The Evergreen State

Choices are being made over what design the Washington State Quarter should have.  Washington’s official quarter is expected to be released by the U.S. Mint in March 2007.  An online public poll was set up so people could vote for their favorite of the remaining designs (displayed below) online.  The idea went backward when robotic computer programs stuffed the online ballot boxes.  (See Seattlepi article: Ballots stuffed in online vote on state quarter design.)  Technicians are reworking the Web site’s computer code, and hope to restore the poll sometime today.

 Design 1

 Design 2

 Design 3

The state nickname of Washington – The Evergreen State – was introduced by Charles Conover in 1889, used as a publicity attractor. Over a hundred years later, Washington State is still known for its natural beauty. From the Cascade mountains to Puget Sound, Washington’s diversity makes it the home to many kinds of flora and fauna.

Flora

Western Hemlock

The western hemlock is a large evergreen tree averaging 50-70 m in height. It is native to the west coast of North America. In 1947, the western hemlock became the state tree of Washington State. State Representative George Adams remarked that the hemlock would become "the backbone of this state’s forest industry." Thriving in the deep, damp forests of the Pacific Northwest, the western hemlock rivals Douglas fir as preferred construction lumber.

Coast Rhododendron

Flowering in May and June, the coast rhododendron grows on forest edges in Washington State. A large plant that will compete for the best sunlight, the coast rhododendron grows more efficiently in the wild. The coast rhododendron has been called our most magnificent native shrub, and is the official flower of Washington State. In 1934, botanist Leslie Haskin wrote that "the annual pilgrimage from our cities to the coast or mountains to view [rhododendron] flowers is so great that the railroads are at times forced to put on special trains for … those who wish to go."

Coast Rhododendron

Salmon Berry

The salmon berry is a tangy-sweet, blackberry shaped berry that grows in forests and near streams in Washington State. They ripen around the time when salmon travel up the streams to spawn. Natives cooked the freshly caught salmon with the berries. Although salmon berries are rarely used for food anymore, they are still a tasty snack for people wandering through Washington forests.

Fauna

Geoduck

The geoduck is the largest North American clam. They live buried deep along the coasts of Washington State. Although edible, their inaccessibility has limited the market. They are exposed for only a few hours a month. Digging geoducks is considered a sport in Washington, where there is a limit of three per day.

Steelhead Trout

The steelhead trout is another state symbol – adopted by the Legislature in 1969. Really the same species as rainbow trout, the steelhead is given to the silver or steel-blue headed ocean-going form. Most streams in the Puget Sound region and many tributaries of the Columbia River have steelhead populations. Steelhead are one of the most highly prized game fish in the Pacific Northwest.

Roosevelt Elk

The largest of the elk subspecies, the Roosevelt elk is found in the rain forests of the Pacific coast. They eat wild plants including huckleberry, vine maple, salal, and other shrubs. In 1898, American biologist C. Hart Merriam named it in honor of Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. president and accomplished amateur naturalist.

Roosevelt Elk

The coast rhododendron is the state flower of Washington.  The following article provides information on this beautiful plant.

A Rhododendron of Our Own
by Jim McCausland

In 1934, a botanist named Leslie Haskin wrote that "the annual pilgrimage from our cities to the coast or mountains to view [rhododendron] flowers is so great that the railroads are at times forced to put on special trains for … those who wish to go."

Some plant. Lighting up the woods with big trusses of pink flowers, coast rhododendron (R. macropbyllum) has been called our most magnificent native shrub, and it is the official flower of Washington State. Oregon named a town after it, and in season, it’s one of the most-asked-about plants in California’s Redwood National and State Parks.

A large evergreen rhododendron native to the West–most sold in nurseries are hybrids from other countries–coast rhododendron is a tapestry plant that’s at its best jostling for space with other plants along the forest’s edge. It tends to stretch out so that it can reach through competing plants for light–a trait that makes it much more effective in nature than in most gardens.

To see the rhododendron at its best, head for the woods. They don’t put on extra trains for it any more, but the following locations are easily accessible by car. Peak bloom most years is late April into June; call ahead for bloom status.