Coast Silk Tassel, Garrya elliptica

The first Wildflower of the Week of 2012 may be better described as the wild shrub of the week).  It does have flowers, but these flowers have no petals.  Hey, what did you expect? After all it’s still winter out there!  For those looking for large colorful blossoms, this plant is but to hint of the spring still to come.

Nevertheless, it is featured here, as one of the first native plants to flower in the new year--producing still rather showy pendulous tassels (of petal-less) flowers from late winter on into early spring.

Garrya elliptica is but one of three species of silk tassels that occurs in Oregon.  As the common name implies Coast Silk Tassel is found only along the immediate Oregon Coast-- from Lincoln County, continuing on south throughout much of California.

Coast Silt Tassel, often grows up to four meters high, but occasionally up to seven meters tall, when it is then perhaps better called “Tree Silk Tassel”.  When not in bloom this evergreen shrub is best recognized by its wavy margined, opposite leaves that are coated with a dense layer of short white to greyish hairs on their undersurfaces.  The coastal silk tassel’s species epithet “elliptica” is in reference to the shrub’s overall elliptical shaped leaves.

The pendant, male or pollen bearing flowers are on separate plants from the more robust female, or seed bearing flowers, a type of arrangement termed “dioecious”.  While I’ve never tried tasting them, the developing seed pods (see photo) when crushed, I think smell a bit like green taco sauce.  I don’t recommend tasting or eating these though, as the bark of the plant is reported to contain at least five alkaloids including one called delphinine, which is otherwise known only from two poisonous plants in the Buttercup Family: Aconitum (Monkshood) and Delphinium (Larkspur).

There is little information on its use by early native peoples, except for a couple of somewhat isolated uses by subgroups of tribes in northern California.  There, some of the southern Yurok people once used the fire hardened wood as a tool to pry mussels off rocks.  Lending further doubt to its edibility, the Kashaya, a branch of Pomo Indians in what is now Sonoma County, California, reportedly used it medicinally as an abortifacinet--where (assumingly terminating a pregnancy) an infusion of the leaves (taken as a tea?) was used to bring on a woman’s period.

Garrya, is the only genus in its family: the Garryaceae.  The scientific name was chosen by the famous early northwest botanist/explorer David Douglas for his friend Nicholas Garry. Nicholas Garry (1782?-1856) was the first Secretary, and later became the deputy governor of the Hudson Bay Company—that provided some financial support to Douglas.  Douglas also named the Oregon White Oak (or Garry Oak), Quercus garryana, for his well-positioned, buddy Nick.