discolor – two different colors, possibly referring to green upper surfaces of leaves and paler, woolly lower surfaces

Native range: Western North America

Leaves:

• alternate
• simple
• dull green
• hairy on upper surface
• paler and hairy on lower surface
• broadly ovate
• coarsely serrate or lobed
• 1–2.5” long, but lots of variability in size
• reddish tinged in autumn

Flowers:

• inflorescence – pyramidal cluster 4–8” long
• small white/creamy flowers in dense, terminal pyramidal, lilac-like clusters 10–17 cm. long
• dead flower clusters/fruit remain on plants over winter 5-merous

Fruit:

• achenes (dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall)
• tiny (2 mm)
• hairy
• persist into winter as dry brown hanging remnants

Other characteristics:

• deciduous shrub to 10 ft. tall
• multi-stemmed
• arching form
• young stems ridged, older ones with brownish peeling bark

Relevant info:

• according to U.S. Forest Service, “‘most widespread and possibly the most abundant flowering shrub’ in coniferous forests of northeastern Washington and northern Idaho”
• called “ironwood” because wood is hard, especially after heating and used for making tools (e.g., bows, arrows, pegs)
• Meriwether Lewis (Lewis & Clark Expedition) made the first scientific collection of oceanspray on the banks of the Clearwater River in Idaho
• common name “oceanspray” is derived from masses of loose, creamy plumes

Ecology & Adaptations:

• native to British Columbia to south California, east to the Rocky Mountains
• in Washington, occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest
• found in gravelly soil in open, dry to moist woods, thickets, clearings, ravine edges, coastal bluffs
• at low to moderate elevations in the mountains (0–2,150 m.)
• seral and old-growth conifer, seral and old- growth hardwood, mixed-riparian, and mixed-shrubland types
• pollination by insects
• flowering is relatively late, which may provide competitive advantage for attracting pollinators
• seed dispersed by wind and animals
• vegetative regeneration:
  • sprouts from the root crown after fire and other top-killing events
  • may spread by layering
• herbivore/pathogen defense:
  • compounds in tissues have antifungal, antiviral, and cytotoxic properties
  • tannins and flavonoids deter herbivory
• drought tolerance:
  • adapted to dry sites and drought by shutting down or slowing its rate of transpiration
  • large leaf area may partially compensate for low water transpiration rates in summer
  • association with mycorrhizal fungi facilitates water uptake
• tolerance of low nutrient soils – association with mycorrhizae facilitates nutrient uptake
• wildlife:
  • elk and deer browse oceanspray during winter
  • yellow-bellied marmot burrows are often near oceanspray
  • nesting habitat, cover, and food for a variety of non-game birds and mammals