ENVIR 280: Ravenna Park : April 2013

Date: Sunday, April 21, 2013
Weather: Mostly sunny with a few clouds, dusk
Temperature: ~55 degrees F
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Ravenna Park

A repeat view of my site

*Plant species description on page labeled "Field Guide: Plants"*

This past weekend I was fortunate to spend time with family on our annual visit to 'Pott's of Gold', a cabin located on Hood Canal (see post titled "Interest at a Young Age" for more details). My relaxing weekend was filled with card games, trips to the beach, and even some bird watching! However, this adventure left only a small window of time to visit my observation site. After arriving home on Sunday evening, I trekked straight over to Ravenna Park to make some observations before the sun went down. On a happy note, this was one of the first times I got to experience my site without using an umbrella or heavy rain jacket. The sun's warmth trickled down to the forest floor through the branches above, landing softly on the creek and a number of new, blossoming species that I was eager to discover.

Although I had a few surprising discoveries during my trip, my favorite was the identification of three of the four fern species that exist in Ravenna Park, which I learned about while taking field notes during class. The first fern is the Western Sword Fern (polystichum munitum), featured in last week's blog post, is distinguished by it's dark, pinnately compound leaves with individual leaflets and seeds on the underside. This week however, some leaves were rather dry, wrinkled, and dead looking in comparison to weeks passed. They seemed a darker green than before and as some of the stalks turned brown and dead, there were still more growing up and out of the center.

Western Sword Fern (polystichum munitum)

The next identifiable fern, also featured in weeks passed, is the Lady Fern (athyrium filix-femina). The lady fern has curvy, lady shaped leaves that are bi-pinnately compound and come from straight from the ground. The leaves are lobed with fine-toothed leaflets and are a lighter green than the Western Sword Fern. These two ferns were hanging out together right at the edge of the creek on a deep, muddy landing.


Lady Fern (athyrium filix-femina)


A studied drawing of the Lady Fern (athyrium filix-femina)

The last and most exciting 'fern-find' of my trip was discovering the Licorice Ferns (polypodium glycyrrhiza) that were growing from both a Big-Leaf Maple and also, one of my other new discoveries, the Pacific Yew (taxus brevifolia). The ferns are known for living on trees and being pinnately compound with shiny, fine-toothed, broad-based leaflets. These parasitic plants are epithetic, catching the greatest amount of sunlight from water directly from the tree trunks. The Licorice Fern gets its name because the root is said to taste like black licorice.

Licorice Ferns (taxus brevifolia) grow on the upper branches
of this Big-Leaf Maple (acer macrophyllum)

Licorice Ferns (taxus brevifolia) grow on the lower branches
of this Pacific Yew (taxus brevifolia)

The Pacific Yew (taxus brevifolia) appears in my first blog post, as I quite mistakenly misnamed it to be another Big-leaf Maple. The tree has soft, flat, thick needles in two rows and a brown and purple-colored bark that is smooth and flaky. The needles are discussant, meaning that they grow against the base of the branch, which is one of its most identifiable factors. The Pacific Yew is said to have bright red berries, but they were dried up at the time. This Pacific Yew features big shaggy moss (rhytidiadelphus loreus) on almost all of the lower branches, so much so that I could only identify it by the needles found at the very tips of its branches.

Thick,flat needles of the Pacific Yew (taxus brevifolia)

While I was checking out my site, hopping from tree to shrub, looking for any sort of new growth or budding leaves, I spotted a never-before-seen species right in the heart of my site. Apparently, for the past few weeks I have missed this Pacific Bleeding Heart (dicentra formosa), and I am willing to wager that this is because the small, heart-shaped, purple flowers had not blossomed yet. The flowers bloom in small groups, two to three at a time, and droop down toward the ground. The leaves are fern-like and pinnately compound with very small, finely cut leaflets. The plant at it's full extension reaches no more than a foot off of the ground and was found on a muddy hillside right behind a Western Sword Fern.

A small patch of the Pacific Bleeding Heart (dicentra formosa)

The Pacific Bleeding Heart (dicentra formosa) at full height

My next discoveries were drawn from our in-class exploration, as I was able to clear up a few things with my knowledgeable and helpful TAs. The 'strange looking tree' that I had yet to identify last week, with smooth and light colored bark, budding fresh small green leaves and an abnormally high amount of projections from the base is said to be the Beaked Hazel (corylus cornuta), or Beaked Hazelnut Shrub. This is identifiable as being a multi-stemmed shrub with small protrusion on the ends of branches, the tiny green leaves on the very tips of branches that will host tiny nuts when they become pubescent. The small leaves have very fine, double serrated edges. I had noticed the yellow catkins on a previous visit, reminiscent of a Big-leaf Maple, however this identification as a Beaked Hazel makes much more sense.

