Western water-hemlock Lecture Plant List 2 Carrot/Parsley, Cat-tail, Cypress, Dogwood, Evening Primrose, Figwort, Geranium Leaves: Alternate, 1-3 times divided in 3s; leaflets toothed, oblong to lanceshaped; side veins end at base of teeth Flowers: White to greenish, tiny; in twice-divided, rounded umbels Fruit: 2-seeded, flattened, egg-shaped, with corky, thickened, unequal ribs CARROT OR PARSLEY FAMILY Apiaceae FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS Inflorescence an umbel consisting of numerous small flowers Leaves alternate, usually compound or divided Leaf base strongly sheathing around stem Petals, sepals and stamens 5 Carpels 2 Fruit a schizocarp Habit: Biennial to perennial; large (6-8 ft tall); freely branching plant with stout taproot, purple-spotted stems. Habitat: Introduced from Europe, a weed of disturbed sites across North America; borders of pastures and cropland. Uses: Extremely poisonous, even small amounts can be deadly. Poison Hemlock (I) Conium maculatum L. Western water-hemlock, Douglas water-hemlock (N) Cicuta douglasii (D.C.) Coult & Rose Habit: Robust, perennial herb; foul-smelling, oily, yellow sap; enlarged, horizontally chambered taproot Habitat: Native to intermountain region, wet depressions, often in standing water; plains to subalpine Uses: poisonous (esp. root); acts on central nervous system; can take effect within 15 min. of ingestion. Symptoms include salivation, tremors and violent convulsions. Leaves: Shiny green, finely 3-4X pinnately divided; Lower leaves on long stalks clasp the stem; foliage strong, musky smelling. Flowers: Borne in many umbrella-shaped clusters, each supported by a stalk; white with sepals lacking. Fruits: Paired seeds, 1/8 long, light brown, ribbed and concave. Poison Hemlock (I) Conium maculatum L.
Cow-parsnip (N) Heracleum maximum Bartram Habit: Native; large (>6 ) perennial; large, lobed leaves; hairy, grooved stems, fleshy root Habitat: mostly in moist disturbed sites, and along roadways, especially in mountainous regions. Uses: Defensive furanocumerins can cause contact dermatitis with exposure to sunlight. However, Cow-parsnip leaves, flowers and roots are readily eaten by many animals (deer, elk, marmots, bears [yerba de oso], and livestock) Western Sweet-cicely (N) Osmorhiza occidentalis (Nutt.) Torr. Leaves: Usually hairy, pinnately compound, twice-divided in 3 s; leaflets triangular in outline Flowers: White to pale yellow, in loose umbels, stalks elongate in fruit Fruit: Paired seeds elongate, spiny; hairs catch on fur, feathers and clothing Cow-parsnip (N) Heracleum maximum Bartram Leaves: alternate, papery sheath at base; compound with 3 large, palmately lobed leaflets Flowers: large flower clusters are flat topped, with outside flower stalks curving inward with maturity Fruit: 2-seeded schizocarp. Seeds are flattened on one side, rounded on the other, with distinct ridges. Western Sweet-cicely (N) Osmorhiza occidentalis (Nutt.) Torr. Western Sweet-cicely (N) Osmorhiza occidentalis (Nutt.) Torr. Habit: Perennial herb; loosely branching; thin, delicate stems Habitat: shaded, moist forest understory Uses: Roots, leaves, and green fruits have a sweet, licorice smell when crushed; entire plant is edible Gairdner s Yampah (N) Perideridia gairdneri (H. & A.) Mathias Habit: Slender, perennial herb; caraway-like fragrance; stems solitary; from fleshy tuberous roots Habitat: Widespread; dry to moist, open or wooded sites; plains to montane Uses: Edible seeds, shoots, and roots. Roots are dried/roasted and ground to flour, with a sweet, nutty flavor.
