holodiscus discolor
Ocean Spray is native to southern British Columbia, southern California, east to western Montana, Colorado, and Arizona. It is very common along the roads of Vancouver Island. It can easily be recognized by its triangular leaves with its toothed margins. The green, upper surface of the leaves is smooth or coarsely hairy; the paler, under surface, is strongly veined with soft hairs. Its long flowing flowers are white to cream. It is a strikingly beautiful flower during its short bloom period.
The wood, known as “Ironwood” in English, was used by natives to make many tools. You can make it even harder by heating it over a fire and then polishing it with horsetail stems. It was used for roasting meat because it wouldn’t burn, it was also used for digging sticks, fishing hooks, needles, canoe paddles, bows, spears, harpoons, and arrow shafts, Oceanspray pegs were used in construction when nails were not readily available. It was and is a very versatile plant.
Dried flower heads were boiled in water to make a solution that when drunk would alleviate diarrhea in children, it was safe even for infants. A poultice of bark and leaves could be used on burns and unhealing sores. The seeds of the ocean spray plant are used in the form of a blood cleanser. An infusion prepared from the seeds of this herb has been used to treat measles, smallpox and chicken pox.
Ocean spray shrubs attract many butterflies. Elk, deer, and other wildlife eat the leaves and twigs of this plant. In addition, this plant offers shelter to various species of birds. Many birds find safety when roosting among the flower heads, and some species of birds, like bushtits, prefer them for nesting sites.