Alnus rubra

Red alder (Alnus rubra) is a fast-growing deciduous tree that does well in open areas and along streams. This slender, medium-sized tree can grow 5′ or more a year for the first few years, and generally grows to 40-50 feet tall, sometimes reaching as high as 80 feet.

Red alder blooms in March, putting out long, rounded, dangling clusters of reddish-orange flowers called catkins. Leaves turn a slight golden color in the autumn. In the open, alder crowns form a lovely rounded shape with spreading branches.

This tree plays many roles in forested landscapes. Deer and elk browse on the leaves, buds, and twigs. The seeds are important winter food for birds such as redpoll, siskins, goldfinches, and others. Red alder provides food for the young of swallowtail and mourning cloak butterflies, and stands of this tree provide shade for a variety of forest understory plants such as osoberry, vine maple, and sword ferns.

This tree does best in sun to part shade with moist soils. Plant it for fast-growing shade and screening.

Arbutus menziesii

Madrone is an attractive, broad-leaved evergreen tree with a twisting trunk that develops beautiful reddish-brown exfoliating bark with age. Mature size ranges from 20 to 65 feet tall and wide. Madrone does best in full sun and grows well on hillsides with dry, well-drained or rocky soils. Leaves are dark, shiny green and shed irregularly throughout the year.

Flowers are small, pinkish, and bell-shaped, arranged in drooping clusters. Flowers appear in April, followed by small round orange-red berries. Madrone’s fruit is eaten by a wide range of birds and its flowers attract numerous pollinators. They reach their full aesthetic potential when planted in a grove. Madrones can be difficult to establish, so plant small seedlings and be patient.

Betula papyrifera

Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) is a medium to fast growing deciduous tree, reaching a mature height of 50-70 feet. The leaves are simple, alternate, to 4 inches long, toothed and roughly egg-shaped, coming to a pointed tip. The leaves turn bright yellow in the autumn. Flowers are male and female catkins to 1½ inches, blooming in the spring.

Paper birch is a widespread North American species; on the West Coast, the birch is considered native from eastern Oregon to Alaska. Paper birch is known for its distinctive bark, which is whiter than many birches and peels in papery strips. The bark of the birch was used for canoe-making across the United States outside of the Pacific Northwest (in the Pacific Northwest, Western redcedar is more commonly used). Traditional uses for birch resin include medicine, adhesive, and chewing gum. Today birch is a commonly used for pulp wood and as an ornamental tree.

Because all birches attract aphids and their “honeydew,” the tree is not recommended for patios or parking areas.

Quercus garryana

The iconic Quercus garryana, also known as Garry oak and Oregon white oak, is a drought tolerant tree that can also tolerate prolonged seasonal flooding. It can often grow on sites that are too dry for other tree species. These slow-growing trees are smaller at maturity than many Pacific Northwest trees, growing eventually to a maximum size of 65-80 ft tall and wide. They have deep tap roots and widely spreading roots, making them resistant to wind-throw. Mature trees growing in open areas develop broad oval crowns, making them excellent shade trees.

The leaves are deciduous, 3-6″ long and 2-5″ broad, with 7-9 deep lobes on each side. The flowers are catkins, and the fruits are small acorns about 1″ long with shallow, scaly cups.

Over 200 species of wildlife benefit from Oregon white oaks, including pollinators such as Fender’s blue, Taylor’s checkerspot, Mardon skipper, Islad marble, and the Oregon silverspot. The Oregon white oak is also the only known food for the caterpillars of Propertius duskywing butterflies and a leaf-mining moth. Deer, bear, raccoons, squirrels, and many small mammals eat the acorns, as do wild turkeys, band-tailed pigeons, woodpeckers, jays, and others.

Oregon white oaks also have significant cultural value for many Native tribes. For all these reasons, Oregon white oaks and their associated prairie habitats are the focus of many regional conservation efforts.

Thuja plicata

Western redcedar (Thuja plicata) is a large evergreen conifer treasured not only for its beauty, but also its wildlife value and cultural significance going back to time immemorial.

Mature Western redcedars can get 115 – 230 feet tall. The flat, elegant sprays of foliage makes the tree look like it is draped with lace, especially when dusted with frost or snow. The cones are slender with overlapping scales. This tree is actually part of the cypress family, and not a true cedar (just like Douglas-fir is not a true fir).

Western redcedars make excellent wildlife habitat, providing food and shelter for many species. Rosners hairstreak butterflies are only found in association with this tree, as they depend on it for reproduction and food for their young. Large and small mammals feed on the leaves and inner bark for most of the year; squirrels and other rodents use its shredded bark for winter nests; and many birds and small mammals find shelter and nest sites in red cedar cavities.

Western redcedar is a iconic tree of the Pacific Northwest. If you have a shady, moist spot large enough for it to thrive, this is a beautiful and valuable addition to any forested landscape.

Tsuga heterophylla

Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) is the state tree of Washington, and the largest species of hemlock, growing up to 200′ tall with a trunk diameter of up to 4′. It makes a beautiful addition to any property where it has room to grow.

Western hemlocks grow into a narrow, upright, somewhat ragged cone as they grow, with very top of the tree typically drooping over just a little bit. The needles are short and flat, averaging less than 1″ long. The small round cones dangle from the branches and have long, thin, flexible scales. The bark is thin, brown, and furrowed in texture.

This tree is an important source of food for many birds and mammals. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers nest in the tree’s cavities, and barred owls prefer dense stands of Western hemlock. Flying squirrels and other small mammals nest in hemlocks, and many animals browse the inner bark and young needles and take shelter in the dense foliage.

Western hemlock is a very shade-tolerant tree, with young plants able to grow under a closed canopy of fast-growing, shade-intolerant conifers such as Douglas-fir. Disturbances like fire or logging open up sunny areas where new generations of Douglas-fir and other sun-loving seedlings can survive, but without that disturbance, hemlocks end up dominating the canopy…and Western hemlocks can live up to 1200 years old! If you are in a forest made up of mostly large hemlocks, you know that forest has been undisturbed for a very long time.