Madrona Woods and this entire area of Seattle was clear-cut more than 100 years ago.  The natural succession of plants which would have followed has been disturbed by the urban environment that has grown up around it. There are few western red cedars, Doublas firs and western hemlocks, which would have been the majority of big trees by this time. Instead, big-leaf maples nearing the end of their natural lives make up most of the canopy. The conifers have not been able to take root and grow because of the mat of ivy on the ground and the superior survivability of invasive English holly and laurel trees.

There are also some copper beech, buckeye, hawthorn, cherry and mountain ash, which are not native but are not terribly invasive. All these invasive and exotic species were probably "planted" in the Woods by birds and neighbors who had them in their yards. The English ivy is the most common invasive plant covering the ground and trees, but dragon arum, herbrobert, English plantain, purslane, buttercup, European bittersweet nightshade, bindweed and clematis are other exotics competing for space here.  A major portion of the restoration work involves eliminating exotics and replacing them with suitable native plants.