Flora and Fauna

Sitka Spruce
The Sitka spruce is the largest spruce tree in British Columbia and is found along the west coast of the province and Vancouver Island. It usually grows between sea level and 700 metres. Sitka spruce reach an average of 70 metres tall and two metres in diameter. Some trees have grown up to 93 metres tall and five metres in diameter.

Sitka seed cones are reddish to yellowish-brown and have wavy, papery scales with ragged edges. The pollen cones are red. Sitka spruce needles are the longest and flattest leaves of British Columbia's spruce trees. They are four-sided, bluish-green, stiff and sharp and are arranged spirally along the tree's branches. Each needle has a white line on both the upper and lower surfaces. The Sitka's bark is brown or purplish-grey, thin and scaly. The wood is light, soft, strong and flexible. Sitka spruce were considered by some native tribes to have magic powers. Natives used its roots to make hats, baskets, ropes, fishing lines and twine; its inner bark as a source of vitamin C and as a laxative; and its pitch to caulk and waterproof boats, harpoons and fishing gear, and as glue and medicine for burns, boils and other skin irritations. They also carved its wood into love charms. Today, it is used in general construction, ship building, plywood, musical instruments and airplane construction.

Western Red Cedar
The western red cedar is British Columbia's official tree. It is found at low to medium elevations in cool, mild, moist locations. It typically grows in shaded areas with lots of nutrients and reaches heights of up to 60 metres tall. The western red cedar is characterized by drooping branches that turn up at their tips, a trunk that spreads out at the base and a large number of cones bent backward along the branches. The seed cones are egg shaped and one centimetre long with several pairs of scales. The pollen cones are small and reddish coloured. The needles, or leaves, are scale-like and lie in pairs, overlapping like shingles; they have a very strong aroma. The bark is grey and stringy, tearing off in long strips. The wood is resistant to decay and insect damage and often remains sound for over 100 years. Traditionally, the First Nations people used the wood for canoes, totem poles, longhouses, household boxes, tools and paddles. They pounded fibres to make mats, clothing, baskets, nets, fishing lines, medicines and religious masks. Today, western red cedar is used for house siding, interior panelling, outdoor furniture, decking, fencing and roof shakes.

Douglas Fir
The Douglas fir is named after Scottish botanist David Douglas, who introduced many of British Columbia's native conifers to Europe. It is found on the southern mainland coast of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. An interior variety is found throughout southern and central British Columbia. A Douglas fir can reach up to 85 metres in height. It is distinctive for its three-forked bracts between the cone scales. The cones are five to 11 centimetres long, green when young, turning to brown as they age. The winged seeds are eaten by birds and small animals. The needles are flat with pointed tips; they are bright yellowish-green with a single groove on the upper surface and a paler colour on the lower surface. The needles are spirally arranged and appear to stand out around the branch; they are fragrant and soft to the touch. The bark is smooth, grey-brown and blistered when young. Furrowed, thick, dark reddish-brown ridges appear as the tree ages. Bears scrape off the bark to eat the sap layer beneath. The wood is dense, hard, stiff, durable and strong. Natives used the wood of the Douglas fir for fuel, fishing hooks, handles, snowshoes and fish traps. The boughs were used for floor coverings, the seeds eaten and the twigs and needles produced a sugar-like substance that was highly prized. Modern uses of the Douglas fir include heavy duty construction such as wharves, trestles, bridge parts and commercial buildings.

Western Hemlock
The western hemlock is found along the coast of British Columbia and on Vancouver Island. It grows from sea level to medium elevations, tolerates shady areas and can grow on decaying wood or even raw humus. The western hemlock is recognized by a narrow crown, droopy new growth at the top of the tree, feathery foliage on down-sweeping branches and a shallow root system which makes it susceptible to  being blown down. Western hemlock average 30 to 50 metres in height and are an important food source for deer and elk. Their cones are numerous and small, about 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres. They are greenish, turning brown with age and hang from the ends of the branches. The needles are yellowish-green on top and whitish on the underside. They are nearly flat, soft, glossy and widely spaced along twigs. The needles are of two lengths, with the shorter length standing upright along the top of the twigs producing a feathery, flat look. The bark is rough, scaly, reddish or dark brown. The wood is even grained and resists scraping. Traditional native uses for the wood were carvings, spoons, combs, roasting spits and dishes. The inner bark was used for bread and cakes or was eaten whipped with snow and eulachon grease. The branches and needles made tea and spice and the bark was used for tanning hides and making red dye. The roots were used to strengthen fishing lines. Western hemlock is used today for doors, windows, staircases, ladders and architectural items.

