Washington Native Plant Society: Starflower Image Herbarium

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Boykinia occidentalis

Slender Boykinia

At a Glance: A slender herb with open panicles of small white flowers.

Height: Up to 24 inches (60 cm).
Growth Form: Herb.
Stems: Leafy stems with scattered brownish to reddish glandular hairs.
Leaves: Lower leaves are long-stalked, becoming stalkless further up stem. Each heart- or kidney-shaped leaf has 5-7 clefts with multiple teeth. Size: 2-8 cm (.8-3 in) wide; color: green. The stipules (2-4 mm long) have a wing and several brown bristles.
Flowers: Numerous flowers in a much-branched inflorescence. Each flower is densely glandular and reddish, with five white, oblong to oval petals.
Flowering Period: June.
Fruits: Beaked capsules with numerous, minutely spiny black seeds.


Photo © Ben Legler

Sun/Shade Tolerance	Hydrology	Elevation Range
full sun > 80% mostly sunny 60%-80% partial sun and shade 40%- 60% mostly shady 60%-80% full shade > 80%	wet moist dry Wetland Indicator Status:	low elevation mid elevation sub-alpine high elevation

Soil Preferences
(data not available)

Habitat Preferences
Aquatic and Wetland: Ponds or lakes Shallow pools Sloughs Swales or wet ditches Seasonally inundated areas Marshes or swamps Aquatic bed wetlands Emergent wetlands Scrub-shrub wetlands Forested wetlands Bogs, fens Seeps, springs Shorelines and Riparian: Lake shores Bog margins Streams or rivers Stream or river banks Riparian corridors River bars Floodplains Bottomlands Alluvial areas	Saltwater Areas: In or near saltwater Mud flats Tidal areas Estuaries Saltmarshes Brackish water Seashores Coastal dunes or beaches Rocky or Gravelly Areas: Coastal bluffs Cliffs Rocky slopes Outcrops Crevices Glacial outwash Gullies Slide areas Sub-alpine and Alpine: Heaths Snow beds Tundra Avalanche tracks	Forests and Thickets: Forests and woods Open forests Coniferous forests Old growth forests Deciduous forests Mixed forests Nurse logs Forest edges, openings, or clearings Thickets Meadows and Fields: Pastures or fields Meadows or grassy areas Mossy areas Disturbed Areas: Roadsides Trailsides Logged sites Burned areas Disturbed sites

Wildlife Value

(data not available)

Ethnobotanical Uses and Other Facts

(data not available)

Suggested References

Cooke, S.S. A Field Guide to the Common Wetland Plants of Western Washington and Northwetern Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society and Washington Native Plant Society. Page 94.
Lyons, C., W. Merilees. Trees and Shrubs to Know in Washington and British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing. Page 181.
Pojar, J., A. Mackinnon. 1994. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Lone Pine Publishing. Page 167.

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