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NORTHWEST TREE GAME

Please play the NORTHWEST TREE game on desktop or in portrait mode on mobile devices.

A bird hanging from a red alder tree.
Alder trees in their natural environment.
Bark of a red alder tree.
Illustration of an alder tree branch and leaves.
I am often the first to grow after a fire, slide, or clearcut. I help to rebuild a forest community. See how my toothed leaves are pointed at the base and the tip? Notice my woody female cones and drooping male flowers called catkins. Who am I?
You got it! My silvery-brown bark is often spotted with lichens and moss. My inner bark is used as medicine and to make a reddish-orange dye. Utensils, carvings, and furniture are made from my wood.
cottonwood
hawthorn
RED ALDER
bigleaf maple
Flowers of a big leaf maple tree. A branch from a big leaf maple tree.
A big leaf maple tree.
My trunk and branches are often covered in mosses, lichens, and licorice ferns. My leaves have five points and can grow up to a foot in diameter. Have you seen my seeds fly like helicopters in the wind?
Correct! Look for insects, birds, and squirrels in my tall branches. My edible sweet flowers are a favorite food for bees and people. Some Northwest Native Tribes call me “paddle tree” because my light, strong wood is used for many useful things including canoe paddles.
alder
garry oak
cottonwood
BIGLEAF MAPLE
NEXT QUESTION
A Cottonwood leaf and seed.
A person extracting Cottonwood bud oil.
Cottonwood tree in its native environment.
Outstanding! My leaves are shiny and dark green above and silvery below. They are deciduous, meaning they fall to the ground in autumn. Have you seen my fluffy white seeds fly like snow in summertime?
I am a tall tree rising over rivers and wetlands. My strong roots anchor deep in the earth and draw water up through my massive trunk to my canopy of leaves. People use my leaves, bark, and buds as medicine to reduce inflammation, break fevers, heal skin, and more.
Grand fir
Cottonwood
willow
alder
NEXT QUESTION
Douglas Fir branch.
Tips of a Douglas Fir branch.
A jar of Douglas fir tea.
A Douglas Fir pitch.
A color illustration of a Douglas Fir branch with cones.
Correct! Try eating my spring branch tips as an energizing food or infuse them in water to make a refreshing and immune boosting beverage that some people call “Nature’s Gatorade.” My sticky pitch helps me to heal wounds, fight infections, and ward off insect invaders. People use my pitch as a first aid medicine, fire starter, incense, and for waterproofing.
I can grow very tall and live to be over a thousand years old! My brown bark becomes deeply furrowed or “groovy.” My needles are all the same length and are pointed at the tip but are not sharp. Look between the scales of my cone… can you see something that looks like the back feet and tail of a mouse?
douglas fir
WESTERN
HEMLOCK
western red
cedar
GRAND FIR
Garry Oak trees.
A jay eating an Oak acorn.
A close-up of an Oak leaf.
Oak acorns on the ground.
A color illustration of a Garry Oak branch.
Nice work! My acorns are an important traditional food for Native Americans and contain carbohydrates, fat, protein, and minerals. They also have bitter-tasting compounds called tannins, which are removed by soaking the nuts in water. Birds and squirrels bury acorns and help create new oak trees!
Look for me in prairies and other sunny locations. I grow slowly… creating deep roots, thick bark, and hard wood. This allows me to thrive in many environments, to survive drought and fire, and to live for hundreds of years. My leaves are often the last to fall in autumn. Many animals eat my nutritious nuts called acorns.
GArry oak
bigleaf maple
hawthorn
grand fir
A close-up of a Grand Fir bark.
A Grand Fir in its native environment.
Grand Fir cones.
A douglar fir branch.
A color illustration of a Grand Fir branch.
Great job! If you scratch my evergreen needles they smell like grapefruit! You can dry them and use them in tea or bath salts. You can also infuse my needles in oil and make a balm or cream that smells like the forest. Can you see the two silver lines underneath each needle? That is where I breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.
I am a favorite Christmas tree. My flat needles grow horizontally along my branches and are notched at the tip. My woody cones point upward and grow toward my top. You might notice blisters on my trunk, which are full of pitch.
hemlock
Grand Fir
Douglas fir
yew
A bowl of Hawthorn flower.
A robin eating a Hawthorn tree berry.
Hawthorn tree berries.
A hawthorn tree.
A hawthorn tree.
Excellent! You can make medicine from my flowers, leaves, and berries to strengthen your heart and blood vessels. There are many species of me that grow around the world. European hawthorn has red berries and is naturalized in the Pacific Northwest. Black river hawthorn is a native tree that grows along rivers and forest edges and has blue-black berries.