A repeated image from Week 2, now identified
as Beaked Hazel (corylus cornuta)

The plant that seems to have given me the most trouble through the weeks is what I now claim to have found to be the Thimbleberry (rubus parviflorus). This shrub covers much of my observation site, on both sides of the creek, and its identification has confused both myself and my TAs. In my Week 2 blog post I chose to do my drawing study on this plant and mistakenly (again) called it the Vine Maple (acer circinatum). Last week, I thought my identification as a Vine Maple was genius, given that on my first visit I assumed it to be a sticker bush. However, this 'small broad-leaf tree, close to the ground with tall clusters of leaves' is actually, no tree at all, but a member of the Rose Famiy. The Thimbleberry has 5-lobed, star-like leaves with rounded, wrinkled leaves that are toothed and hairy. This identification could have been made much easier had I found it between June and August, when the shrub is fruiting and has crimson, edible berries. When I drew the plant, the leaves were only 2-3" in diameter, however, as shown in the second image below, some of the plants have grown larger leaves that even exceed the size of my hand. This is no surprise that I got it confused with a maple!

Thimbleberry (rubus parviflorus)

Thimbleberry (rubus parviflorus) in comparison to my hand

New leaf growth on a Thimbleberry (rubus parviflorus)

My adventure ended with the observation of a number of new species that remain a mystery to me. I plan on identifying them in my Field Guide, as well as asking a few of the TAs their opinions on the following pictures of plants and shrubs. They are a good starting point for something to look for in weeks to come!

Unidentified Plant Species #1

Unidentified Plant Species #2

Unidentified Plant Species #3

Now is a great time to hop over to my Field Guide on plants to learn more about some of the species featured above! Follow the link below!

http://herzomeg.blogspot.com/p/field-guide-plants_23.html

Date: Saturday, April 13, 2013

Weather: Very light sprinkles (moments before a thunderstorm)

Temperature: ~50 degrees F

Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Location: Ravenna Park

A repeat view of my site

With my first Saturday off from work in what felt like ages, I took full advantage of the hours in my 'free' day to venture down to my favorite spot in the heart of Ravenna Park. I have been lucky in this past week to have the opportunity of viewing the park (though not my exact site) through the educated eyes and ears of some of our class TAs. This experience gave me an entirely new lens with which to view the site on my own time. The crash course in which we established identifying factors for plants and labeled them with a name was astoundingly helpful and even cleared up a number of confusions I had about species I had seen the week before.

As I wandered my site, photographed plant species, and especially as I took time to create my drawings, the sound of birds filled the air. The evening would be coming soon, yet the sun still shone and shed light through the leaves and all around me. I heard three different, distinct bird calls, that varied in length (the number of chirps) and also tone (some sweet and high-pitched, others more musical). I didn't catch site of any bird that was specifiable during my visit. I do not consider myself well-versed in bird literacy, yet by the end of this quarter I hope to become familiar with basic bird-watching how-to and be able to distinguish their calls at a time like this.

I enjoyed my erratic stone once more, yet it still held a puddle in the top crevice. I can't wait for the rain to cease so that I can perch on my rock, taking in all the smells and sounds that surround me. The moss that grows on the erratic stone have not changed in color or grew since last week.

Our readings and class time from last week noted that this area is a Western Hemlock Zone (tsuga heterophylla), made distinct by the plethora of sword fern (polystichum munitum) undergrowth as well as the commonly seen Indian plum (oemleria cerasiformis) with its elongated leaves and flower bundles.

In quite the exciting discovery, I found that the deer fern (blechnum spicant) I mentioned in last week's blog is actually a Western Sword Fern (polystichum munitum). This is fern can be distinguished by its dark, compound leaves which are made up of a multitude of individual leaflets that host seeds on their underside. I was correct in my assumption of Big-leaf Maples (acer macrophyllum) in the close vicinity to my location, however, I no longer believe that the large tree with big shaggy moss (rhytidiadelphus loreus) is the best example of this case. The Big-leaf Maples (acer macrophyllum) surround the small creek and walkway, soaring high above the bulk of vegetation and into the sky. The 'tiny budding leaves with drooping clusters of small yellowish flowers' seem unchanged from the week prior, yet I will keep an eye on them in the weeks to come. These events spurred another interesting observation, that I believe that tree covered in big shaggy moss (rhytidiadelphus loreus) to be, in fact, the first Western Hemlock (pseuga heterophelia) identified in my site. It can be identified by the needles in all different lengths, and bristles that are thick and hard to the touch.

