Washington Native Plant Society: Starflower Image Herbarium

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Native Plants for Mostly Shady Areas

	*Abies amabilis* Pacific Silver Fir An attractive conifer with short dark green needles. Tolerant of shade.
	*Acer circinatum* Vine Maple Tall, erect, multi-trunked shrub or small tree with sprawling branches. Shade tolerant and commonly found in understories. Height: 13-26 feet (4-8 meters)
	*Achlys triphylla* Vanilla Leaf Grows low to the ground, spreading by rhizomes to form dense ground cover in shady areas. Prefers shady understory. Height: To 12 inches (30 cm) tall.
	*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.
	*Boykinia occidentalis* Slender Boykinia A slender herb with open panicles of small white flowers. Height: Up to 24 inches (60 cm).
	*Brodiaea congesta* Harvest Lily Long slender stems to 3 feet (1 meter) in length topped by a dense cluster of deep purple flowers. Height: Up to 3 feet (1 meter) tall.
	*Carex obnupta* Slough Sedge Large grass-like plant creating thick patches in coastal wetlands. Height: 1-5 feet (30-150 cm).
	*Claytonia sibirica* Siberian Spring Beauty Low-growing delicate herb. Prefers shady understory, can tolerate direct sun. Height: Up to 16 inches (40 cm).
	*Cornus unalaschkensis* Bunchberry Low, trailing, rhizomatous perennial with white flowers. Height: Up to 10 inches (25 cm).
	*Corylus cornuta* Beaked Hazelnut Slender, multi-trunked deciduous shrub. Prefers shade. Height: 3 feet - 13 feet (1 meter - 4 meters).
	*Dicentra formosa* Bleeding Heart Hairless, soft stems and light green lacy leaves overtopped by small nodding clusters of pink heart-shaped flowers. Prefers shady understory. Height: Up to 1.5 feet (50 cm).
	*Disporum hookeri* Hooker's Fairybells Rhizomatous perennial with sparsely branched stems and irregularly curled leaves with hanging white flowers beneath the upper leaves. Height: Up to 3 feet (1 meters).
	*Dryopteris expansa* Spiny Wood Fern A semi-evergreen fern of woodland areas with triangular fronds from a stout rhizome. Height: To 3 feet (1 meter) tall.
	*Equisetum arvense* Field Horsetail Succulent, hollow, jointed stems with whorls of branches. Height: 6-24 inches (15-60 cm).
	*Erythronium revolutum* Pink fawn lily Large nodding pink flowers grow from a thick and segmented corm. Height: Up to 14 inches (35 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.
	*Galium trifidum* Small Bedstraw Sprawling perennial with numerous stems from slender rhizomes. Height: up to 28 inches (70 cm).
	*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.
	*Glyceria elata* Tall Mannagrass, Fowl Mannagrass Tall wetland grass. Height: Up to 5 feet (1.5 meters).
	*Glyceria grandis* Reed Mannagrass very similar to G. elata Height: up to 5 feet (1.5 meters)
	*Goodyera oblongifolia* Rattlesnake Plantain Evergreen orchid from short rhizomes with an unusual mottled leaf pattern. Height: Up to 1.5 feet (45 cm).
	*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).
	*Lilium columbianum* Tiger Lily
	*Linnaea borealis* Twinflower Trailing, slender, semi-woody, with short erect leafy stems and dainty bell-shaped flowers. Height: 4 inches (10 cm).
	*Lysichiton americanum* Skunk Cabbage A wetland plant with very large waxy erect leaves and yellow flower spikes enclosed in a large yellow sheath. Grows larger in shady understories. Height: 1-5 feet (30-150 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.
	*Myrica californica* Pacific Wax Myrtle Tall shrub with small evergreen leaves. Height: Up to 15 feet (5 meters) tall.
	*Nothochelone nemorosa* Woodland Penstemon
	*Oenanthe sarmentosa* Pacific Water Parsley Semi-aquatic, often reclining or scrambling herb, with stem tips ascending or curled and small flat-topped clusters of white flowers. Shade or sun. Height: Up to 40 inches (1 meter).
	*Oplopanax horridus* Devil's Club An erect to sprawling shrub with thick, spiny, crooked stems and very large leaves. Height: Up to 10 feet (3 meters).
	*Oxalis oregana* Wood Sorrel A delicate herb with clover-like leaves and white to pink flowers, forming carpets in forested areas.
	*Petasites palmatus* Palmate Coltsfoot Many-stemmed perennial with umbrella-like leaves from creeping rhizomes. Height: Up to 30 inches (80 cm).
	*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.
	*Rhamnus purshiana* Cascara Erect, tall shrub or small tree with alternate leaves and inconspicuous flower clusters. Height: Up to 33 feet (10 meters).
	*Rubus ursinus* Trailing Blackberry Trailing prickly vine producing small blackberries in late summer. Height: 20 inches (50 cm).
	*Smilacina racemosa* False Solomon's Seal
	*Smilacina stellata* Starflowered False Solomon's Seal
	*Streptopus amplexifolius* Clasping Twisted Stalk Perennial herb with a branched zigzagging stem and dangling white flowers. Height: 3 feet (1 meter).
	*Taxus brevifolia* Western Yew Low-growing conifer with deep red-brown bark, flattened sprays of needles, and red berry-like cones.
	*Tellima grandiflora* Fringecup
	*Thuja plicata* Western Red Cedar Large conifer with branches that droop and then turn back up (J-shaped), broad crowns. Shade tolerant, will germinate in shady understory. Height: 100-230 feet (30-70 meters).
	*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.
	*Trillium ovatum* Western Trillium Short stout stems topped with a whorl of three leaves and a single large white flower. Height: 12-18 inches (30-45 cm).
	*Tsuga heterophylla* Western hemlock
	*Tsuga mertensiana* Mountain Hemlock Slow growing evergreen conifer. Height: Up to 40 meters (130 ft) tall, but often shorter.
	*Vaccinium ovatum* Evergreen huckleberry Bushy shrub with small shiny green evergreen leaves and small clusters of pink bell-shaped flowers. Height: Up to 4 meters (13 ft) tall.
	*Vaccinium parvifolium* Red Huckleberry Delicately branched shrub with small red huckleberries, suitable for shady areas on decaying wood. Height: 4-10 feet (1.5-3 meters).
	*Vancouveria hexandra* Inside-out Flower Rhizomatous perennial with small white flowers and delicate leaves. Height: 16 inches (40 cm).
	*Viola glabella* Yellow Wood Violet An attractive yellow-flowered violet of moist open woodlands.

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