Oregon Forest Plants

Hi Everyone,

Here's a combination photo of plants growing on the edge of our small forest that I've been curious about for a few years. The plant that looks like Sweet Woodruff has really exploded this year and has gotten into other areas. I've pulled it out as (very easy to pull) from the garden area but it grows freely in the forest areas. It almost reminds me of a bunch of vines running wild in the garden but not quite that bad.

I like all the plants in there. I don't remember seeing #6 before. It's just sitting by itself under a tree. #7 is growing under a tree and looks like a very delicate fern. I was wondering if I could put #5 into planted in a pot/planter. That is if it grows more than this. It seem to be scattered about the forest floor but I don't see any clumped together to make a larger plant. #9 looks more like a weed than a plant but I'm trying to be optimistic. :)

Thanks!
Nadine

Nadine, I just came inside a few minutes ago because it was too dark to see, so I can't see your pics really well.
I think #6 could be Smilacina.
I'm going to have to revisit this tomorrow after work when my eyes aren't so tired!

Hi Nadine,
Nice collage and notes, but in the downsized version some of the pictures are a little small. Still, here's my shot at this
#1 sorry, picture is too small on this one
#2-is it sticky if you touch it? IF so, really nasty weed-the seeds have burrs and stick to everything. Yank it.
#3 Don't know this one
#4 Hard to see this one clearly as well. Looks like #3 from this angle
#5 (upper right) I agree with Katye, Maianthemum (Smilacina) Racemosum, Native, nice, common name is "false Solomon's seal". You could try some in a pot, I think. This is one I haven't grown yet, but I'm not sure why-it's on my list to get one of these days.
#6 This looks to me like Forget-me-not (Myosotis arvensis, I think.) Basically a weed or weedy non-native, but much loved for its flowers. Keep or pull, your choice
#7-need a bigger picture to ID this
#8 does the stem have prickles? If not, how big are the leaves? Does it ever bloom?
#9 is Vancouveria Hexandra- very nice native groundcover, IMHO (Dan Hinkley likes it, how bad can it be?)

Some good resources for info on natives for you-
This book is excellent- look for it at your library to check it out before you buy it, though. The neat thing about it is that it includes cultivation info on the native plants that a book specifically on plant id's doesn't.
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Northwest-Native-Gardens-Landscapes/dp/0881928631

Other places to learn about native plants or double-check an id or description:
http://www.rainyside.com/index.html is a gardening resource for PNW gardeners and has a fairly nice native section and nice photos.
This web site is a great resource for natives also, but many of the pictures are line drawings: http://www.nwplants.com/

There are other people on here who know a lot more than I do, some who aren't here often, some who are here all the time unless they're out in the garden or out plant shopping (lol). I'm sure they'll be along and be able to help with the rest of them.

edited for clarity and sentence structure....sigh....

This message was edited Jun 8, 2009 12:19 AM

I'm sorry they didn't come out very well. Here are some larger images. #3 and #4. The leaves of the plant on the right are smaller.

This message was edited Jun 8, 2009 6:51 AM

Actually, in this photo, it looks like the smaller ones are just babies but in person, it doesn't look that way.

Plant #7

This message was edited Jun 8, 2009 6:57 AM

#1 & #2 (I think I needed my coffee before trying to upload these... sorry)

Thanks Katye and susybell! Great suggestion on the books!

> #8 does the stem have prickles? If not, how big are the leaves? Does it ever bloom?

They are not that big, no larger than the palm of my maybe, but many smaller in size. No prickles. I get enough of those with the blackberry bushes LOL. Good question about blooming - I do see some buds but have never been out there when/if they have.

#2 does seem very weed-like in nature and is sticky.

Thanks again!

Oh goodie! Yep, #8 is a nasty weed, get rid of it as soon as you can. I don't know what it's called, I just rip it out.
Vancouveria hexandra is an awesome plant. Keep it. It's a gentle groundcover, not spreading like crazy, just gradually spreading. Nice little white flowers, similar to epimedium.

The one with the little blue flowers looks like annual forget me not. I let that reseed and pull it out when it starts looking weedy. It is a nice blue, but it does go a little crazy and it is prone to mildew. Easy to pull out.

#8 looks possibly like a native flower called Waterleaf. I'm not certain and don't have time to look it up right now, but it's a place to start. I have some growing in the douglas fir area of my yard and it came up on its own. It's flower is a bit insignicant but it's a nice bit of foliage. There is a variegated variety that is nicer. I can take a photo of mine later and post it for comparison.

Number 3 and 4 looks like part of the pea family and I think this one gets a bit weedy.

