Washington Native Plant Society: Starflower Image Herbarium

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Native Plants for Full Shade

	*Abies amabilis* Pacific Silver Fir An attractive conifer with short dark green needles. Tolerant of shade.
	*Adiantum aleuticum* Maidenhair Fern This delicate, deciduous fern has five to seven fingerlike branchlets each bearing many toothed leaflets. Prefers cool, shady sites. Height: 1-2 feet tall.
	*Asarum caudatum* Wild Ginger Low-growing evergreen perennial that smells strongly of lemon-ginger when crushed. Prefers deeply shaded forests. Height: Can grow up to 8 inches (20 cm) tall.
	*Athyrium filix-femina* Lady Fern Tall, delicate, light-green fronds from a basal cluster. Height: Grows 3-6 feet (2 meters) tall.
	*Blechnum spicant* Deer Fern Dark green fern leaves grow in tufts from short, stout rhizomes. Prefers shady areas. Height: Up to 40 inches (1 meter) tall.
	*Cornus unalaschkensis* Bunchberry Low, trailing, rhizomatous perennial with white flowers. Height: Up to 10 inches (25 cm).
	*Equisetum arvense* Field Horsetail Succulent, hollow, jointed stems with whorls of branches. Height: 6-24 inches (15-60 cm).
	*Festuca rubra* Red Fescue Perennial grass with thread-like leaves forming small patches. Height: Can grow up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall.
	*Gaultheria shallon* Salal Creeping to erect shrub with hairy branching stems and dark leathery leaves. Versatile. Height: Up to 16 feet (5 meters) in exceptional cases but typically 3-7 feet (1-2 m) tall.
	*Gymnocarpium dryopteris* Oak Fern Delicate, deciduous fronds. Usually solitary, but often forms a mat of herbaceous cover in forests. Height: To 16 inches (40 cm).
	*Linnaea borealis* Twinflower Trailing, slender, semi-woody, with short erect leafy stems and dainty bell-shaped flowers. Height: 4 inches (10 cm).
	*Mahonia nervosa* Dull Oregon Grape Low-growing creeping shrub with dark green holly-like leaves and slender spikes of yellow flowers. Prefers shady areas. Height: Up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall.
	*Maianthemum dilatatum* False Lily-of-the-Valley Quickly spreading ground cover with attractive glossy green leaves. Prefers shady areas. Height: Up to 12 inches (30 cm) tall.
	*Oxalis oregana* Wood Sorrel A delicate herb with clover-like leaves and white to pink flowers, forming carpets in forested areas.
	*Polystichum munitum* Sword Fern A large attractive fern with erect evergreen fronds forming a circular crown. Prefers shady forest understory. Height: 3-5 feet (1-1.5 meters).
	*Pyrola asarifolia* Pink Wintergreen A small woodland herb with a basal clump of glossy green leaves and slender spikes of pink flowers.
	*Smilacina stellata* Starflowered False Solomon's Seal
	*Taxus brevifolia* Western Yew Low-growing conifer with deep red-brown bark, flattened sprays of needles, and red berry-like cones.
	*Tellima grandiflora* Fringecup
	*Tiarella trifoliata* Foamflower Herb with erect or ascending stems and spikes of dainty white flowers. Height: 2 feet (60 cm).
	*Tolmiea menziesii* Piggy-back Plant A woodland herb whose leaves give rise to small plantlets.
	*Trientalis latifolia* Broad-leaved Starflower A small delicate herb with a single whorl of leaves topped by several small, pink, star-shaped flowers.
	*Tsuga heterophylla* Western hemlock
	*Vancouveria hexandra* Inside-out Flower Rhizomatous perennial with small white flowers and delicate leaves. Height: 16 inches (40 cm).

The landscaping and restoration information provided on this page is taken from Starflower Foundation Image Herbarium. All photographs © Starflower Foundation unless otherwise noted.