SALAL IS ONE OF MANY BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREEN PLANTS.
NONWOODY PLANTS
FIREWEED (Epilobium angustifolium). The rose-colored, spirelike, flowered tops attract attention wherever it is found. The name fireweed has been given because it comes up quickly in burned areas. It is not restricted to burned places, however, for it grows wherever there is unpreempted space in sunny locations, as along roadsides. It may be seen in flower throughout the summer, since it grows from sea level to 5,000 feet in elevation. The blooming progresses to higher elevations as the season advances. Its leaves are similar to those of willow, which accounts for another common name—willowweed.
WESTERN SWORDFERN (Polystichum munitum). This is the western counterpart of the common Christmasfern. It is a large, conspicuous, evergreen fern—the most prominent fern in these forests. The individual leaflets are lance-shaped, have fine-toothed edges, and are attached to the stem of the frond by means of a short stalk.
DEERFOOT VANILLALEAF (Achlys triphylla). This is probably the most common herbaceous, flowering plant in these forests from sea level to about 4,000 feet in elevation. It is a foot or more in height and commonly forms extensive patches. It can be identified easily by the three broad, fan-shaped leaves at the top of the slender, wiry stem. If the central leaf is bent back, the other two represent a spreading, green-winged butterfly. The small flowers form a slender, white, upright spike above the leaves. The foliage contains a compound which has the fragrance of vanilla. This is given off when the leaves wilt and accounts for another popular name—sweet-after-death.
OREGON OXALIS (Oxalis oregana). This small, delicate, white-flowered plant, has leaves that resemble a three-leaf clover. It grows among the mosses in the moist, shady forest and is especially noticeable in the plant carpet on the floor of the rain forest. The plant contains oxalic acid, which gives the leaves a pleasant sour taste. Another common name is wood sorrel.
QUEENCUP BEADLILY (Clintonia uniflora). The hiker will find this attractive plant in flower at middle elevations, mostly in the Canadian zone. Each plant has two or three prominent, narrowly oblong, lilylike leaves growing from the base of the plant and one clear-white, lilylike flower. The fruit is a single turquoise berry.
OREGON WINTERGREEN (Pyrola rotundifolio). This handsome pyrola is found up to about 3,000 feet elevation. Several leathery, roundish leaves, which have stems as long as the leaves, arise from the base of the plant and spread out to form a rosette. They are glossy green on top. From the center of this rosette rises a reddish flower stalk, 8 to 16 inches tall, that bears pink to reddish, waxy flowers about a quarter of an inch in diameter.
DEERFOOT VANILLALEAF.