Washington Native Plant Society: Starflower Image Herbarium

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Native Plants for Sandy or Gravelly Soil

	*Acer macrophyllum* Big-leaf Maple A tree with a large, often multi-stemmed trunk and a loose, broad crown of large leaves. Height: 65-100 feet (20-30 meters) tall with trunk 3-5 feet (1-1.5 meters)diameter.
	*Achillea millefolium* Yarrow Aromatic herb with delicate fern-like leaves and flat-topped clusters of white flowers. Achillea millefolium is capable of enduring poor soil and dry conditions. Height: 4 inches to 3 feet (10-100 cm).
	*Adiantum aleuticum* Maidenhair Fern This delicate, deciduous fern has five to seven fingerlike branchlets each bearing many toothed leaflets. Prefers humus rich soils. Height: 1-2 feet tall.
	*Allium acuminatum* Taper-Tip Onion This native wild onion has grass-like basal leaves overtopped by umbels of purple flowers, and egg-shaped bulbs containing a fibrous network on the surface. Can endure rocky, dry to moist open forest sites. Height: Up to 12 inches (30 cm).
	*Allium cernuum* Nodding Onion Clusters of long grass-like leaves overtopped by nodding umbels of pink flowers. Prefers dry sandy to rocky soils. Height: Up to 20 inches (50 cm).
	*Arbutus menziesii* Madrone An attractive broadleaf evergreen with a twisting reddish trunk and irregular branches with an overall rounded outline. Found in rocky sites with coarse-textured soils Height: Up to 100 feet (30 meters).
	*Arctostaphylos uva-ursi* Kinnikinnick, Bearberry A mat-forming evergreen shrub producing lovely pink flowers that later turn into red berries. Prefers coarse, well-drained soils. Height: Can grow up to 8 inches (20 cm) tall.
	*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.
	*Brodiaea hyacinthina* Fool's Onion, White Brodiaea Onion-like plant from an underground corm, with large clusters of white flowers at tip of stems. Also found in sagebrush deserts east of Cascades. Height: 10-30 inches (25-70 cm).
	*Ceanothus velutinus* Snowbrush A tall shrub with glossy leaves and clusters of white flowers. Height: Up to 10 feet (3 meters).
	*Claytonia perfoliata* Miner's Lettuce Low-growing, mat-like herbaceous annual with succulent round leaves. Height: 12 inches (30 cm).
	*Corylus cornuta* Beaked Hazelnut Slender, multi-trunked deciduous shrub. Prefers calcium and nitrogen rich soils. Height: 3 feet - 13 feet (1 meter - 4 meters).
	*Deschampsia cespitosa* Tufted Hairgrass Densely tufted perennial grass. Grows vigorously in nutrient-rich sites. Height: Up to 4 feet (120 cm) tall.
	*Epilobium brachycarpum* Tall Annual Willowherb Taprooted annual of dry, gravelly or disturbed sites. Height: 1-4 feet (30-120 cm) tall.
	*Equisetum arvense* Field Horsetail Succulent, hollow, jointed stems with whorls of branches. Height: 6-24 inches (15-60 cm).
	*Equisetum telmatiea* Giant Horsetail More robust and larger than common horsetail. Sheaths around its sterile stems have 14-18 teeth. Height: 3-7.5 (10) feet tall; 1-2.3 (3) meters tall.
	*Eriophyllum lanatum* Woolly Sunflower Wooly leafy perennial with yellow daisy-like flowers. Height: Up to 2 feet (60 cm).
	*Erythronium oregonum* White Fawn Lily Showy white lily from segmented corm. Height: Flower stem up to 1 feet (30 cm) tall.
	*Festuca rubra* Red Fescue Perennial grass with thread-like leaves forming small patches. Will withstand inundation if soil is well drained. Height: Can grow up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall.
	*Fragaria chiloensis* Coastal Strawberry Spreads low across ground with runners. White flowers and small red strawberries. Commonly found on dunes and sea bluffs. Height: Up to 10 inches (25 cm).
	*Gilia capitata* Globe Gilia Upright taprooted annual with large ball-like heads of blue flowers. Height: Up to 3 feet (1 meter).
	*Heuchera micrantha* Small-flowered Alumroot Grows from rhizomes with one to many flower stems that are reddish and covered with fine hairs and topped with delicate panicles of tiny white flowers. Height: Up to 2 feet (60 cm).
	*Holodiscus discolor* Oceanspray Multi-stemmed upright shrub with ridged young stems and arching older stems with peeling bark. White flowers. Prefers well-drained rocky soils. Height: Up to 13 feet (4 meters).
	*Juncus ensifolius* Daggerleaf Rush Height: Can grow up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall.
	*Lithophragma parviflorum* Small-flowered Woodland Star Delicate herb from slender rhizomes with numerous small bulblets; white star-shaped flowers. Height: 2-16 inches (10-40 cm).
	*Luetkea pectinata* Partridgefoot Low-growing ground cover with spikes of small white flowers. Prefers moist sandy acidic soil. Height: Up to 6 inches (3 cm) tall.
	*Mahonia aquifolium* Tall Oregon Grape Erect, stiff-branched shrub with holly-like leaves and clusters of yellow flowers. Tolerant of nutrient-poor, rocky soils. Height: 2.5 - 6.5 feet (0.8 meters - 2 meters).
	*Penstemon fruticosus* Lowbush Penstemon Spreading shrub with numerous tubular purple flowers. Height: Up to 40 cm (1.5 ft) tall.
	*Philadelphus lewisii* Mock Orange Erect, loosely branched shrub with large fragrant white flowers. Can tolerate several soil types. Height: Up to 10 feet (3 meters).
	*Phlox diffusa* Spreading Phlox Mat forming perennial with showy white to pink flowers. Height: Up to 4 inches (10 cm).
	*Pinus contorta* Shore Pine Short pine tree, often with crooked trunk and bushy habit. Height: Up to 100 feet (30 meters).
	*Plectritis congesta* Sea Blush Delicate annual herb with large dense clusters of small pink flowers. Height: Up to 2 feet (60 cm).
	*Polemonium pulcherrimum* Showy Jacob's-ladder Taprooted perennial with mostly basal leaves and blue bell-shaped flowers. Height: Up to 14 inches (35 cm).
	*Potentilla anserina ssp. pacifica* Silverweed Low growing hairy herb with runners and solitary yellow flowers. Height: Up to 16 inches (40 cm).
	*Prunus emarginata var. mollis* Bitter Cherry Shrub or small tree with white flowers and small red cherries. Height: Up to 50 feet (15 meters).
	*Pseudotsuga menziesii* Douglas fir Large coniferous tree with thick, fluted bark. Height: Up to 300 feet (90 meters).
	*Pteridium aquilinum* Bracken Fern Rhizomous perennial fern with large, much-divided solitary fronds, Height: Usually 3-6 feet (1-2 meters) tall, sometimes taller.
	*Quercus garryana* Garry Oak Beautiful, deciduous, heavy limbed oak tree. Height: Up to 82 feet (25 meters).
	*Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani* Softstem Bulrush
	*Scirpus maritimus* Seacoast Bulrush
	*Sisyrinchium californicum* Golden-eyed Grass A small iris-like plant with yellow flowers. 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.