Our naturalists were full of information on the plant life that surrounded us on the hikes in the temperate, coastal rainforests of Southeastern Alaska. Annual rainfall there can vary from 60 to 200 inches. As we walked along the damp trail, we were warned not to grab a certain plant if we started to slip. That plant was Devil's Club, Oplopanax horridus. There are spines on its leaves and coating its stems. This plant can grow 3-9 feet tall and is native to Southeast Alaska and the Northern Rockies.
They are part of the understory in moist forests. They have small white flowers that develop into red berries. Native Americans used the plant to make fish hooks and lures. The inner bark was also used medicinally to treat wounds and arthritis. The Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest website is a wonderful resource for more information and for photos of this plant. Unfortunately, my photos from the hike were too blurry as they were taken on the move. I definitely didn't want to stop and take a photo and risk falling behind. We were in bear country. and had been told there was safety in numbers.
Another impressive plant was the Sitka Spruce, Picea sitchensis. This majestic tree is the state tree of Alaska. It blanketed the hillsides and was frequently accompanied by Western Hemlock, Lodgepole Pine, and Alaskan Yellow Cedar. Sitka Spruce can grow in the Coastal Northwest down into Humboldt and Del Norte counties of California.
According to our naturalist, Sitka Spruce can grow to be 200 feet tall with a diameter of 14.5 and a circumference of 45 feet. They can live to be 800 years old and begin to bear 5-inch-long cones at about 15-40 years. Its needles are green on top with a whitish color underneath.
Sitka Spruce have shallow root systems so they can topple in severe winds. But a toppled tree can eventually become a nurse log. The seeds of the Sitka Spruce grow best in decomposing conifer wood so it is not uncommon to see a row of seedlings growing on a downed tree.
Historically, Native Americans peeled, split, and dried the roots and then turned this material into twined baskets and hats that were waterproof. Pitch from the tree was used as caulking. Medicinally the tree was used to treat wounds and lung complaints. The young shoots and inner bark of the tree are high in Vitamin C. Captain Cook gave his sailors beer made with spruce tips and they did not develop scurvy on their long voyages.
Our young naturalist told us these spruce tips are very sweet when they first come out. She said she used to pick them when she was a child. Timing is apparently critical. “Wait too long and they just taste like tree.” The chef on the cruise did serve a spruce tip marinade and salad dressing. We also saw spruce tip beer for sale in Alaska but we did not get to try it.
According to the US Forest Service, the timber from the Sitka Spruce has a high strength to weight ratio which makes it extremely useful for building ladders, masts, oars, and boats. It also has a high resonant quality that is prized in making guitars and piano sounding boards.