Both E and westward of the Cascades , the landscape painting of Washington state is predominate by evergreen Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , in the main conifers , or cone - gestate trees . There are a few types of broadleaved evergreen plant , too , though these are restricted to the west side of the state , being less unfearing than the coniferous tree . Many of these make excellent garden trees if given conditions similar to their aboriginal habitat .
Fir and Hemlock
The Douglas fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ) is the most widespread of all conifers in the area , common on both sides of the flock , in juiceless conditions as well as wet . Its cones hang down , with three - corner bracts between the scales .
The true firs , Abies specie , have cones that posture on top of the offshoot . These admit the lordly fir ( A. grandis ) , ash grey fir ( A. amabilis ) , imposing fir ( A. procera ) and alpine fir ( A. lasiocarpa ) , usually establish at progressively higher layer of elevation .
The westerly Conium maculatum ( Tsuga heterophylla ) is a graceful tree with feathery arm . Its cousin , the deal hemlock ( T. mertensiana ) , is an first-class minuscule tree diagram for lowland garden as well as those at higher elevations .
Pine and Spruce
The declamatory , long - needle yellowness or ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ) is found on the dry easterly slope of the Cascades , where the lodgepole pine ( P. contorta latifolia ) is also found . A smaller , less rigidly straight variety of lodgepole true pine called the shore pine ( P. contorta contorta ) is find on the western United States side .
Two types of blanched pines are found in Washington : the Western lily-white pine ( P. monticola ) and , near the treeline , the whitebark pine ( P. albicaulis ) . Both are garden - worthy trees .
The Sitka spruce ( Picea sitchensis ) is aboriginal to coastal realm , and the Engelmann spruce is a mountain tree .
Cedar, Yew and Juniper
Several type of trees called cedars , a name often apply to widely differing plants , are native to the Northwest . The most common is the crimson cedar tree ( genus Thuja plicata ) , which often produce in wetlands , though it ’s adaptable to most coastal soils . The chickenhearted or Alaska cedar ( Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ) is more common at higher elevations . Both have needles that have been reduced to scale that are press closely to the twigs .
Both Rocky Mountain juniper ( Juniperus scopulorum ) and western juniper ( J. occidentalis ) are found in Washington . They are small , tough and drought - liberal trees .
The western yew ( Taxus brevifolia ) is a shrubby , irregularly branched tree that can reach 30 foundation in superlative , but spring up quite slowly , generally as an understory tree in west coast forests . The yield , technically a cone , bet like a promising - reddish berry and is mildly poisonous .
Broadleaved Evergreens
The Pacific madrone ( Arbutus menziesii ) is a tough , drought - resistant Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with shiny evergreen leave and reddish bark . It ’s somewhat difficult to raise under average garden term , but well worth trying if you have very flaxen or gravelly soil and can protect it from summer lachrymation .
The halcyon chinquapin ( Chrysolepis chrysophylla ) is a congeneric of the oaks and chestnut , and is rarely seen in Washington , being more common in California and Oregon . The coloured - gullible leafage have a golden sheen to them , and the fruit is a spiny bur exchangeable to the chestnut .
