Winter Solstice

Here at wildflower blog central we are out and about looking for that last leaf of the season. Which is to say, the flowers are gone, it's getting colder, and our daylight is slipping away like coins left in a pay phone. We don't get paid for ruminating about the weather though, so the cameras keep clicking away even though our blog topics may lose some nutritional value as we plod into winter. But there is some positive; when we do have a sunny day, the low angle of the sun makes for some good photo ops, either natural or man made. So stay tuned for some of those in the weeks ahead.

And, just to expand a bit on that "dwindling daylight" topic, have you noticed how there is a hiccup in the winter solstice concept. It's not an obvious thing, but if you have an astronomy or meteorology bent you may have noticed that the earliest sunset (4:27 PM) of the year happens in mid December, not on the solstice day, which this year is December 21st at 8:49 PM here in our area. Likewise, the latest sunrise of the year (7:51 AM) comes for about a week in late December and early January. But, not to worry, the two shortest daylight dates this year are December 20th and 21st, providing an anemic 8 hours, 42 minutes, and 11 seconds of the good stuff. From there we add a few seconds to daylight each day, even though our sunrise times keep getting later until early January.

The short explanation for the difference is that solar time and calendar time are not exactly synchronized and you can't just go adjust calendar time every year to fix it. The sync problem seems to be due in part to the earth's tilt (23.5 deg.) and our elliptical orbit around the sun. If you want more detail, there are reams of articles out there to read on the subject. In any event, no matter how you slice it, December is a bad month for solar panels...

In other news, we are starting to see more of those shady lowlifes loitering about on local trails. Of course I am talking about our fungus friends, that show us not all plant life has to be colorful! One of my favorites, is the delightful turkey tail fungus which can be found on just about any dead log in western Oregon.

My fondness for mushrooms does not extend into the realm of hunting and picking them. I'll leave that to the experts and continue to enjoy the culinary side of fungus in the kitchen.

And speaking of the kitchen, a cup of that hot green tea is calling me. There's probably a cookie in there as well with my name on it. So to close out this post, the staff here at wildflower blog central sends best holiday wishes to you and your loved ones. May the new year bring many new opportunities to enjoy the natural world.

Finding Ferns

As we walk around the forest trails in search of wildflowers, birds, and the occasional animal, we sometimes overlook the unsung heroes of the understory: ferns. Here in western Oregon there are plenty of forest understory trails to visit, so you are going to see ferns just about any time of year. Ferns don't have flowers or seeds, so it's easy for them to fade into the green background, going unnoticed.

Even though they may look delicate, our native ferns are quite hardy. Most are able to withstand bitter freezing temperatures as well as extended hot summer dry spells; about half are evergreen. These ferns are descendants of ancient tropical plants that thrived in the time of large reptiles.

In our area, there are half a dozen common native ferns that you can see on just about any forest trail on the west side of the Cascade mountains. Sword ferns and Maidenhair ferns are probably the most easily identifiable ones. Ferns were used for a variety of purposes by our indigenous peoples, including insulation, bedding, food, and even games for children. Here's an overview of the most common ferns in our hiking area:

• Western Sword - Polystichum munitum. Evergreen. 
• Maidenhair - Adiantum aleuticum. Evergreen.

Maidenhair and Sword (upper right) ferns near Gales Creek

Sword Ferns and Firs in Tillamook Forest in June

New Sword fronds emerge in April

Maidenhair Fern near Gales Creek

Sword Fern at Rood Bridge Park

• Licorice - Polypodium glycyrrhiza. Evergreen. They are commonly seen growing on trees and stumps.

At Rood Bridge Park in November

Licorice Ferns bottom view

• Deer - Blechnum spicant. Evergreen. Resembles the Sword fern, but narrower with darker stalk/axis.

Deer Ferns at Drift Creek Falls trail June

Deer and Sword (top left) ferns

• Oak - Gymnocarpium dryopteris. These are tiny ferns, up to six inches or so.

Oak Ferns with Oregon Oxalis

• Bracken - Pteridium aquilinum. Seen in foreground below with Cow Parsnip.

Bracken Ferns in May

Bracken Ferns in mid November

• Lady - Athyrium filix-femina. Seen in lower left below, along with Maidenhair (right side) and Sword (upper left). These were at the bottom of Drift Creek Falls in the Coast Range.

And if you made it this far down the post, here's your bonus fern!

• American Parsley - Cryptogramma acrostichoides. Although not uncommon, I have only seen this one a couple of times.

