• Coniferous forests bring to mind images of the mountain man.senior hiker image by Pierrette Guertin from Fotolia.com
  
  Coniferous forests grow worldwide in temperate to extremely cold climates due to their resistance to frost and ice. While the Boreal Forest that encircles the Earth in northern latitudes just south of the Arctic Circle accounts for the majority of conifers---and produces about a third of the world's oxygen---coniferous forests will grow wherever it is reasonably cool. And while conifers, specifically pines, are the most numerous plants in such forests, they share the land with hundreds of other important plant species.
  
  

Saskatoon Berry (Amelanchier alnifolia)

• serviceberriesberry image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
  
  This fruiting deciduous shrub grows between 3 and 15 feet high, producing small white flowers in clusters that give rise to edible purple-black berries commonly called serviceberries. The small, oval leaves have serrated edges, especially on the upper half, and alternate positions on either side of the branch. Several varieties of deer in the Pacific Northwest graze on the berries and leaves and many Indian tribes make the stems into arrow shafts and utilize them in many other ways.
  
  

Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

• One of the more common coniferous forest plants, this woody shrub generally grows three to four feet in height, has somewhat waxy oval leaves with fine toothy borders and its small, urn-shaped pinkish-white flowers produce dark red or blue berries in profundity. The berries are edible but rather tart. Forest animals from mice, to birds, to bears feed on the small, plentiful berries. Native American tribes used the berries as an important food source and chewed the leaves as an appetite suppressant.
  
  

Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)

• ThimbleberryRaspberry image by Ilya Postnikov from Fotolia.com
  
  Found on the borders of clearings and meadows, this relative to the blackberry forms tall (over six feet high), wide thickets. Similar to those of the maple, the thimbleberry's leaves have five digits, are deciduous and are quite large. Like blackberries and its other relatives, the thimbleberry's flowers are small, white and have five petals. The berries are similar to raspberries in color and appearance, though the sweet flavor is less pronounced. Birds and many mammals eat the fruits and the fresh shoots are tender and nutritious, not to mention very tasty when steamed.
  
  

Columbine (Aquilegia Canadensis)

• Columbinecolumbine image by Andrew Orlemann from Fotolia.com
  
  Found mostly in the upper altitudes of the Rocky Mountains from northern Canada south to Colorado, the columbine's drooping bell-shaped flowers brighten the landscape with a splash of red contrasted by their bright yellow centers. Each bloom has five spurs that slightly resemble the talons of an eagle, hence the Latin name Aquila, which means eagle.
  
  

Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)

• Sword Fern Fiddleheadsyoung fern image by Anton Chernenko from Fotolia.com
  
  One of the largest and most resilient ferns, sword ferns grow in abundance especially along the edge of redwood forests and particularly along streams and riverbeds. Growing as high as five feet, the fan-like fronds are evergreen and serve as shade and covering for some of the redwood forest's more delicate species, such as redwood sorrel and trillium. As with other varieties of fern, the freshly sprouted fronds, called "fiddleheads," are edible until they uncoil and spread.