Washington Native Plant Society: Starflower Image Herbarium

Home > Landscaping > Native Plants for Western Washington Gardens and Restoration Projects

Native Plants for Saltwater Shoreline and Saltwater Habitats

	*Achillea millefolium* Yarrow Aromatic herb with delicate fern-like leaves and flat-topped clusters of white flowers. Height: 4 inches to 3 feet (10-100 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Amelanchier alnifolia* Serviceberry, Saskatoon Medium-sized shrub producing fragrant white flowers in late spring. Height: Up to 15 feet (4.5 meters). Leaves deciduous.
	*Aquilegia formosa* Red Columbine Delicate perennial with large nodding, star-shaped, spurred flowers that are a favorite of hummingbirds. Height: Can grow up to 3 feet (1 meter) tall. Leaves deciduous.
	*Arctostaphylos uva-ursi* Kinnikinnick, Bearberry A mat-forming evergreen shrub producing lovely pink flowers that later turn into red berries. Height: Can grow up to 8 inches (20 cm) tall. Leaves evergreen.
	*Armeria maritima* Sea-thrift. Round balls of pink flowers held on slender leafless stems above a cluster of grass-like leaves. Height: Up to 18 inches (45 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Aster subspicatus* Douglas Aster Rhizomatous perennial wildflower with much-branched stems and light purple aster-like flower heads. Height: Grows up to 32 inches (80 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Carex obnupta* Slough Sedge Large grass-like plant creating thick patches in coastal wetlands. Height: 1-5 feet (30-150 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Castilleja miniata* Red Paintbrush An attractive wildflower with red brush-like flower clusters. Height: 8-32 inches (20-80 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Cerastium arvense* Field Chickweed Leaves deciduous.
	*Crataegus douglasii* black hawthorn large shrub or small tree with clusters of white flowers and dark purplish-black berries. Leaves deciduous.
	*Deschampsia cespitosa* Tufted Hairgrass Densely tufted perennial grass. Height: Up to 4 feet (120 cm) tall. Leaves deciduous.
	*Eleocharis palustris* Creeping Spikerush A wetland plant with leafless, grass-like stems topped by small brownish spikes of flowers. Height: Up to 3 feet (100 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Eriophorum chamissonis* Chamisso's Cotton-grass Extensive beds growing from spreading rhizomes or stolons with tufts of cotton-like seed heads. Height: 8-28 inches (20-70 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Festuca rubra* Red Fescue Perennial grass with thread-like leaves forming small patches. Height: Can grow up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall. Leaves evergreen.
	*Fragaria chiloensis* Coastal Strawberry Spreads low across ground with runners. White flowers and small red strawberries. Height: Up to 10 inches (25 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Galium trifidum* Small Bedstraw Sprawling perennial with numerous stems from slender rhizomes. Height: up to 28 inches (70 cm). Leaves evergreen.
	*Gaultheria shallon* Salal Creeping to erect shrub with hairy branching stems and dark leathery leaves. Height: Up to 16 feet (5 meters) in exceptional cases but typically 3-7 feet (1-2 m) tall. Leaves evergreen.
	*Grindelia integrifolia* Entire-leaved Gumweed Seaside perennial with sticky heads of yellow flowers. Height: Can grow up to 32 inches (80 cm) in height. Leaves deciduous.
	*Hordeum brachyantherum* Meadow Barley Grass with erect stems that are bent at the base and sometimes hairy on the leaf sheaths. Height: Up to 3 feet (90 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Lupinus polyphyllus* Large-leaved Lupine A large perennial native forb with spikes of blue flowers from one to many hairy stems. Height: 3-6 feet (1-2 meters). Leaves deciduous.
	*Malus fusca* Pacific Crabapple Small tree, slender in form, appears thorny; bushy in the open. Height: 16.5-40 feet (5-12 meters). Leaves deciduous.
	*Myrica gale* Sweet Gale Leaves deciduous.
	*Picea sitchensis* Sitka spruce Large tree with horizontal branches and drooping branchlets Height: Up to 200 feet (60 meters) tall. Leaves evergreen.
	*Pinus contorta* Shore Pine Short pine tree, often with crooked trunk and bushy habit. Height: Up to 100 feet (30 meters). Leaves evergreen.
	*Potentilla anserina ssp. pacifica* Silverweed Low growing hairy herb with runners and solitary yellow flowers. Height: Up to 16 inches (40 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Potentilla gracilis* Graceful Cinquefoil Light green herb with toothed palmate leaves and diffuse panicles of yellow, saucer-shaped flowers. Height: Up to 32 inches (80 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Rubus parviflorus* Thimbleberry Unarmed spreading shrub with large white flowers. Usually forms dense thickets. Height: Up to 10 feet (3 meters). Leaves deciduous.
	*Scirpus maritimus* Seacoast Bulrush Leaves deciduous.
	*Sisyrinchium californicum* Golden-eyed Grass A small iris-like plant with yellow flowers. Height: 16 inches (40 cm). Leaves deciduous.
	*Solidago canadensis* Canada Goldenrod Forms patches from long creeping rhizomes. Stems leafy and hairy near the top, with a dense cluster of small yellow flowers. Height: Up to 5 feet (1.5 meters). Leaves deciduous.
	*Symphoricarpos albus* Snowberry Erect shrub with attractive white berries that persist through the winter. Height: Up to 6.5 feet (2 meters). Leaves deciduous.
	*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. Leaves evergreen.

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