Like the Mallard Duck I pictured recently, here's another local beauty I often don't pay much attention to because it is so common in this area, Salal (Gaultheria shallon). Florists prize the plant for its green foliage but I have a special fondness for its clusters of small hairy flowers.
Today I went to Mount Douglas Park, but instead of ascending to the top I checked out some of the forest trails at the base of the mountain. I discovered these large-leafed plants in boggy glade. The earth beneath them was black mud, freshly inscribed with the delicate hoofprints of deer.
These are Salal flowers. Later they will develop into small edible berries. This plant is widely found all over the North Pacific coast of America.
