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Shrubs of Yellowstone

Shrubs can be described as woody plants with more than one stem which grow to less than 33 feet tall by the time they reach maturity.
 

Up high in alpine habitats, many shrubs can be found in dwarfed sizes. Dwarfing is an adaptation to the harshness of alpine climates, and it helps to ensure a plant’s survival and growth.
 

Many of the Yellowstone’s shrubs have fleshy fruit which are edible and tasty to both animals and humans. Several of these fruits were traditionally important parts of Aboriginal people’s diets. Berries were gathered by Native Americans in great quantities and dried for later use. They were important sources of carbohydrates, vitamins and other nutrients during the long winters. The leaves, bark and other plant parts were also used as medicines and for making a variety of tools and implement. Many fruits are also important food sources for wildlife, including birds, bears and small rodents.
 

The following is a partial listing of some of the most common shrubs found in Yellowstone National Park.

Alpine Laurel (Kalmia microphylla)  

This is a small, low evergreen shrub that rarely grows to more than two feet in height.
 

Alpine laurel is primarily a sub-alpine or alpine plant, preferring wet mountain meadows and boggy sites. It flowers between June and September, depending on elevation. Alpine laurel contains poisonous alkaloids, and care must be taken not to confuse it with Labrador tea, whose leaves have brown fuzz on their undersides and tend to hang downwards. Alpine laurel is poisonous to grazing livestock.
 

The botanical name of this plant is in honor of Peter Kalm, an 18th century Swedish student of Linnaeus, who

collected plants in America.

Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) 

Kinnikinnick is a low-trailing or matted, evergreen shrub, rarely more than two feet high, with long, flattened branches. The woody stems are brownish-red with flaky bark. Kinnikinnick’s oval shaped leaves are leathery, shiny and dark green. Small, waxy, pale pink, urn-shaped flowers, which later develop into bright red, pea-sized berries can be found clustered at the ends of branches.
 

Kinnikinnick can typically be found on gravel or sand terraces, in coniferous woods, on dry banks and alpine slopes. It is a circumpolar species found in North America, from Alaska to Labrador, south to coastal California, New Mexico and the central and eastern United States. It can be found flowering from April to June.
 

This plant’s common name, kinnikinnick, is a word used by eastern Native Americans for tobacco mixtures. Its Latin name means ‘bear's grape’ and refers to the fruits, which are one very much loved by bears. The leaves have been used as a diuretic, for bronchitis, gonorrhoea, and diarrhea.
 

Before Euro-American contact, most Native American groups smoked kinnikinnick. The leaves can also be boiled to make a tea or used in soups. The berries ripen late and remain on the plants into the winter, providing forage for birds, bears, and other wildlife.

Smooth Labrador Tea (Ledum glandulosum)

This moderately tall, stout, evergreen shrub has white flowers and commonly reaches a height of two to five feet. It has minutely hairy and glandular twigs. The oval and oblong shaped leaves are fragrant when crushed, and the leaves tend to curl under a little.
 

Smooth Labrador tea, also known as trapper’s tea, can be found in several moist places in Yellowstone such as Fire Hole River Canyon and Club Creek Canyon on the east entrance road. It typically occurs just below sub-alpine zones in acidic bogs or wet areas in the mountains. This plant blooms in July.
 

The leaves, used fresh or dried, can be boiled to make an aromatic tea. It should be boiled well before drinking and should only be consumed in moderation as it can sometimes cause drowsiness. High doses have diuretic and cathartic properties, and can cause intestinal disturbances. Care must be taken not to confuse this plant with alpine laurel (Kalmia microphylla), whose leaves are similar, but are poisonous.

Huckleberry Species (Vaccinium sp.)

Several species of blueberries and huckleberries including Vaccinium membranaceum, v. occidentale and v. scoparium, can be found in Yellowstone. Blueberries and huckleberries are common in Lodgepole Pine forests and extend up into the canyons of the Tetons as high as 8,500 feet.
 

Vaccinium flower in June and July, and their red to purple-black berries ripen by mid-August. There is considerable competition between birds, bears, deer, wolves, (and many other animals) as well as humans for the tasty fruit. There is also a great deal variation in the size, shape and color in the fruit.
 

The name "huckleberry" comes from "whortleberry" or ‘hurtleberry,’ both of which come from the Anglo-Saxon word wyrtil, or small shrub, a diminutive of wyrt or wort, meaning "plant."

Utah Honeysuckle or Red Twinberry (Lonicera utahensis)

This shrub grows from 2 to 5 feet in height in the Lodgepole Pine forests of Yellowstone. In June, the paired yellow flowers are quite beautiful. Their five petals are united into a funnel-shaped tube which is slightly swollen at the base. Unusually, the red fruits are attached to the leaf itself.
 

The fruit are eaten by birds and chipmunks, and while it is believed that there is a mildly poisonous substance in the berries, poisoning is unlikely as the fruit are not palatable to humans. Native American hunters sometimes used the fruit as an emergency food source of water because the berries are so juicy. Hummingbirds also use the flowers as an early food source.

Black Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)

Elderberries have pithy stems, opposite, compound leaves and red to black colored berries. Black elderberry is common at low to sub-alpine elevations along stream banks, swampy thickets, moist clearings, and shaded forests.
 

The small and numerous flowers are white to cream in color and arranged in flat-topped compound clusters. The fruit form in August.
 

The berries can be used to make jelly and wine. Although they are quite seedy, they can also be used in pies. The flowers can be used to make elderberry tea. The roots, bark and mature leaves are considered poisonous to livestock.