My Favourite Trees

For my last blog post, I decided that I would talk about some more of my own favourite plants. I will be talking about my top 5 favourite trees!

#5 The Pacific Dogwood Tree or Cornus Nuttallii

The Pacific Dogwood is a flowering tree native to the Pacific Northwest region of North America, particularly found along the coast from BC down to California. The flower of this tree is actually the provincial flower of BC and the high school graduation certificate is also named after this flower.

It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 6–23 meters tall. In recent years, Pacific Dogwoods have faced challenges due to habitat loss, climate change, and a fungal disease called “Dogwood anthracnose”, which can cause significant damage to the tree. There have been many conservation efforts to try and save it! The tree’s blooms are useful to many different animals in the ecosystem providing them with food and nutrients.

Some Indigenous tribes such as the Nlaka’pamux used the bark as a brown dye. They also used the bark for medicinal purposes as a blood purifier, lung strengthener, stomach treatment, and laxatives.

#4 The Bigleaf Maple Tree or Acer Macrophyllum

The Bigleaf Maple is the largest type of maple tree in Canada, reaching a height of 48 meters. It also has the largest leaves of any other maple tree. It can be found west of British Columbia’s Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range, from Vancouver Island to California. It usually grows from sea level to elevations of 450 m.

It usually grows on coarse, gravelly, moist soils, such as those found near rivers, lakes, or stream edges. It commonly grows in mixed groups of trees with red alder, black cottonwood, Douglas-fir, western redcedar, and western hemlock. This tree is also very beneficial for wildlife as squirrels, grosbeaks, and mice eat the seeds of bigleaf maples, and deer and elk eat the twigs.

Coastal Indigenous peoples used the wood to make dishes, pipes, and hooks for clothing. Many groups made paddles out of the wood and called it the paddle tree. They used the inner bark to make baskets, ropes, and whisks for whipping berries. In the Interior, Indigenous people ate the young shoots raw in the spring. They also made a type of maple syrup, but because the sap has a low sugar content, it takes a large quantity of sap to make a small amount of syrup. In a more commercial uses, it is used to make furniture, interior finishing, and even musical instruments.

#3 The Douglas Fir Tree or Pseudotsuga Menziesii 

The Douglas fir is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family. It is native to western North America and has 3 different varieties the Coastal Douglas Fir, the Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir, and the Mexican Douglas Fir (the Coastal variety is obviously my favourite!)

Douglas-firs are medium-sized to extremely large evergreen trees from 20–100 meters. The largest coastal Douglas-firs regularly live over 500 years, with the oldest specimens living for over 1,300 years! There are records of a former coastal Douglas Fir growing up to 120 meters in height which would have made it the tallest tree on Earth! This tree is also very important for wildlife and every part of this tree can be consumed by animals. It is said that small mammals such as moles, shrews, and chipmunks, consume an estimated 65% of each annual seed crop. The species is extensively used in forestry management as a plantation tree for softwood timber. Douglas-fir is one of the world’s best timber-producing species and yields more timber than any other species in North America

Many different Indigenous groups used the bark, resin, and needles to make herbal treatments for various diseases. Some tribes used the foliage as a hygienic freshener in sweat baths, and the leaves were used as a coffee substitute and for teas.

“Indigenous folklore weaves a story of a great forest fire and a mouse seeking refuge in the canopy of the tree. The Douglas fir thought its thick bark would protect it from the ravages of the fire below and invited the mouse and those that would follow, to climb into his massive canopy and find shelter in his cones.” If you look closely at the cone of a Douglas Fir you can see a little mouse tail and legs!

#2 The Pacific Madrone Arbutus Tree or Arbutus Menziesii

The Pacific madrone (commonly madrone or madrona in the United States and arbutus in Canada), is a species of broadleaf evergreen tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the western coastal areas of North America, from Vancouver Island to California. “Its waxy evergreen foliage, contorted growth habit, and distinctive flaky bark make it a striking sight in the coastal cliffs and hills where it is abundant.”

The Arbutus is a resilient tree but is also facing some challenges, including habitat loss and climate-related stressors. Efforts to protect and conserve this species are ongoing due to its ecological significance. It is illegal to cut down any Arbutus trees on Vancouver Island.

 It is an evergreen tree about 10 to 25 meters in height but in the right conditions can grow up to 30 m. The thin bark is rich orange-red, and when mature naturally peels away in thin sheets, leaving a greenish-smooth appearance. In spring, the tree produces small white/pink bell-like flowers, and in autumn, red berries. Individual trees can live up to 300 years old.

Indigenous peoples ate the berries raw and cooked, but because the berries have a high tannin content, they more often chewed them or made them into a cider. Overeating causes cramps. They also use the berries to make necklaces and other decorations and as bait for fishing. Bark and leaves were used to treat stomach aches, cramps, skin ailments, and sore throats. The bark was often made into tea to be drunk for medicinal purposes.

#1 The Garry Oak Tree or Quercus Garryana

The Garry Oak is my all-time favourite tree as I associate it with wonderful memories. When I was growing up My family lived in a small house on a quiet street in the middle of a Garry Oak Meadow. I associate the tree with calm and happy memories as I was constantly surrounded by them. My mom still lives in the same home and every time I visit the neighborhood, I still get that same feeling of happiness from the trees.

They have thick, grooved, scaly, greyish-black bark and grow up to 20 meters tall. It grows in southeastern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, with some isolated groups of trees in the lower Fraser Valley. Garry Oaks form open parkland and meadows. In the spring these meadows are scattered with herbs, camas, easter lilies, western buttercups, and shooting stars. These meadows are threatened by urban development and are an endangered species. Luckily they have many conversations based around them. Just like the Arbutus it is illegal to cut down a Garry Oak Tree without just cause. These meadows are incredibly important for wildlife.

Garry Oak wood was used by Coastal Indigenous peoples for combs and digging sticks as well as for fuel. They also ate the acorns either roasted or steamed. They managed the Garry oak ecosystem by underburning in order to cultivate a supply of camas bulbs. Camas was an important food source for many Coastal groups.

My Final Thoughts

As I come to a close on this inquiry blog project I want to reflect on my time and why I chose this topic. I recognize my privilege to have grown up in such a beautiful place surrounded by nature and gardens. My family always encouraged outdoor education, and it has been a very big part of my life. I grew up with my mom teaching me about how to garden and how to produce our own food, and my dad teaching me how to survive in the outdoors and appreciate the natural and native beauty around us on the island both on the land and on the ocean. I even went to an outdoor-based learning elementary school and looking back I never realized how big an impact these things had on my life. I am beyond grateful for my experiences and the ways that I am able to connect with the earth and the land around me. I am also grateful for my opportunity to work at a Garden Center and be surrounded by like-minded people who love to share knowledge about plants.

I have decided to attach some photos of my childhood home, and garden as well as some other photos of my appreciation of the outdoors in recent years!

Thanks for tuning in 🙂