Notice my thorny branches, which create a protective haven for small birds and other creatures to nest and hide. Pollinators drink my sweet flower nectar. Animals eat my nutritious berries. Once they digest the outer fruit, they poop out the seeds and help plant new trees.
Garry OAK
YEW
WILLOW
HAWTHORN
A cone and a branch from a Spruce tree.
A hand holding a Spuce bark.
Spruce tip cookies.
Spuce ice cream in a bowl.
A Spruce tree near a beach.
Correct! See how my greyish brown bark has plates instead of grooves? My spring branch tips are energizing and immune boosting. You can eat them straight or add them to tea, baked goods, sauces, and even ice cream!
I am a resilient evergreen tree meaning I keep my needles all year long. I thrive in cold, wet, windy, and sunny conditions. Be careful when you touch me! My waxy needles are sharp at the tip. My papery cones hang downward.
HEMLOCK
DOUGLAS FIR
GRAND FIR
SITKA SPRUCE
A shore pine tree.
The trunk of a shore pine tree.
Cones from a shore pine.
Outstanding! I am a close relative of lodgepole pine. My cones can stay on the tree for 20 years or more and are most likely to open during the heat of a fire. My fragrant pitch can be used for many things including as a fire starter and a first aid ointment to fight infections and heal wounds.
I am an evergreen tree that can live in harsh conditions along the coast including sandy bluffs, rocky cliffs, and boggy areas with infertile soil. My needles are about 2 inches long and are grouped in bundles of 2.
DOUGLAS FIR
SHORE PINE
HEMLOCK
SPRUCE
A hemlock tree in thick fog.
Hemlock cones hanging from a Hemlock tree. A branch from a hemlock tree. Crackers and a Hemlock dip.
Illustration of a hemlock tree.
Illustration of a hemlock branch and pine cones.
Fantastic! In a Coast Salish story, the Creator was giving cones to the evergreen trees and all of us were told to line up. I was not paying attention and got there last, so I got the smallest cones and the left-over needles. See my bent top? I still hang my head with humility.
See my drooping top, small cones, and needles with different lengths? My seedlings grow on nurse logs and stumps in complete shade. Over time, I can mature into a tall evergreen tree and live over 1,000 years. My spring branch tips are rich in vitamin C and electrolytes and can be eaten or made into tea for energy.
WESTERN
HEMLOCK
WESTERN
RED CEDAR
SHORE PINE
SPRUCE
You can use about ½ cup of finely chopped fresh or dried cedar to do a respiratory steam. Place the cedar in a bowl, pour in some boiling water, and cover your head with a towel. Sit for 3 to 5 minutes to help clear congestion and skin health. Cones of a Cedar tree.
Baskets made from a cedar tree.
Cedar trees have scaly evergreen leaves, cones that look like miniature rose buds, and soft bark.
Correct! My small cones are shaped like rosebuds. People use my leaves for incense and for medicine including fighting coughs and colds. I can live to be over a thousand years old! Do you have a favorite cedar tree you like to visit?
I am an evergreen tree with soft furrowed bark. Coast Salish People call me “Grandmother” and “Long-Life Maker” because I offer many gifts including pliable bark, rot-resistant wood, and strong roots that are made into canoes, longhouses, baskets, tools, and art.
DOUGLAS FIR
GARRY OAK
WESTERN
RED CEDAR
SPRUCE
A moose chewing a willow branch.
Willow tree stem.
Willow tree flower bloom.
Tools used to make Willow tea.
A willow tree near a stream.
Excellent! I am a favorite food for beavers, deer, and moose. People call me Nature’s Aspirin because my bark reduces inflammation, eases pain, and reduces fever. There are many types of willow and all have medicine, but the strongest ones have a bitter Aspirin-like taste and smell like wintergreen.
I often grow near water. My flower buds are silvery and soft like kitten paws. My strong flexible branches are made into baskets and many other things.
COTTONWOOD
WILLOW
ALDER
HAWTHORN
Trunk of a Yew tree.Leaves from a Yew tree.
A close up photo of a Yew tree.
Correct! Be careful! My leaves and berries are toxic. Don’t confuse me with grand fir. My needles have pointed tips and are limey green underneath, while grand fir needles have notched tips and are silvery on the underside.
I might not get as tall as other evergreen trees, but I grow slowly, live a long time, and make hard wood. My reddish bark is shaggy and I have cones that look like red huckleberries.
GRAND FIR
DOUGLAS FIR
HEMLOCK
YEW
Illustration of a ceder tree branch.
Illustration of salmon.
Illustration of clams.

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