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MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK NATURE NOTES
Vol. XVI March - June - 1938 Nos. 1 & 2


Individual Descriptions of Native Plants

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BROOMRAPE FAMILY (OROBANCHACEAE).

Broomrape (Orobanche uniflora var. minuta). Not likely to be encountered. A yellowish parasitic herb.


BLADDERWORT FAMILY (LENTIBULARIACEAE).

Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris). This plant is occasionally found on moist banks or rocks in the upper Canadian zone. It may be generally found in the vicinity of Comet Falls. On first glance it has a superficial resemblance to a violet but upon closer examination the dissimilarities can be readily seen. The leaves are basal, broad, entire, soft and somewhat fleshy and the naked, succulent flower stalks, 4-5 inches tall, bear at their apex a single flower, a violet blue in color, conical in outline - the lower lip longer than the upper, and with a distinct spur in back.


PLANTAIN FAMILY (PLANTAGINACEAE).

Common Plantain (Plantago major). A wood with which most people are familiar. It has broadly ovate leaves 1-5 inches long (with 3-5 prominent ribs) that are arranged in a cluster or rosette upon the ground. The small flowers are in compact terminal spikes upon erect leafless flower stalks 4-10 inches tall.

Lance-leaved Plantain (Plantago lanceolata). The leaves are in a rosette or tuft upon the ground, 1-10 inches long, with 3-5 prominent ribs, lanceolate in outline and narrowing at the base to a rather broad leaf stalk. The plant is white-woolly at base of the leaf stalk. The small flowers are in terminal spikes upon erect, leafless stalks 4-10 inches tall.


MADDER FAMILY (RUBIACEAE).

Bedstraw (Galium sp.). While there are four species of this genus native to the park a general description will suffice for the group. They have slender, weak, either erect or prostrate stems that are somewhat 4-angled with linear to oblong leaves, 1/2-3/4 of an inch long, borne in whorls (usually 4 leaves per whorl). The flowers are small, white and borne in cymes. These plants have a variety of habitat - from dry gravelly soils to moist locations in the deep woods and may be found up to 5000 foot. See check list on page 34 for enumeratian of species.


VALERIAN FAMILY (VALERIANACEAE).

Valerian (Valeriana sitchensis). One of the most common plants in the Hudsonian meadows. It is from 18-36 inches tall with small white to pinkish funnel-shaped flowers in dense terminal umbels. The leaves are 3-foliate (basal occasionally simple) with leaflets ovate in outline, 1/2-2 inches long, and the margins toothed.


BELLFLOWER FAMILY (CAMPANULACEAE).

Bluebell (Campanula rotundifolia). This plant, most common on dry banks or hillsides or in rocky locations, is easily recognized by pale blue, nodding, bell-like flowers about 3/4 of an inch long. The slender, erect and generally simple stems (occasionally branched at the very base) are from 4-14 inches tall. Leaves of two types - basal leaves broadly ovate to nearly circular in outline with slender leaf stems; the upper leaves long and linear and stemless, 3/4-3 inches long. The bell-like flowers are generally solitary but sometimes in a loose racemes.

Bellflower (Campanula scouleri). This plant grows 6-12 inches tall, the stem often branched. Leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate in outline, tapering toward the tip and base and have the margins toothed. The pale blue bell-like to funnel shaped flowers, 1/4-1/2 inch long, are borne in a raceme.


HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY (CAPRIFOLIACEAE).

Red Elder (Sambucus callicarpa). A very common and attractive bushy shrub of the Canadian zone. It grows to be 6-15 feet tall with opposite, pinnately compound leaves; leaflets 5-7 in number, 2-4 inches long, oblong-lanceolate in outline, acute and with the margins toothed. The numerous small white flowers are borne in pyramidal panicles or clusters and the berries, which are very showy late in the summer, are a brilliant crimson.

Blue Elder (Sambucus glauca). Also tall and bushy but not as common in the park as the Red Elder. It differs from the Red Elder in that the flower clusters are flat-topped rather than pyramidal and also in the fact that the berries are blue instead of red.

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis). A weak-stemmed shrub 1-6 feet long with oblong to oval opposite leaves (occasionally lobed but usually entire), 1/2-3/4 of an inch long. The flowers are small, pink and bell-like, and in clusters of 1-6. The berries are white, which accounts for the common name. This plant is not common.

Squashberry (Viburnum pauciflorum). A shrub 3-6 feet tall with ovate to nearly circular leaves that are mostly 3-lobed and hairy beneath. The flowers are small, white and in flat clusters. The berry is red. This plant may be found in wet situations but is rare in the park.

Twinflower (Linnaea borealis var. longiflora). This is one of the most common plants of the deep woods of the Canadian zone and, as the common name indicates, the small pink, tubular, pendant flowers are borne in pairs at the apex of slender erect stems. The plant is prostrate upon the ground, often covering rocks, rotting logs etc. upon the forest floor, the plant stem having numerous erect side branches which bear leaves and flowers. Leaves are evergreen, small, obovate in outline, obtuse and have several rounded teeth at the top. They are from 1/4-1/2 inch long. The flowers have a very delicate odor.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrate). A shrub 3-6 feet tall that is found in moist locations the lower altitudes. The leaves are 2-4 inches long, oblong to ovate and opposite. The yellow tubular flowers, about 1/2 inch or less long, are borne in pairs upon a slender stem arising from the axils of the leaves; flowers in pairs, each pair surrounded by a group of bracts at the base. The fruit is a blackberry.

Climbing Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliata). Also found in wet places at the lower elevations of the park. It is a climbing plant with weak twining stems. The leaves are oval in outline, opposite 1 - 2-1/2 inches long with the uppermost pairs united into round disks. The yellow to orange tubular flowers are in whorls and the fruit is an orange berry.

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Descriptions continued...

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17-Jun-2002