Coast rhododendron, the state flower of Washington

How to recognize it

The coast rhododendron is an evergreen shrub, usually 3 to 16 feet tall and sometimes a small tree. Its thick, leathery leaves are 3 to 6 inches long, dark green above and paler beneath, crowded in whorls at the branch tips. In late spring and early summer it bears large, loose clusters of bell-shaped flowers, each 1 to 1.5 inches long, rose-purple to pink and occasionally nearly white.

Where it grows

The coast rhododendron is native from southern British Columbia to northern California, mainly west of the Cascades, as an understory shrub in mixed conifer forests from the coast to middle elevations. It is less abundant in Washington than farther south. It tolerates dry summers better than many rhododendrons, resprouts from its root crown after fire or cutting, and can live about 60 years.

Where to see it

Mount Walker in Olympic National Forest, the only peak facing Puget Sound with a road to the summit, has native rhododendrons along the road and at both viewpoints, blooming bright purplish pink in May and June.

Chosen before women could vote

Washington’s state flower was picked by women. In 1892, so the state would have a flower to show at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Washington women chose the rhododendron over clover in a statewide ballot, years before they could vote in state elections. The Legislature first adopted a state flower in 1949, and in 1959 it amended the law to name the native species, Rhododendron macrophyllum, specifically.