Parsley Fern on Saddle Mountain, 6-2014

Links:

Parsley Fern Page

Gold Rush

Big Leaf Maple, 11/07/2014

As November arrives, I finally have to face the inevitable truth. Summer is really gone and Fall is here. Especially when we do that annual clock dance and "daylight saving" ends, leaving us dazed and confused. The reality also hits home when the trusty hiking shorts stay in the drawer day after day. For us nature lovers all is not lost however. Before we resort to taking pictures of our pets, we can still head outside - no wildflowers to bag, but plenty of other things to find.

If you've been out and about on a trail in the last couple of weeks then you've noticed the foliage show all over the state. Here in the lowlands of western Oregon we peaked about a week ago, which got me thinking about how this all happens. After living here in the area for more than 30 years, it seems that the leaf color changes happen at the same time regardless of climate. And it also seems that most of our native broadleaf trees around here produce mostly gold and yellow colors.

Black Cottonwood, 11/22/2013

So I spent a couple of days wading through some of the Internet articles about fall foliage and leaf colors. Don't worry though, I'm not going to spell out the entire process here. You can follow the links below for the full-meal-deal, which is actually pretty interesting if you are so inclined.

Suffice to say, even though trees don't have a brain, they are well equipped to recognize seasonal changes. The leafy trees can detect the amount of daylight and use that as a calendar of sorts to set in motion a chain of events to drop their leaves and prepare for winter. When the length-of-day threshold is reached for a given tree, it gradually stops making any new chlorophyll. The lack of chlorophyll allows the leaf's color pigments to show. That is why this preparation happens at the same time every year, regardless of weather conditions. That answered my first question about when, but how about the colors?

Well, the very short version of this answer is that most of our native broadleaf deciduous trees here in western Oregon seem to have more xanthophylls (yellow) pigments in their leaves. Trees such as Big Leaf Maple, Black Cottonwood, Willow, Oregon Ash, White Oak, and Red Alder all have the dominating yellow pigments that make them appear gold and yellow as the chlorophyll fades away. We have a few native trees that have more orange (carotenoids) and purple (anthocyanins) pigments, such as dogwood and vine maple.


And finally, the year-to-year variations in the appearance or "quality" of the foliage show are due to temperature, moisture content in soil, and amount of sunlight. Eventually the leaves no longer receive any nutrients from the stems and they drop off and head straight to your rain gutters.

Oregon Ash, 10/16/2015

I couldn't really find any articles as to why so many of our native broadleaf trees have the xanthophylls pigment. My guess is that it is probably an evolutionary adaptation to attract or repel critters, or perhaps just a factor of what's in the soil and air.

Another interesting topic for outdoorsy retired people like me to ponder is "What is it about Fall leaves that bring us delight?" For many there is an almost spiritual value to a good day of leaf admiration. This recent article from Psychology Today offers a few insights, including stress reduction, visual stimulation, and childhood memories.

Of course the visual arts, poets, and musicians have ridden on the coattails of Fall foliage seemingly forever. One enduring contribution is "Autumn Leaves" as performed by nearly every singer and jazz musician in the past 60 years. It was originally written in France, and later adapted by Johnny Mercer and performed by Jo Stafford. Take a look on the Wiki page for this historic song!

So, to wrap up this post, as those prospectors used to say, "get out there and enjoy the gold before it's gone!"

Links:

Overview of Fall Color

USDA Blurb

Wikipedia on Fall Leaf Colors

Psychology Today on Leaf Color

On a Mission

If you are a regular reader of this blog, thank you for your loyalty! I don't offer a rewards card, but hopefully the information you get here is useful in some way. Regular readers also know I often make a distinction between native and non-native plants. And a couple of times a year, I harp on the more undesirable invasive plants we come across. Of course, some of the non-natives are ornamental garden plants that are not a problem. On the other hand, invasive and noxious plants can present a real problem for our native plants, animals, and humans.

Today's post covers some local history and touches on the impact of invasives and the resources needed to control or eliminate them. There are a variety of websites and booklets published by the state and county that cover invasives. Many are aimed at the agricultural audience. For the rest of us, see the links below for a couple of useful references.

As most local school children learn in school, in the 1800's families from the east made the difficult journey to the Willamette Valley to obtain farmland and start new lives. And it was a tough, labor-intensive lifestyle that often ended in failure. One of the most popular destinations of the day was the land along the Willamette River. Our indigenous residents had long reaped the benefits of this flat, fertile land.  As "Euro-white" folk arrived, the population of humans and farm animals increased and that was the beginning of an altered landscape, where native plants and animals were eliminated or struggled to survive.

Willamette River today, from Willamette Mission State Park

We know that a Methodist Mission was established along the Willamette River near Salem in 1834 by the Rev. Jason Lee. Its purpose was to convert the native people to Christianity, as well as providing a school, a hospital of sorts, and living quarters. The mission expanded with a blacksmith shop and granary until 1840 when it moved to Salem for better access to supplies and manpower. Then, as fate would have it, the big flood of 1861 wiped out the original mission site. The river course changed after the flood, moving west about 1/4 mile.

