Part one of Journal entry one
March 31, 2012
Today, I arrived with my Natural History class to Pack Forest. Now before going into any further details, I must confess that I have very little knowledge of vegetation, animals, birds, and insects. But what I lack for in knowledge I make up for with a natural curiosity.
On the way to Pack Forest, my van mates and I were encouraged to look at how the needles on a tree are arranged (clumped or not clumped) and to concentrate on common trees and shrubs.
After reaching our destination, we took a short hike through one of the forest trails, taking note that the vegetation was primarily dominated by alder, western hemlock trees and sword fern. We had an overcast sky, but no rain. One of our guides taught us a cool little rhyme to help distinguish sedges from rushes and grasses:
‘Sedges have edges
rushes are luscious,
grasses are asses with holes.”
After returning outside from our lunch break, we spotted what we were eventually able to identify to be a Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana). I learned a fascinating characteristic about this type of tree- its branches nearly grow directly outward from its trunk. One of my field guides (Plants and Animals of the Pacific Northwest) also confirmed that the wood can have a fragrant scent, almost like that of lemon rind.
On our next walk through a different trail in Pack Forest, my group was asked a peculiar question, ‘Do lichen prefer alder to big leaf maple?’ Presently, I do not have the answer for this question. Though I do believe I have spotted more lichen on alder compared to big leaf maple….
One of the first plants our group came across was a hairy cat’s ear (Hypochaeris radicata L.). It really does have the appearance of a dandelion, but it feels tougher as well as hairier. We were also informed that it is an invasive species.
Next, our group stumbled upon yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), also known as milfoil. This plant gets tall in late summer. Flies pollinate it. The following question was posed, ‘What attracts flies to yarrow?’ In general, flies seem to be attracted to odorous (most often bad smelling to a human) objects. But, I am not certain that the scent of yarrow is what attracts a fly to pollinate it.
While on our walk we were encouraged to look for opposite vs. alternate branch patterns. I am now realizing that this can be a difficult thing to distinguish at times. One must be careful in making any assumptions for a section of tree could appear to have alternate branches when really a few branches could have broken off during, say, a wind storm.
While we were on the subject of different methods of pollination, we learned that wind pollinated plants don’t have to be pretty or smell good. The wind has no attraction to appearances or scents, so there is no need for these traits.
We then came across Indian Plum (Omeleria cerasiformis). It is another plant which attracts flies. We were told with certainty that flies pollinate this one due to its odor. We also learned a neat little fact that flies come out before bees. So, a lot of the blooming flowers we were seeing were most likely pollinated by flies.
Now we began walking through more of a muddy terrain, where a member of our group eyed something peculiar. Our guide confirmed it to be a mushroom, a very unique looking mushroom. From a quick glance, it would appear to have the countenance of a brain. We would later learn that that the mushroom we found is called morel. Our guide then gave us a plethora of interesting facts regarding mushrooms:
lots of organisms have symbiotic relationships with mushrooms
o example: soil fungi form partnernships with plants—plants give fungus sugar-in turn, the fungus provides nutrients- the term mycorrhizae means ‘fungus root’—Upon doing a bit more research on the term, Texas A&M University explains that it is a mutualistic association between a fungus and the roots of the plants
After we each had a turn at snapping a photo of the peculiar mushroom, we then found trillium-an entirely new flower that I had never known about before. Trillium, we were told, always has 3 leaves and 3 petals. It has quite the memorable name and a unique presence about it. Somehow, the flower just stands out. Reading from my earlier mentioned field guide, I later learned that the petals of the flower turn a pink color as they age. The one that our group had come across had more of a white color, so it may be assumed that we found a young trillium. Also, I am unsure of how trillium is pollinated.
It befuddles my mind how I have never once noticed nor even heard of this tree before, but the next specimen our eyes happened to meet was the madrone. Characterized for its red peeling bark, what a majestic tree! Given the disparities of the geographical locations of the other species of madrone, I think it safe to assume the tree was Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii). But how has it thrived it there for so long? My field guide says that the madrone mostly grows in rocky, well-drained soils. I don’t think the forested area this particular tree was growing in could be described to have such a type of soil. And it was not even the only one. We spotted a few other madrone trees, amidst all the conifers.
Our guide next brought us to a stop to take a look at a western hemlock. It is a type of conifer that has soft and droopy needles, which vary in length. I must confess that I had never taken the time to stop and touch a western hemlock. Until that time, I hadn’t ever even recognized the name ‘western hemlock.’ So, I was amazed by how smooth the needles of this tree truly were.
Next, our group came upon a plant that took a good 15 minutes to identify. It had opposite branches and a reddish tint. No leaves were on it at the time, which probably made it quite a bit more difficult to identify. Finally, two of our guides came to an agreement that what we were looking at was a vine maple.
