Plant Survey Overview and Results
As part of this capstone course students went out to 8 different "wild" sites through out the Portland area to survey plant species diversity. All plants found along the survey transects were recorded including non-native invasive species. Not surprisingly the Douglas fir and sword fern were in the top ten most common plants found. The third most abundant plant found was English Ivy, which makes it the number 1 invasive plant found. Other abundant non-native invasive plants included Himalayan blackberry and a non-native cherry tree. The most common plant found was Acer macrophyllum, or Big leaf maple. Other common native plants found in abundance were Hazelnut and red alder trees, and Snowberry, Indian Plum, Service Berry and Vine Maple, which are all more shrubs than trees. For more info on which species you can plant in your yard to enhance native habitat and attract wildlife go to Native Habitat Gardening. Below is a list of the most common plants found in descending order of frequency.
Latin Name |
Common Name |
Relative area covered by plant in survey |
Acer macrophyllum |
Big Leaf maple |
125.64 |
Pseudotsuga menziesii |
Douglas Fir |
86.90 |
Hedera helix |
English Ivy |
76.04 |
Corylus cornuta |
Hazelnut |
59.09 |
Rubus discolor |
Himalayan blackberry |
56.24 |
Rubus ursinus |
Trailing Blackberry |
46.95 |
Polystichum munitum |
Sword Fern |
43.01 |
Alnus rubra |
Red Alder |
24.12 |
Symphoricarpos albus |
Snowberry |
22.90 |
Prunus avium |
non-native cherry |
20.09 |
Oemleria cerasifirmis |
Indian Plum |
19.96 |
Acer circinatum |
Vine Maple |
15.81 |
Amelanchier alnifolia |
Service Berry |
10.96 |
|
|
10.87 |
Geranium robertianum |
Robert Geranium |
9.80 |
Thuja plicata |
Western Red Cedar |
8.26 |
Mahonia nervosa |
Dull Oregon Grape |
7.88 |
|
bedstraw |
6.95 |
Holodiscus discolor |
Ocean Spray |
4.01 |
Hydrophyllum tenuipes |
Pacific Waterleaf |
4.01 |
Mahonia aquifolium |
Tall Oregon Grape |
3.90 |
Quercus garryana |
Oregon White Oak (Garry Oak) |
3.70 |
Rubus parviflorus |
Thimble Berry |
3.66 |
Lapsana communis |
Nipplewort |
3.64 |
Gaultheria shallon |
Salal |
3.63 |
|
English Holly |
3.55 |
Rhamnus purshiana |
Cascara |
3.40 |
Salix sitchensis |
Sitka Willow |
3.03 |
Vancouveria hexandra |
Inside-out Flower |
2.83 |
Arbutus menziesii |
Madrone |
2.72 |
Fraxinus latifolia |
Oregon Ash |
2.65 |
Leucanthemum vulgare |
Oxeye Daisy |
2.60 |
Bellis perennis |
English Daisy |
2.54 |
Crataegus douglasii |
Black Hawthorne |
2.27 |
Pteridium aquilinum |
Bracken Fern |
2.22 |
Crataegus monogyna |
Common Hawthorne |
1.86 |
|
|
1.85 |
Cornus stolonifera |
Red Osier Dogwood |
1.82 |
Tellima grandiflora |
Fringe Cup |
1.27 |
Sorbus scopulina |
Western Mountain Ash |
1.13 |
|
