May 22nd - Trees/Mosses and Lichens

Time - 1:30-3:10
Weather - Slight drizzle, low 50s, slight breeze

This class period was the first of our campus tours. My group, trees, was the first group to go. We split up the class into five groups, for five different stations, and passed the groups between them. Each of us had two trees that we were to discuss. I was station five and my two trees were Western Redcedar and Giant Sequoia. Skylar was station one, with Big Leaf Maple and Horse-chestnut, Bearden at number two with Douglas Fir and Madrone, Jessie at number three with Bigcone Pine and Deodar Cedar, and Sarah at four with Gingko and English Elm.

I discussed the characteristics of each tree, how to identify them (Western Redcedar by their braided needles and their scent when crushed, Sequoia by the fibrous bark and huge stature). I also discussed the uses of each tree (Redcedar was inherently linked to indigenous culture, as it was made into canoes and clothing, and is currently used as bases for perfume, deoderant, and insecticides, while Giant Sequoia is useless for lumber due to the nature of its bark). Finally, I talked about some interesting facts about each tree (Western Redcedar trees are associated with generosity and there is a legend that when a generous man from a tribe dies, a Western Redcedar would grow by his grave to give back to his people. Giant Sequoias can grow to be up to 300 feet tall and over 20 feet in diameter, and once boasted the biggest tree in the world, "Mother of the Forest", who has since died).

After our tour was complete, we split up into four groups and participated in the mosses and lichens tour. The first station I went to involved a clever skit about an algae meeting a fungi and forming a symbiotic relationship at a party. Next we went down Memorial Way where we learned about several different types of lichens, all present on one tree that we examined in detail. Some of these included Antlered Perfume, Shield Lichen, Candeleria concolor, and Tube Lichen. The final station we attended was at the UW Farm, where we identified different types of mosses. These included Common Feather Moss, Red Roof Moss, and Bristle Moss. We learned that during different times of the year, some mosses are easier to identify than others. On the way back to Drumheller Fountain, we got a crash course on moss and lichen biology and reproduction, and learned how to do moss graffiti!

Species List

1. Western Redcedar - Thuja plicata
2. Giant Sequoia - Sequoiadendron giganteum
3. Antlered Perfume - Evernia prunastri
4. Shield Lichen - Parmelia sulcata
5. Candeleria concolor
6. Tube Lichen - Hypogymnia physodes
7. Common Feather Moss - Eurhynchium praelongum
8. Red Roof Moss - Ceratodon purpureus
9. Bristle Moss - Orthotrichum lyellii

Posted on June 5, 2012 10:58 AM by ashersh