winds, and short growing season result in dwarfed varieties of trees (most common in Washington are mountain hem- ougal ougal lock, subalpine fir, and whitebark D

Paper birch D

c Black cottonwood c M Betula papyrifera Populus trichocarpa M pine). Krummholz grows very u s an

u s an slowly—a tree with a trunk just S Found in lower elevations and Found at low to mid-elevations S four inches around can be several slopes of western Cascades. along streams and rivers. Fast- hundred years old. Has thin, white, peeling, est growing tree in Washing- papery bark. ton, reaching 150 feet. lar k auer C ougal B D c in d y lan C A M u s an S lar k auer ougal C B

Red alder D Quaking aspen Bigleaf maple c lan in d y A M Alnus rubra Populus tremuloides C Acer macrophyllum u s an

Abundant westside tree that S Found sporadically east of Common westside maple, colonizes disturbed stream- Cascade crest, aspen is known often covered in mosses in sides and recently cleared or for its trembling leaves and bril- shady rainforests. Most com- burned land. liant yellow leaves in fall. mon below 2,000 feet. ougal ougal e d er D D F c c M M ylvia S u s an u s an S S auer e d er B ougal Pacific dogwood F Pacific madrona D Vine maple lan c A ylvia

M Cornus nuttallii

Arbutus menziesii Acer circinatum S u s an

Largest broadleaf evergreen in S White “bracts” surround the Abundant small tree or shrub the state, found on bluffs and true, smaller flowers of dog- found at all elevations below rocky sites west of the crest. wood. Trees found in shady, low timberline. Provides brilliant Papery, peeling red bark. elevation sites on westside. color in autumn. WASHINGTON TRAILS August 2007 WASHINGTON TRAILS August 2007 www.wta.org