Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus)

Wahclella Falls Trail (Tanner Creek), Columbia Gorge, OR, 5/2015.
This flowering shrub is native to the northwest coast and Cascades, and seems to turn up in the Idaho panhandle as well. The common name refers to the notion that the “shredding” or peeling bark has nine distinct layers, which seems an exaggeration. Some Native American tribes believed it to be poisonous, but used it medicinally, others used the peeled wood for knitting needles (!). Capitatus refers to the head-like flower clusters.

Wahclella Falls Trail (Tanner Creek), Columbia Gorge, OR, 5/2015.
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This entry was posted on May 20, 2018 by nwwildflowers. It was filed under Cascades, Coastal, Columbia Gorge East, Columbia Gorge West, June, Low Elevation, marsh wetland/water's edge, Mid Elevation, Oregon, rose, shaded forests, Southern Oregon / Northern California, white and was tagged with Flowers, pacific northwest, shrub, wildflower.
I love the blossoms and leaves of these. We have a related species here (physocarpus malvaceus) that looks quite similar.
May 20, 2018 at 8:38 pm