This message was edited Jun 8, 2009 8:27 AM

Pix, as far as the nasty weed, do you mean #2, or do you mean #7 for the waterleaf and #8 is a weed?

#2 With the larger picture, it's definitely a very familiar "foe:, lol. I've battled it for a long time. It is capable of growing very long and twining around everything. Then, when you pull it up, it sticks to you.....and its seeds love sticking to animal fur or pretty much anything to happily spread itself around. The upside to this is you can use its stickiness to wrap around other weeds and stick whole piles of weeds together to pick up easier (bwahahahaha....)

It's weird, I have a really hard time remembering the botanical names for weeds, and sometimes even just the regular name. I think it's subconsciously deliberate, lol.

I agree with Pix on #3 & #4, too. #3 is another weed, in the pea family, purple vetch or hairy vetch, something like that. I think #4 must also be in that family, a different larger one.

I'd like to know more about #1, #7 & #8. Looking forward to your pictures, Pixydish.

Thanks for the info susybell and Pixydish! Most of this is on the edge of our tiny forest though some is found all through it like #3, #4, #5 and #9. #2 weed I haven't really noticed before so I think I will pull it while I can. Love the tip about wrapping around other weeds. I have plenty so that will be handy!

Nadine

Nadine- I think #2 is called burrs and my sister loves that vetch. She lets it grow everywhere! (A weed is a only plant growing in the wrong place!) Personally I would dump the burr.

I call #2 "bedstraw", and it is a very annoying and prolific weed. The scientific name is Galium aparine (I didn't know that off the top of my head. I just looked it up).

Yes! bedstraw! that's what it's supposed to be called! Cannot keep that in my head....never learned the botanical, though... The "house name" we use around here is less polite...

Bedstraw or burrs... it's gotta go! This one just appeared out of nowhere.

susybell: LOL... your "house name" for the weed... love it!

Nadine

I agree with everyone here. mainthemum and smilicina are actually two different plants - both are commonly referred to as false solomon's seal. Glad to have an ID on the correct name for the galium aparine.

Katie, that's what I'd always thought, too. Maianthemum was false lily of the valley, Smilacina racemosum was false solomon's seal, but when I looked it up in PF, Smilacina came up as Maianthemum. So, I thought I just wasn't finding the right plant in PF and checked the Wallace Hansen website. It came up just as I typed it in above, with the parentheses. So, I looked it up in Wikipedia. Looks like they made another name change (wish they'd just stick to something-it's enough to memorize all the names once!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maianthemum

Yes, I think the pea one is purple vetch. It is an attractive plant in my opinion, but I can see where it would get out of control in some areas.
Here is my photo of the Waterleaf. I don't know if it matches or not. someone with better eyesight than me will have to give it a look. You can see that it's really just a nice foliage plant, not at all weedy. I keep thinking I will get the variegated form to go with this one. They were carrying it at Lakewold Gardens. Edelweiss Perennials sells it, too. I think that's where Lakewold got theirs.
I hate that bedstraw. It's easy to pull, but really prolific. I got a load of compost from my local 'organic' place and it was full of weed seeds. Thanks a bunch. Now I have bedstraw to pull out everywhere.

Interesting, information, Susy. Thanks!

You guys are great. Every time you list a plant name (such as Vancouveria Hexandra) I google it and am learning so much (though not sure how much I'm retaining!). Google also sends me back here much of the time to the Plant Files section which is good as well. So much to learn but so many weeds to pull... This is like learning a new language but plant/botanical names instead. ;) Thanks again for all your help!

I know it sounds pretentious to some and it's easier for some to remember names than others, but using the correct botanical reference does a) allow us to learn, as you said, and b) avoid confusion between different plants that may carry the same nickname.

Do you have this book? I find it veryhandy and a wealth of information.

http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Pacific-Northwest-Coast-Washington/dp/1551050404

There are also very specific books out there re: trees, flowers, weeds of the Pacific Northwest.

Kathy

I think #1 is Osmorhiza occidentalis and #8 might be seedlings of this plant. It has edible seeds that have a pungent anise/carrot taste. #7 is also carrot family but hard to tell which one.

A really hand tool is http://plants.usda.gov
If you use the Advanced search tool you can select your state and county and the plant family, in this case Apiaceae, and get a checklist of all the species that meet your criteria. Some of the species records have photos and other don't so sometimes you have to google them to get photos.

Thank you katie59. I just came back from Amazon. The book looks excellent!

Thank you Katlian. I think I could spend all day on the plants.usda.gov site! I do think #1 and #8 are the same/related but the leaves don't look as long as the Osmorhiza occidentalis though maybe they are not mature enough. I'll keep an eye on it as it grows.