PNW Native
From Southern Alaska to Southern California, ranging East to Montana and Utah (GD) Pacific ninebark is a thicket-forming shrub that grows up to 5 m / 13 ft tall. Bark strips off and peels in layers. Leaves are simple, alternate, deciduous, and multi-lobed with deep parallel venation and dark green, slightly reflective apical surface. Flowers are in large, hemispheric clusters with small white petals and numerous stamens. Fruits are dried follicles full of shiny, yellow seeds. (PM)
Ninebark has low value as browse for ungulates, but provides important nesting grounds and cover for small game. (GD) Pacific ninebark prefers sites both moist and open such as damp forests, streamside margin thickets, wetlands and marshes, lakeshores, and low meadows. (PM)
The Duwamish stripped young shoots of bark and boiled shoots into an emetic. (Gunther) The Coast Salish, Kwakwaka’wakw, and Nuxalk made a similar emetic and purgative medicine from sticks boiled with outer bark peeled. The Nuxalk considered ninebark highly toxic and used their ninebark medicines to treat scrofulous on the neck and gonorrhea. The Nuu-chah-nulth constructed toy bows for their children from ninebark, and the newest indigenous use for ninebark has been as sewing needles by the Cowichan. (PM)
Pacific ninebark is suitable to assist in soil bioengineering due to its fibrous root system and propensity to develop roots from rootless cuttings. Applications used with ninebark include brush mats, fascines, and live stakes. Pacific ninebark is specially-suited for plantings to prevent streamside and lakeside erosion. (G) It has mild ornamental value for wild gardens and woodlands. (GD)
[1] PACIFIC NINEBARK Physocarpus capitatus (Pursh) Kuntze. Gonzalves, P. and Darris, D. USDA NRCS Plant Materials Center, Corvallis, Oregon. https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_phca11.pdf
