Redwood Forest
Blackberry (Rubus ursinus)
A tasty treat on your way to class. Blackberries can be found in sunny areas near water. Blackberrys can also be used to make a black dye These native black berries are usually smaller than their European counterpart and don't produce as much fruit. You can find the best blackberries in sunny areas near water (3).
Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
Bracken can be found everywhere from the deep redwood forest to the open meadow.This fern is edible by many reports, but only when the fronds are very young and curled up into fiddle heads. This plant is carcinogenic if it is not a fiddle head, and it is not recommended either way. The roots were used by some Indian tribes to make baskets (3).
California Hazel (Corylus cornuta ssp. californica)
California Maidenhair (Adiantum jordani)
Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Distinguished by their rusty red bark and long grooves running the lenght of the tree. Their needles grow flat off the branches. Although redwoods have small cones, due to low light under redwood canopy only 15-20% of these seeds survive. The more common form of reproduction is through sprouting from old stumps, which are able to grow more vigorously (3).
Coastal Wood Fern (Dryopteris arguta) Common in shady redwood forest. It grows to be about 8 - 20 inches in height and has a single stem that often has brown fuzz on it.
Common as an undergrowth tree in much of the redwood and oak forest on campus, it can be identified by its alternate fuzzy leaves. The nuts are dark brown. They are very tasty.
Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menzeisii)
Doug Fir can be distinguished by it's hard, dark grey bark and short grooves. Sometimes confused with redwoods, which has soft, reddish brown bark with long parallel grooves that run up the length of the tree. The needles can be brewed into a tea rich with vitamin C. The young needles are best for this. Some Indians also used smoke from burning limbs to cover their scent while hunting. Baskets can also be made separating the long thin strands of the roots (3).
Flowering Currant (Ribes glutinosum) Usually found in shady wooded areas, but is often planted as a landscaping plant on campus. The leaves are similar to the Gooseberry, but lacks spines on the stem. Pink flowers bloom from March-April. the berries are edible raw. Like many other berries, native Indians mixed them with animal fat and stored them for winter use (3).
Goldenback Fern (Pityrogramma triangularis) This small fern inhabits shady forest slopes. It has a black stem from about 1-4 inches. The back of the fern has a waxy golden powder that comes off to the touch (3).
Gooseberry (Grossularia sanquineum)
These berries are high in vitamin C, and can be eaten
raw, cooked in pies, preserves, jellies, or dried.
Gooseberry is not very common on campus, but can be found in shady wooded
areas often near creeks, and blooms from March-June (3).
Hedge Nettle (Stachys bullata)
Hedge nettle has soft, fuzzy leaves that grow opposite along the square stem. The leaves smell minty and lemony.
Hairy Honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula)
Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)
Mmmmmmm! This is one of my favorite berries found on campus, but finding ripe and plentiful berries can be a challenge in our foggy forests. Huckleberry plants are found under the dense canopy of the redwoods, but the best fruits are found in sunny patches at forest edges.
Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliatum)
Pacific Starflower (Trientalis latifolia) Common under redwood and other evergreen groves, and can completely cover areas, much like redwood sorrel. The plant has tiny, pink star shaped flowers, blooming from March to June, and has five to seven leaves (3).
Redwood Sorrell (Oxalis oregana)
Solomon's Seal Fat and Slim (Smilacina racemosa var. amplexicaulis and Smilacina stellata var. sessifolia) These plants are somewhat common under redwood forest. The two types are sometimes hard to distinguish. Slim Solomon's seal has narrower, longer leaves that don't clasp the stem. Fat Solomon's seal has leaves that are larger and clasp the stem. The berries of fat solomon's seal are edible but can act as a laxative (3).
Stinging Nettle (Urtica holsericea) This plant grows next to streams
and moist areas. The leaves have stinging hairs that can hurt quite a bit.
However, if you carefully remove the leaves and then steam them, as you would
any other green, they are very nutritous. The leaves are spear shaped and
grow oppositely along the stem. It can grow up to almost six feet (3).
Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum) Wild ginger has distinct heart shaped leaves.
Wood Rose (Rosa Gymnocarpa)
Yerba Buena (Satureja douglasii) Usually under cover of shade, this small (1/2-3 in.) has a strong minty smell. The dried leaves can be steeped 15-25 minutes to make a tea, that apparently is delicious.
Trail Plant (Adenocaulon bicolor) This plant is easliy identified by its arrowhead shaped leaves and white underside. It can occur in large groups, getting its name from being able to tell if someone has walked through a patch by the white upturned undersides of the leaves.
Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale) This plant is found mostly near shady streams on campus. You can tell it apart from the native rhododendron by its smaller leaves and flowers. The flowers bloom from June-September and are creamy white to yellow. This picture was taken in November, you can see the bud forming. All parts of this plant are poisonous (3).
Western or Giant Chain fern (Woodwardia fimbriata) This fern can reach up to six feet in height. Spores grow in a chain like pattern along the middle of each pinnae (3).
Western Sword Fern (Polystichum Munitm) Probbably the most common fern on campus. It can be indentified by a small protrustion that resembles the hilt of a sword at the base of each pinnae, or single leaf. The fronds grow in clumps.