Are these something I should keep?

I have two apparently native plants which are kind of interesting, but I have no idea what they are. The first is a rose kind of bush. The branches are red with thorns, and this is a closeup of the flower pod thingy (obviously I've never taken botany, so don't know the technical term for this). It's about 1/2" around, orange and stringy on the inside (I know because I accidentally stepped on one while trying to get this picture. Should it stay or should it go? It's currently living underneath a cedar tree but could be dug up and relocated.

The second is a very sparse looking thing. I don't remember what the leaves looked like because we were so busy trying to finish the house that I never noticed them. I has no leaves or buds right now, but it does have clusters of 1-4 small white berries, about 1/4" in diameter. Sorry about the poor quality of the picture, but apparently it's not very photogenic. I've tried several times to get a good picture of it and they all seem to come out kinda hazy.

This message was edited Feb 2, 2008 9:42 AM

This is a poor photo of the red branches of the first plant.

Hi Outa, The plant with the white berries I'm fairly certain is a native snowberry (Symphoricarpos alba). They do fine in sun or shade and are tolerant of winter wet conditions. I think they look better with several massed together rather than as a single accent plant. The berries are really pretty in the Fall and Winter. There was some discussion about these and the domesticated pink berried kind on another thread, but I can't remember which one.

Hey Sheri,

Do you have PNW native plant books yet? Get a couple-good references for SAR work anyway, if you need a good excuse (No! don't go through that! Aw, darn, I warned you-that was poison oak/devil's club/nettles...)

Here's some that I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Pacific-Northwest-Coast-Washington/dp/1551055309/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201980644&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Wildflowers-Pacific-Northwest-Timber-Press/dp/0881927457/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1201980815&sr=11-1

Ones I'd like to have:
http://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Native-Plants-Pacific-Northwest/dp/0295974761/ref=pd_sim_b_img_1
http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Western-Washington-British-Columbia/dp/0881927244/ref=pd_sim_b_title_12
http://www.timberpress.com/books/isbn.cfm/9780881928631?s=tn&pr=isnw

Good reference-this may have been replaced with something newer, but it's still a good book. I've got the 4th printing.
http://www.amazon.com/Cascade-Olympic-Natural-History-Trailside-Reference/dp/0962078204/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1201980871&sr=11-1

Susy ~ I have the first one..."Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast." Bought it when we got up here 1-1/2 years ago. And thanks for reminding me because I had completely forgotten about it!

MHF ~ Thanks. I saw that thread a while ago and that made me think of snowberry when I saw the plant last week. Told DH it might be snowberry and he thought I was pulling his chain (probably used to me doing that, so it was an expected response!). It does look like it, or rather the description of its winter status sounds right, after looking it up in the book.

Yeah, the Pojar book is great. I've got the original version.

Okay...new plant question. I have the Pojar book and the Robson book and Ann Lovejoy and I still don't know what this is. Looks like Ribes, maybe laxiflorum? Or am I way out in left field?

This message was edited Apr 4, 2008 7:56 PM

I'd guess either Heuchera Micrantha or Tolmiea Menziesii. Both of these are very worthwhile plants to have. You could also take a look at Tiarella and Tellima Grandiflora, but the leaf shape doesn't seem quite right for those. (Heuchera's common name is "Coral Bells"-there are lots of fancy cultivars, too. )

edit-typo, d'oh!

This message was edited Apr 4, 2008 10:14 PM

The first photo looks like a shot of a rose hip. There are several native roses here, and if I am not mistaken stems are commonly red.

The white berries are definitely Snowberry, Symphoricarpos alba. I have a cultivar in my yard, which is 'Bright Fantasy'.

Depending on where that little green leafy thing is growing, I would lean toward "Youth on Age" Tolmiea menziesii, if it is in an area which is pretty wet all year around. New leaves grow out from the junction between the leaf and the petiole, so it appears the new growth is growing on the older leaf.

Rob

After looking at Wallace Hansen, I definitely believe it's Tolmiea Menziesii. I found a whole bunch of them on the edge of our property that I'm going to dig up and replant. I think this is the same thing, but the veining is dark. Is it the same?

I started this thread back in February with the Nootka Rose and the Snowberry. Dug some up back then and they've been sitting in a bucket of water since. They're both starting to get leaves now. Kinda cool to have all this native stuff I didn't know I had!

Oops...forgot the pic!

are those berry vines by your heuchera?

Unfortunately, yes they are. And they are all in the process of being removed to the compost pile!

lol.......... i was going to say, GET THEM OUT! we have them all over our area and everytime i see a little one in my yard whoosh! its gone. they are sooo invasive.

The last pictures might be an inside out flower - a native. I don't know the botanical name.

I said the wrong thing!! Not inside out flower, but fringe cup. I have some and they are currently blooming.

Hi WillieB. We had a similar discussion on another thread about Fringe Cup. Sheri does have a ton of them (I saw them this weekend). Most seem to be much greener than this one. I totally forgot about this thread . . . LOL

They are greener now, Kathy, but remember...these were taken more than a month ago! The did look like this when I took the original photos last month. I'm pretty sure we decided on piggy back plant.