Western Sword Fern

In a search to find the non-native tree species that is said to be difficult to identify, I came across a great deal more of Douglas Firs (pseudotsuga menziesii). I had identified two last week, and learned during class that the needles of these trees don't even begin to grow until high in the trunk as a means to prevent fire and become fire resistant. During this hunt, I also came across a strange looking tree that I have yet to identify. It is smooth and light-chestnut colored with budding, fresh green leaves. It's most uncommon characteristic is the high number of trunks that project from a single root in the ground. The tree is fairly low to the ground and slightly covered in moss.

Species still unknown to me!

The last tree species I came across in this venture is what I take to be a Horse Chestnut (aesculus hippocastanum). This tree is characterized by big, floppy, hand-like leaves and a vibrant green color. The one I found exhibits all of these qualities and is similar to the image I found in my field guide!

Horse Chestnut Tree

Although I thought that my patrol around the site within 50 meters was adequate in weeks past, this week came to prove that one more step can open a world of possibilities. One of my favorite plants, Skunk Cabbage (symplocarpus foetidus) was not only found only a few feet east of my site, but as part of an entire colony that lines the river. Their prehistoric qualities create an unmatched aesthetic appeal in comparison to other forest plants and they smell like fresh nature. I learned during class that the yellow 'flower' is really only the spathe, that protects the flower, and that the Skunk Cabbage (symplocarpus foetidus) can produce enough heat in the winter to melt snow off of itself.

Patch of skunk cabbage

The rest of my observations involve descriptions of species that are currently flowering and leafing, and also ones that I have yet to identify. For example, the common horsetails (equisetum arvense) mentioned last week have now moved into two different stages. In the first stage, stalks grow green and long with individual leaflets that resemble needles, while the second transforms them to a fruiting stage that creates spores and an entirely new representation of the species to the point where they are unrecognizable.

The Common Horsetails (you can see a horsetail in the fruiting stage in the center back of the image)

Last week, the 'purple plant' that 'only had a few buds' and was unidentifiable to my untrained eye, but now, I can say with confidence that this is Salmonberry (rubus spectabilis) and will soon produce fruit from the delicate purple flowers. It can be identified by its simple leaves with toothed edges and distinct purple bud.


Salmonberry Bush

Lastly, on the notion of my previous statement regarding 'sticker bushes' next to the common horsetails (equisetum arvense), these plants did not turn out to be 'sticker bushes' in the slightest. Growing from the swampy mud in a number of locations around my site is the Vine Maple (acer circinatum). This small sprawling tree has vine-line branches and soft, small, simple leaves with toothed edges. I felt so silly for thinking that this plant would be the one to 'stick' me. For this reason, and the pleasing star-like shape of the leaf, I chose to focus on this Vine Maple (acer circinatum) for the drawing exercise. I love drawing, so time spent focusing on a simple leaf, or a single branch, was anything but boring. In my early drawings, I focused mainly on the shape of the leaf and ridges within it. In the later sketches, I moved onto the vine to show further representations with a number of other leaves as well.

Exercise 1: CHOOSING WHAT TO DRAW

Almost everywhere I turned there would be a vine maple. This grouping was growing from a small broadleaf tree, close to the ground, and had an out-spurting cluster of leaves that stood at the highest point, at my eye-level. The distance from the leaf to the bottom of its stalk was about eight inches.

Exercise 2: OBSERVATION

In observation of the entire plan, the leaves appear to reach for the sun in an upwards projection. The small trunk of the tree climbs vertically in a curvilinear fashion to create a stable platform. It seems to me that the goal of this tree is to grow as tall as possible, with a minimal amount of substance. The origin of this plan surely leads to an older vine maple, as they grow in abundance at Ravenna Park. The leaf is a vibrant green with a somewhat wrinkled surface and small fuzzy fibers that coat the leaf like hair. I was drawn to the plan by its star-like shape and animated projections.

Exercise 3: MEMORY SKETCH