Gairdner s Yampah (N) Perideridia gairdneri (H. & A.) Mathias Leaves: alternate, usually once-pinnately divided into long, slender segments; often withered when flowers open Flowers: White, tiny; loose, twice-divided, flattopped umbels; July to August. Fruit: Brown, rounded, about 2mm long, with several prominent ribs (like a caraway seed). Cypress Family Scientific name: Cupressaceae The seeds are usually exposed, not enclosed by a fruit structure like a flowering plant, hence the name Gymnosperm: "naked seed." Cupressaceae seeds are produced on the surface of scales of a woody or fleshy cone, often so tightly fit together that it resembles a berry, as in the familiar garden junipers. The leaves are scale-like, closely hugging the stem, either opposite (2s) or whorled (3s) Common Cat-tail (N) Typha latifolia L. Habit: Perennial herb, 1-3 m tall, grasslike from coarse, submerged rhizomes Habitat: Marshes, ponds and shallow slow-flowing water, sea level to mid-elevations in the mountains Uses: Edible rhizomes, impt, for waterfowl, beavers/muskrats; 1 acre of cattail marsh yields 3 tons of flour (80% starch); Spring shoots are edible; Protein-rich pollen is edible (add to flour); can weave fibrous leaves Utah Juniper (N) Juniperus osteosperma (Torr.) Little Habit: Perennial,evergreen: Bushy tree w/ rounded crown; forked, multiple trunks; thin, fibrous, shreddy bark Habitat: Widespread desert shrub; common on dry plains, plateaus, riparian; between 4,000 and 7,500 feet. Common Cat-tail (N) Typha latifolia L. Leaves: grass-like, stiff and spongy, sheathing stem at base Flowers: many flowers in dense spikes; male flowers at top, female below Fruit: achenes surrounded by a tuft of hairs, in brown spikes Utah Juniper Leaves: scale-like (juvenile leaves more needle-like), 3 to a node (sometimes 2), small (ca.1/8 in), more coarse than Rocky Mountain Juniper. Leaf margins are finely toothed. Cones: Both male and female cones found on same tree (monoecious); male cones tiny, brownish near twig tips; female cones berry-like, globe-shaped; berries are copper colored at maturity (2 years); Cones usually 1- seeded (rarely 2)
Utah Juniper Juniperus osteosperma (Torr.) Little Uses: wood is highly decay resistant and has long been used for construction, fence posts, firewood, and pencils. Juniper "berries" are edible; eaten by jackrabbits, foxes, and coyotes. Many bird species depend on juniper berry-cones for fall and winter food; foliage grazed by mule deer when other foliage is scarce and during periods of deep snow. Dried berries used to flavor foods such as stews, sauerkraut, wild game and gin (jenever) Cones: Plants are Dioecious - male and female cones on different trees; female cones nearly round; mature cones bluishpurple, covered in greyish bloom; cones are usually 2-seeded. Rocky Mountain Juniper Rocky Mountain Juniper Juniperus scopulorum Sarg. Habit: Small tree/large shrub (10 20 ft tall); growth form often conical to pyramidal (sometimes rounded); twisted trunk; reddishbrown scaly bark Habitat: Dry, open foothill and montane slopes (5000-9500 ft) Rocky Mountain Juniper Uses: As for Utah Juniper; Eaten by humans and wide variety of wildlife; Seeds must pass through animal gut to successfully germinate Leaves: Typically opposite, in 2 s (sometimes in 3 s); scale-like and finer than Utah Juniper; back sides of needles bear inconspicuous glands; leaf margins smooth; Juvenile leaves needlelike Rocky Mountain Juniper Dogwood Family Scientific name: Cornaceae Shrubs with opposite, entire, simple leaves, with veins curving parallel to margin Flowers usually small and 4 merous, Fruit a red or blue (white) drupe from an inferior ovary
Red-Stemmed Dogwood, Red-osier Dogwood Cornus sericea Michx. AKA: C. stolonifera, C. alba, Svida sericea Habit: Erect to sprawling, deciduous shrub; Stems with opposite branching; bark purple to red Habitat: Grows on moist sites in plains, foothills and montane zones and in riparian zones Evening-primrose family Onagraceae Flowers 4-merous Ovary inferior, with elongated hypanthium Sepals, petals, and stamens emerge from a common rim (hypanthium) on the ovary Red-Stemmed, or Red-osier Dogwood Leaves: opposite, simple, entire, ovate to lanceolate, 2-4 long, w/ 5-7 prominent veins converging toward tip, turn red in fall Flowers: white, forming dense flat topped clusters at the branch tips, in May to July Fruits: fleshy, white (bluish), berry-like drupes, containing large, flattened stones Cornus test: torn leaf is held together by threads of xylem Fireweed, Great Willowherb, Blooming Sally Epilobium angustifolium L. Habit: Perennial herbs, erect stems 4-5 ft tall, with profuse pink flowers, from spreading rhizomes, highly clonal Habitat: Native, Open, disturbed sites, after fire and avalanche, roadsides; foothills to subalpine Red-Stemmed, or Red-osier Dogwood Uses: Drupes are edible, although not too sweet Some tribes used the white inner bark to make tea for its laxative effects; also smoked bark for sickness of lungs; the inner bark contains coronic acid (analgesic), so used as a salicylate-free (aspirin) pain-killer The young branches, "osiers", of this shrub have been used by Native Americans to weave baskets and the bark of the stems has been traditionally collected to make a red dye. Leaves: alternate, lanceshaped, sessile; with oxalate crystals Flowers: pink to purple (rarely white), saucershaped with 4 sepals, 4 petals, 8 stamens, in long, showy racemes, blooming from July to September Fruit: from Inferior ovaries, erect, linear pods (capsule), splitting lengthwise to release 100s of seeds, each tipped with a fluffy, white tuft of hairs Fireweed
