Nature

Cascade Oregon-grape Berberis nervosa Jan, Mar – Nov A low evergreen shrub with long, holly-like leaves, spikes of yellow spring flowers and dusty blue berries, common in shady west-side forests. Common Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus Apr – Dec A low, twiggy shrub whose round white berries hang on bare branches all winter. The berries are not for people to eat. Devil’s Club Oplopanax horridus Apr – Oct A tall shrub armed with spines from stem to leaf vein, with huge maple-like leaves and bright red berries, crowding wet ground… Ocean Spray Holodiscus discolor May – Oct A tall, arching shrub that covers itself in drooping plumes of tiny cream flowers in early summer. Common on dry, sunny slopes… Oregon Grape Berberis aquifolium Mar – Sep Oregon's state flower: an evergreen shrub with glossy, holly-like leaflets, bright yellow spring flowers and clusters of powdery blue berries. Pacific Poison Oak Toxicodendron diversilobum Apr – Oct A native shrub or climbing vine with leaves in threes. Every part carries an oil that causes an itchy rash, even when… Pacific Rhododendron Rhododendron macrophyllum May – Aug An evergreen shrub of Mt. Hood's lower forests with big clusters of pink, bell-shaped flowers in late spring. Every part of the… Red-flowering Currant Ribes sanguineum Mar – Jun, Aug A native shrub that hangs out clusters of pink to deep rose flowers very early in spring, visited by bees and hummingbirds. Rose Spirea Spiraea douglasii Jun – Sep A thicket-forming shrub of wet meadows and lake edges, topped in summer by fuzzy, upright spires of tiny pink flowers. Salal Gaultheria shallon Mar – Nov A leathery-leaved evergreen shrub of west-side forests, with urn-shaped white to pink flowers and dark blue-black fruit eaten by wildlife. Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis Mar – Aug A tall streamside shrub with magenta spring flowers and soft yellow to red berries, often blooming as rufous hummingbirds arrive. Sitka Mountain-Ash Sorbus sitchensis Jun – Sep A mountain shrub with feathery compound leaves, flat clusters of white flowers in summer and red fruit that feeds birds and bears… Thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus Apr – Oct A thornless shrub with big, soft, maple-shaped leaves, crinkled white flowers and soft red fruit that birds and mammals eat. Vine Maple Acer circinatum Apr – Oct A sprawling small maple of the west-side forest understory, with round, many-lobed leaves that turn yellow and red in autumn.