Pacific Dogwood
Pacific dogwood is the floral emblem of British Columbia and it is prohibited by law to dig up or cut down one of these precious trees. It grows on the southern coast of British Columbia and in central and southern Vancouver Island in deep, coarse, well-drained soils. The dogwood can grow up to 15 metres in height, but also appears as a shrub or small tree. The fruit and foliage of this flowering tree attracts birds, bears and beavers, while deer feed on the twigs. The elongated, dark red berries are edible but bitter and stay on the tree after the leaves have fallen. The beautiful white flowers are actually four to six leaves around 30 to 40 small green flowers.

The oval leaves measure eight to 10 centimetres and have pointed tips with slightly toothed edges; they are dark green and turn orange in the fall. The smooth bark is grey or brown and the wood is fine grained, hard and heavy. Traditionally, the wood of the Pacific dogwood was used for bows, arrows and knitting needles. The bark was used as a tanning agent and dye, and the branches as slingshots. Pacific dogwood is used today for piano keys, but is most-commonly seen as an ornamental tree in gardens.

Garry Oak
The Garry oak was named for Nicholas Garry of the Hudson's Bay Company and is the only native oak in British Columbia. It is found in open parkland and meadows on southeastern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and in isolated areas of the lower Fraser Valley. It is slow growing, but reaches up to 20 metres in height. The Garry oak leaves have five to seven deep lobes and are a glossy, bright green on the upper side, with red to yellow hairs on their paler underside. Many birds, small mammals and insects use the oak as their home and gall wasps often cause bumps on the leaves. The leaves turn brown in the fall, unlike other, more colourful oak trees. Garry oaks produce small acorns about three centimetres long, with  shallow, scaly cups. According to legend, carrying an acorn from a Garry oak helps preserve a youthful appearance. The bark is thin, greyish-black and scaly, with shallow grooves and broad ridges. The wood has a beautiful grain but is difficult to season without warping. It was traditionally used for combs, digging sticks and fuel and the acorns were roasted or steamed as food.

Salal
Native to the Pacific Northwest, salal is one of the most dominant shrubs in British Columbia's coastal forests. It grows from sea level to medium elevations and reaches 0.2 to five metres in height. Salal can be upright or ground crawling and spreads by suckering layer upon layer. The evergreen salal leaves are two to four inches long, spoon shaped and pointed. They are a shiny dark green, leathery and tough with finely-toothed edges. Salal produces black, reddish-blue or dark purple berries which have been used for thousands of years as a major food source for British Columbia's Natives. Birds and bears also eat the berries in late summer. Salal also attracts wildlife, such as butterflies and bees, to its waxy, pollen laden flowers. Salal flowers emerge in May as tiny, bell-shaped blossoms. The pink flowers turn pale, almost white, as they age. Today, many people still make jelly with the somewhat bland fruit of the salal.

Wild Rose
This shrub, which can grow up to 15 metres tall, is famous for its prickly stems with their beautiful pale pink flowers and nutritious rosehips. The wild rose grows in clearings, open forests and on rocky slopes in low to medium elevations through most of British Columbia. The leaves are divided into five to seven small saw-toothed (double-toothed) leaflets and they can be slightly hairy underneath. The flowers are large, pink and fragrant. One flower grows at the end of each of the side branches and turns into a bright red seed pod (hips). The hips stay on the bush all winter, are pear shaped and can be up to an inch in diameter. They have an apple-like flavour and are very high in vitamin C: a better source than orange juice. A popular food for people and wildlife, the fruit, stem and foliage of the wild rose are all eaten by wildlife, while people use the young shoots, fruit, stems, flowers and leaves. Hips can be made into jams, syrups and jellies and are best picked immediately after the first frost. Tea can be made from the petals, leaves and even the roots. First Nations peoples ate the rind of the hips and left the seeds. The cambium from the roots was prepared by soaking and boiling and then made into an ointment for sore eyes. Arrows were also made from rose wood.

White Fawn Lily
This perennial herb grows to 30 centimetres tall in well-drained, open and often grassy areas at low elevations. The leaves are lance-shaped to oblong and grow to 20 centimetres long. They are mottled, with pale green and dark brown leaves. The flowers are white, often marked with orange-yellow at the base. They are sometimes found to be pink on Vancouver Island. The petals bend back and the flowers are nodding. The fruit is an erect, broadly club-shaped capsule that is three to four centimetres long and notched at the tip. John Burroughs is said to have named this species fawn lily because he thought the two leaves looked like the pricked ears of a fawn. More likely, ‘'fawn'’ alludes to the mottled leaf colouring.