Fireweed, Blooming Sally Epilobium angustifolium L. Uses: Important colonizer of burned areas. Young shoots high in vitamins A and C, can be eaten like asparagus, boiled, or raw in salads; Leaves make a good tea; important bee forage plant for honey production. Flowers can also be eaten raw. Fireweed is eaten by deer, elk and grizzly bears. Tall, or Hooker s Evening-primrose Oenothera elata Knuth Uses: Young leaves and roots are edible; Leaves are cooked as greens and roots of 1st year plants as a boiled vegetable Roots or tops can be simmered in honey to make a soothing cough syrup with a somewhat antispasmodic and sedative effect The oily seeds have been used like poppy seeds, sprinkled on breads and in salads. Tall, or Hooker s Evening-primrose Oenothera elata Knuth Habit: Biennial herb, stems single, stiffly erect, often branched; from stout taproots. Habitat: Native; dry, open sites; Foothills and montane zones of Intermountain region Figwort or Snapdragon Family Scrophulariaceae Now divided into at least 3 families: Scrophulariaceae (incl. Verbascum), Orobanchaceae (incl. Castilleja), and Plantaginaceae (Snapdragon, Penstemon, and most others) Superior ovary of 2 carpels Flowers zygomorphic, bilabiate, connate Fruit a 2-part capsule; many seeded Tall, or Hooker s Evening-primrose Oenothera elata Knuth Leaves: basal rosettes the 1st year, and alternate 2nd year; narrowly lance-shaped to oblong, stalked near the base, stalkless upwards on the stem. Flowers: Deep yellow to orange or purplish with age, 4-petals, 4- backward-bending sepals, at the tips of a long calyx tube (hypanthium), fragrant, in dense spikes. Flowers last for less than 24 hours and fully open in the evening, fading during the day. Fruits: Erect, hairy, spindle-shaped capsules with many small seeds. Habit: Annual (few) or perennial herb; stems erect; 20-60 cm tall Habitat: Well-drained, open or wooded sites; foothills, montane to subalpine; dozens of species in W. US Other: Root hemiparasites (on sage, grass, lupine); hummingbird pollinated with ample nectar Indian-paintbrush (N) Castilleja spp.
Leaves: alternate, linear to lance-shaped, small lobes at tip (some). Flowers: are green, inconspicuous, enclosed in colorful bracts (red, pink, orange, yellow); many flowers in dense spikes; June to August. Fruits: Capsules, with many net-veined seeds. Indian-paintbrush (N) Castilleja spp. Hairy mullein, Flannel mullein, Great mullein Verbascum thapsus L. Habit: Greyish-felted, biennial herb, woolly leaves, stems, buds, fruits; with star-shaped and branched hairs; single flowering stem, 40-200cm tall Habitat: Introduced from Eurasia; Disturbed ground; plains to subalpine Moth mullein, Smooth mullein (I) Verbascum blattaria L. Habit: Taprooted biennial, produces basal rosette the 1st year and single flowering stem (1-5 feet tall) the 2nd year Habitat: Introduced from Europe, now widespread in temperate North America; occurs along roadsides, waste areas, pastures, and occasionally in agricultural crops. Leaves: first year a basal rosette then becoming alternate; mostly entire, softly grey-hairy, lower stalked, upper sessile Flower: yellow, 5-parted, 1/3"-1" wide, nearly regular in shape, 3 lower lobes slightly longer than the upper 2, 5 stamens; inflorescence a dense, spike-like cluster;blooms June- Sept. Fruit: round, wooly capsules with many small seeds Hairy mullein Moth mullein, Smooth mullein (I) Leaves: Rosette leaves dark green, often reddish-tinged; shallowly lobed and toothed; leaves of the flowering stem toothed, becoming progressively reduced upwards, sessile Flowers: Bright yellow sometimes white, 5- lobed, slightly irregular; Flowers from May to September. Fruit: capsule splitting open to release numerous seeds Hairy mullein Uses: Leaves contain large amounts of mucilage with anti-inflammatory properties, which is soothing to membranes Teas used to treat chest ailments and colds; Leaves traditionally smoked to reduce coughs Fuzzy leaves can provide a soft alternative to toilet paper
Sticky Purple Geranium Geranium viscosissimum F.&M. Habit: Perennial herb, erect (1m tall), multistemmed; w/ sticky, glandular hairs on leaves and stems Habitat: Native; Dry, open or semi-shaded sites; mountain meadows; foothills to montane Uses: Geranium roots are astringent - used to reduce inflamation, stop bleeding, treat sores, and chapped lips Sticky Purple Geranium Leaves mostly basal, long petioles, deeply palmately lobed; sticky hairs on veins Flowers: pink to purple,strongly purpled veined, saucer shape, 5- merous Fruits: style forms longbeak (cranesbill), schizocarp, 5 oneseeded carpels are explosively dehiscent