Starflower Image Herbarium & Landscaping Pages Evergreen Flowering Shrubs – pg.1 Starflower Image Herbarium Evergreen Flowering Shrubs © Starflower Foundation, 1996-2007 Washington Native Plant Society These species pages has been valuable and loved for over a decade by WNPS members and the PNW plant community. Untouched since 2007, these pages have been archived for your reference. They contain valuable identifiable traits, landscaping information, and ethnobotanical uses. Species names and data will not be updated. To view updated taxonomical information, visit the UW Burke Herbarium Image Collection website at http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php. For other useful plant information, visit the Native Plants Directory at www.wnps.org. Compiled September 1, 2018 Starflower Image Herbarium & Landscaping Pages Evergreen Flowering Shrubs – pg.2 Contents Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Kinnikinnick, Bearberry ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Ceanothus velutinus ............................................................................................................................................................... 4 Snowbrush .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Gaultheria shallon .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Salal ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Mahonia aquifolium ............................................................................................................................................................... 6 Tall Oregon Grape ............................................................................................................................................................... 6 Mahonia nervosa ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Dull Oregon Grape .............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Myrica californica ................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Pacific Wax Myrtle .............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Penstemon davidsonii ............................................................................................................................................................ 9 Davidson's Penstemon ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 Penstemon fruticosus ........................................................................................................................................................... 10 Lowbush Penstemon ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Rhododendron macrophyllum ............................................................................................................................................. 11 Pacific Rhododendron ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 Vaccinium ovatum ................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Evergreen huckleberry ...................................................................................................................................................... 12 References ............................................................................................................................................................................ 13 About Ann Lennartz Founded in 1996 by Ann Lennartz, Starflower Foundation assisted with the creation, rehabilitation, and stewardship of Pacific Northwest native plant communities in Seattle, Washington, by supporting community-driven restoration and education projects. Having met the founder’s expectations, Starflower Foundation ceased operations in December 2007. Resources developed by Starflower Foundation included an array of educational materials, plant ID cards, project case studies, and this image herbarium. All resources contain Western Washington native plant information and images for use in education, restoration and landscaping projects. As mutually agreed upon with Starflower Foundation, Washington Native Plant Society has made Starflower's learning and education materials available on our website. Starflower Image Herbarium & Landscaping Pages Evergreen Flowering Shrubs – pg.3 Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Kinnikinnick, Bearberry At a Glance: A mat-forming evergreen shrub producing lovely pink flowers that later turn into red berries. Height: Can grow up to 8 inches (20 cm) tall. Growth Form: Shrub. Stems: The velvety red-brownish branches are long, flexible and rooting. Pure stands of kinnikinnick can grow to be very dense. Leaves: Leaves are alternate, oval in shape, dark green, shiny above and paler beneath with a leathery texture; size: up to 3 cm (1 in) long. Flowers: Small pink bell-shaped flowers in few-flowered drooping terminal clusters; size: 5 mm long. Flowering Period: March, April. Fruits: Kinnikinnick berries are called drupes and ripen late, continuing to stay on plants into winter. Each drupe contains 1 to 5 large very hard seeds. Drup size: 7-10 mm across; color: red. Soil Preferences Prefers coarse, well-drained soils. sandy soils gravelly soils well drained soils Habitat Preferences Saltwater Areas: Coastal dunes or beaches Rocky or Gravelly Areas: Cliffs Rocky slopes Glacial outwash Forests and Thickets: Open forests Forest edges, openings, or clearings Sun/Shade Tolerance full sun > 80% Wildlife Value mostly sunny 60%-80% Berries Birds: The berries are consumed by ruffed grouse, band-tailed pigeons, evening Hydrology grosbeaks, sparrows, and other ground-feeding birds. dry Insects: The flowers attract bees and brown elfin butterflies. Mammals: The berries are browsed by bears, foxes, and coyotes. The twigs are Elevation Range browsed by deer. low elevation mid elevation Landscape Uses: Good groundcover for dry places, banks. The berries persist into the winter. sub-alpine Starflower Image Herbarium & Landscaping Pages Evergreen Flowering Shrubs – pg.4 Ceanothus velutinus Snowbrush At a Glance: A tall shrub with glossy leaves and clusters of white flowers. Height: Up to 10 feet (3 meters). Growth Form: Shrub. Leaves: Alternate arrangement. The broadly oval leaves are shiny and sticky on top and velvety beneath; finely toothed with three major veins. Leaves are aromatic. Size: 3-6 cm (1-2.5 in) long. Flowers: Flowers are arranged in pyramidal clusters 5-12 cm long along the length of side branches. EAch flower is tiny, white. Flowering Period: May, June, July. Fruits: three-lobed and three-chambered; size: 4-5 mm long. Habitat Preferences Saltwater Areas: Rocky or Gravelly Areas: Cliffs Rocky slopes Outcrops Forests and Thickets: Open forests Forest edges, openings, or clearings Disturbed Areas: Burned areas Disturbed sites Sun/Shade Tolerance mostly sunny 60%-80% Wildlife Value Hydrology Host for insect larvae moist Insects: The flowers are pollinated by many flying insects, especially dry bees. Ceanothus silk moth larvae eat the leaves. Butterflies associated Elevation Range with the plant include the pale swallowtail butterfly, the brown elfin low elevation butterfly, and the hedgerow hairstreak butterfly. mid elevation Mammals: Deer and elk browse on the twigs and leaves. Soil Preferences sandy soils gravelly soils Starflower Image Herbarium & Landscaping Pages Evergreen Flowering Shrubs – pg.5 Gaultheria shallon Salal At a Glance: Creeping to erect shrub with hairy branching stems and dark leathery leaves. Height: Up to 16 feet (5 meters) in exceptional cases but typically 3-7 feet (1-2 m) tall. Growth Form: Shrub. Stems: Hairy, branched. Leaves: Alternate, evergreen, leathery, shiny dark green, sharply and finely toothed, egg shaped, 5-10 cm (2-4 in) long; color: dark leathery green. Flowers: Occur in racemes of 5-15 urn-shaped flowers, all oriented in same direction; primary color: white-pinkish; size: 7-10 mm long. Flowering Period: May, June. Fruits: The "berries" are actually the fleshy sepals, edible, the true fruit is a capsule surrounded by the fleshy calyx; shape: round; size: 6-10 mm broad; color: reddish-blue to dark purple. Habitat Preferences Forests and Thickets: Saltwater Areas: Forests and woods Seashores Coniferous forests Rocky or Gravelly Areas: Old growth forests