     

At left: present day low waterline in summer; at right: Mission Lake (river prior to flood)

The land was later used by farmers for walnut and hazelnut orchards. Eventually the land around the original mission site became Willamette Mission State Park. I could not find a specific date as to when the area became a state park, but it has been a park for decades.

Today, the park's 1,600 acres offer about 8 miles of very flat walking trails, horse trails, camping, disc golf, a large day use area, and several miles of riverfront. From a naturalist-botanical point of view, the land is a mix of natural and cultivated areas, with one large gem: the nation's largest Black Cottonwood tree. On the downside, because of the history of the park and its many uses over the years, it is overrun with non-native, invasive plants. I had an email conversation with the park manager about this and he explained they are "on a mission" to eliminate the non-natives. They have partnered with several non-profit organizations to help. We saw some of those efforts along the flood plain trails, where blackberry, scotch broom, and tansy ragwort have been removed. It's a tough battle though, because every cleared area is an opportunity for new invasives to grow as you can see from the photos below.

Here's a short view of some of the non-native plants. Click photo to enlarge, and mouse-over the photo for names.

     

     

     

     

And last but not least, here's that champion Black Cottonwood that has been growing since 1735, give or take...

     

     

The park history is intertwined with a fascinating cast of characters who were mired in politics of the day. One interesting tidbit: In 1840 Salem, the Canadian born Rev. Jason Lee and other Canadians created the Oregon Institute for "Euro-American," children, now known as Willamette University. See the links below for additional history.

Another curiosity, according to park literature, are the roses that grow around the Jason Lee Mission monument by the lake. Back in 1837 when Rachael Beardsly Beers arrived to the Mission with her blacksmith husband, she planted rose cuttings she brought along. Over the years these roses have become naturalized in the park and can be seen blooming in early summer, in particular near the Mission monument.

OPB Invasives Show

OPB Invasives Quick Guide

Oregon Invasives Hotline Site - for reporting invasives

Garden Smart Oregon - A Guide to Non-Invasive Plants - A PDF of a very useful booklet

Jason Lee History

Oregon Mission History

Willamette Mission State Park Official Site

Water Primrose Info

Autum & Inventions

As every photographer knows, and these days that includes anyone with a camera phone, fall is the time for capturing colorful leaf pictures. The tiny phone cameras are one of man's most useful inventions and they are put to the test daily. According to Popular Photography, about a trillion photos are uploaded every year. That includes over 200,000 a minute going up to Facebook and at least 30,000 a minute to Instagram. Of course most of those are pictures of cats and dinner plates rather than colorful fall leaves.

It's a blissful time as we humans watch the hues of nature take their course. Thankfully, you don't have to be a botanist or even an adult to appreciate the rush of fall colors; and the price is right: free! There is something peaceful and somber about falling leaves as evidenced by thousands of  autumn themed poems and paintings created for centuries. Then, like an empty glass of ice tea on a scorching hot day, the show is over and tree limbs lay bare, ready for winter.

When the camera clicking ends, and the leaves are on the ground, the blissful feeling ends as one of man's worst inventions of all time makes its presence known: the powered leaf blower! If you live in town or in a rural area, you probably hear these infernal machines blasting away at leaves, moving them from one location to another while creating a racket and wasting power and fuel. What ever happened to rakes? I suppose the motivation comes from trying to gain the upper hand on the change of seasons. But I digress....

If you've been out and about on local trails lately, you've probably noticed some colorful berries and seeds along with all the leaves. We've seen quite a few, so I wanted to give equal time to these unsung heroes that brighten our days in a more subtle way and in many cases provide nutrition for birds and insects long into winter.

English Hawthorn - Non Native

Common Snowberry - Native

Clustered Wild Rose Hips - Native

Red Osier Dogwood - Native

Creeping Cotoneaster - Non-Native

Fuller's Teasel - Non-Native

Pacific Madrone - Native

English Holly - Non-Native

If you go up to the mountains, you might
see the native Cascade Mountain
Ash (Sorbus scopulina).

In the valley, Rowan (Sorbus sp.) is related to the shrub shown
above. These trees are native to the Northern Hemishere
and have a rich history of folklore and tradition. See link below.

Even though I hate to see summer end, there is much to look forward to in the coming months besides photo ops: apple cider, pumpkin pie, spice lattes, standard time, and of course the joy of replacing the batteries in our smoke alarms!

For a closer look at some of the shrubs and trees in this post, two good books published at OSU Press are available at bookstores and public libraries. There are also abbreviated online versions. See links below.

Links:

Trees to Know in Oregon

Shrubs to Know in the Pacific Northwest

Rowan Wiki Page