Our nature garden displays a variety of plants found in the Priest Lake area’s convergent ecosystems.  Over sixty labeled specimens allow you to identify many of those wildflowers, plants, shrubs, and trees that you encounter in your exploration here.  How many of them are familiar to you? How many of them are new to you? Begun in 1999,  the garden also includes a memorial plaque in remembrance of  museum family and friends.

Kalispel Language Survival School tribe members at the Priest Lake Museum

Generations of the Kalispel Tribe harvested the area’s roots, berries, and plants as part of their seasonal rounds. To honor this rich legacy, we relabeled our Nature Garden plants in Salish and English with the assistance of the Kalispel Language Survival School. Below you can explore our native plants and listen to the Salish names voiced by elder Stanley Bluff.

(Members of Kalispel Language Survival School with museum board member R-L J.R. Bluff, Jack Nisbet, Johnny Arlee, Carlos Landa, Stan Bluff, Jessie Isadore, Glen Nenemah, and Tom Weitz.)

Nature garden plants are labeled with the common name, Salish, and the Latin name. Over 30 plants include the Salish but some other names have been lost over the last century. As the Kalispel Language Survival School recovers more, the museum will add them to our labels.

Western red cedar
astqʷ
Thuja plicata

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Western white pine
ƛiyálqʷ
Pinus monticola

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Douglas-fir
cqełp
Pseudotsuga menziesii

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Quaking aspen
mlmltełp
Populus tremuloides

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Creeping Oregon grape
scals
Berberis repens

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Black huckleberry
stšałq
Vaccinium membranaceu

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Kinnikinnick, Bearberry
skʷlsełp
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Wood’s rose
Rosa woodsii

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Beargrass
slčéstiyeʔ
Rosa nutkana

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Montana ladyslipper,
Moccasin orchid
csqáneʔ qeʔšis
Cypripedium montanun

Hear the Salish word spoken here…

Lodgepole pine
qʷqʷliʔt
Pinus contorta

Western larch,
Tamarack
caqʷlš
Larix occidentalis

Western hemlock
snpnqin
Tsuga heterophylla

Englemann spruce
Picea englemannii

Alder
čičitné
Alnus sp

Ponderosa pine
sʔatqʷłp
Pinus ponderosa

Cottonwood
mulš
Populus tricocarpa

Mountain ash
smxe sʔíłis
Sorbus scopulina

Willow
qwqwpuł
Salix sp.

Rocky Mountain maple
sxʷƛulá
Acer glabrum

Oregon boxleaf,
Mountain lover
skʷlkʷlsełp
Paxistima myrsinites

White bark raspberry,
Blackcap
mcukʷ
Rubus leucoderma

Red-osier dogwood,
Red willow
stetcčxʷ
Cornus stolonifera

Utah honeysuckle
Lonicera utahensis

Black twinberry,
Bearberry honeysuckle
Lonicera involucrata

Orange honeysuckle
čilyaláqʷ
Lonicera ciliosa

Oval-leaved huckleberry,
Blue huckleberry
Vaccinium ovalifoliam

Dwarf huckleberry,
Grouseberry
sipt
Vaccinium scoparium

Mallow ninebark
txeyłp
Physocarpus malvaceus

Fool’s huckleberry
Menziesia ferruginea

Ocean spray, Ironwood
mcmceyłp
Holodiscus discolor

Saskatoon serviceberry,
Juneberry
Słaq
Amelanchier alnifolia

Bald-hipped rose
Rosa gymnocarpa

Snowberry, Waxberry
stmtmniʔáłq
Symphoricarpos albus

Syringa,
Mock orange
Philadelphus lewisii

Flat-top spirea,
Birch-leaf spirea
stštšłqéłp
Spirea lucida

Thimbleberry
polplqn
Rubus parviflorus

Pyramid spirea
Spirea pyramidata

Round-leafed alumroot
cpcúp
Heuchera cylindrica

Spreading dogbane
specn
Apocynum androsaemifolium

Goldthread
Coptis occidentalis

Bedstraw, Cleavers
Galium aparine

Horsetail
tuxʷn
Equisetum arvense

Western meadowrue
pxʷcúxʷeʔ
Thalictrum occidentale

Plantain
sčłmłmqéneʔ
Plantago major

Common mullein
Verbascum thapsus

Rattlesnake plantain
nčeʔéws
Goodyera oblongifolia

American trailplant,
Pathfinder
Adenocaulon bicolor

Fairy slipper,
Calypso orchid
sčtásšn
Calypso bulbosa

Western teaberry
Gaultheria ovatifolia

Wild Sarsaparilla
čeʔčeʔłnéłp
Aralia nudicaulis

Mountain sweet cicely
xʷʔit
Osmorhiza chilensis

Silky wormwood
qpqptełp
Artemesia dracunculus

Canadian dogwood,
Bunchberry, Cat’s eyes
Cornus canadensis

Red clover
čeʔłpícčł
Trifolium pratense

Pearly everlasting,
Strawflower
Anaphalis margaritacea

White clover
Trifolium repens

Fireweed
qʷoqʷołqnéłp
Chamerion angustifolium

Foamflower
Tiarella trifoliata

Common bluebell
stltlam sceʔékʷs
Campanula rotundifolia

Wild ginger
Asarum caudatum

Canada goldenrod
ntexʷsesmlš
Solidago canadensis

Tiger lily
Lilium columbianum

Yellow penstemon
Penstemon confertus

Bracted lousewort
Pedicularis bracteosa

Pipsissewa
sčxlxlpús
Chimaphila umbellate

Blue lupine
nqnaqtéʔ
Lupinus sp.

White pussytoes
Antennaria racemosa

Rosy pussytoes
Antennaria rosea

Selfheal, Heal-all
Prunella vulgaris

Pink wintergreen
Pyrola asarifolia

Western Solomon’s plume
tšiyéłp
Maianthemum racemosum

Queen’s cup
Clintonia uniflora

Starry false lily
of the valley
Maianthemum stellatum

Shootingstar
nccʔlo
Dodecatheon pulchellum

Wild strawberry

qeytqm
Fragaria virginiana

Stonecrop
Sedum sp.

Trillium, Wakerobin
Trillium ovatum

Twinflower
Linnaea borealis

Violet
msmsáwyeʔ
Viola sp.

Yellow violet,
Pioneer violet
Viola glabella

Yarrow
nkʷkʷá
Achillea millefolium

Dark wood violet
Viola orbiculata