Soopolallie (Shepherdia canadensis) is a woody deciduous shrub found in open forests. It is sometimes called buffalo berry. It is a nitrogen-fixing plant which grows from a long taproot to a height of 1-3 m. Small opposite leaves are green on top and brownish/light- colored and hairy below. The bark is covered with small scaly patches. Small yellow flowers … Continue reading →
Kinnikinnik (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is a low-growing evergreen shrub. It is also known as bearberry. The trailing shrub can form a mat-like expanse over time. The alternate leaves are roughly long-ovals with smooth edges. In sunny weather, the leaves have a “shiny” surface. Clusters of small pink urn-shaped drooping flowers form at the terminal ends of branches. In … Continue reading →
Orange Honeysuckle (Lonerica ciliosa) is woody vine in the honeysuckle family. The shrub can grow up to 7 m long, often supported by other shrubs. Many thin stems are hollow in early growth. The leaves are in opposite pairs on the stems and have a fringe of hairs. The leaves are smooth on top and glabrous on the … Continue reading →
Black hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii) is a native vigorous deciduous shrub which grows up to 8 m tall. The trunk is sturdy and has woody branches with stout thorns. Many green oval(ish) toothed leaves appear in spring. Clusters of white (showy) flowers at the ends of thin branches. The individual flowers have 5 rounded petals. After flowering, dark red berry-like … Continue reading →
Spineless horsebrush (Tetradymia canescens) is a bushy evergreen shrub in the Asteraceae family. It grows from taproots and woody stems with multiple branches that rise to 40 – 80 cm. Many small lanceolate leaves are woolly or silver-haired in appearance. The inflorescence is grouped into 3-8-headed clusters at the tips of branches. The heads have 4 tubular, yellow flowers. … Continue reading →
Baneberry (Actea rubra) is a multi-branched leafy perennial which grows up to 100 cm. It has a woody stem base and spreads with fibrous roots. It can be found at in mid-elevation damp forests and even up into sub-alpine seep zones. Green toothed and lobed leaves grow on stems. In late spring many small white flowers appear in clusters at … Continue reading →
Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus) is a deciduous shrub growing from rhizomes. It is found in damp, shaded forests, mostly in areas to the east and north of Kamloops. Thick stems spread horizontally and tend to overlap, rising up to 1 to 3 m. Large yellowish spines line the stems. Large green lobed leaves with pointed tips grow from … Continue reading →
Red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera sp.) is a deciduous shrub found in areas with wet soil in our region. The shrub has many stems in opposite pairs. The lower one of the pair is often prostate and forms stolons. The stems rise up 1 m to 5 m and are reddish. Older stems start to turn grey. The shrub’s … Continue reading →
When we hike by lakes, marshes, creeks, and wet meadows, we often spot black twinberry (Lonerica involucrata) leafing in spring, flowering in late spring, and displaying black berries in summer. It is deciduous shrub in the honeysuckle family, growing from 0.5 to 2.0 m in height. The central stems are fairly erect, but the branches loosely extend outward. … Continue reading →
Mock orange (Philadelphus lewisii sp.) is a native long-lived deciduous shrub that is an attractive addition to the home garden. It can be spotted more in the Okanagan Valley than in the drier grasslands of the Kamloops hills. Our home garden mock orange shrubs started as a purchased cultivar. It grew to about 3 m and produced beautiful and … Continue reading →
