May 22nd

May 22nd
Trees:
Madrone Arbutus menziesii (see iNaturalist) have a characteristic bark that peels. They have broad deciduous leaves and they are denser than oaks. When planted they help prevent erosion and their leaves can be chewed to relieve cramps and stomachaches.
Douglas firs Pseudotsuga menziesii are actually members of the pine family. They have cones that are 3-4 inches long.
The Big Cone Pine or Coulter Pine Pinus coulteri is known for having the biggest cones of all the cedar trees. It is native to Southern California and Mexico and its needles are in bundles of 3. The trees take about two years to fully mature.
English Elm Ulmus procera are trees that make suckers. That means that from the roots can grow a genetically identical tree. The branches are known to fall so they can be a hazard, but they are considered beautiful so they are still planted.
Gingko trees Ginkgo biloba are one of the oldest, genetically un-changed trees on earth. Their leaves are forked and their seeds smell like vomit/rancid butter. (yum!) Due to the unappealing smell of their seeds, all of the Gingko trees on our campus are male. Cool side note, the leaves are considered an aphrodisiac.

Mosses & Lichens:
Mosses are Bryophytes. They evolved from Green Algae and they are haploids, which means they have 1 set of chromosomes. Mosses are spore forming and they need water for fertilization. They rely on water and wind for dispersal and are found in a variety of environments. They are particularly hardy because they can go dormant for some time if the conditions are too dry for them to function properly. They don’t have a root system. There are over 700 species of moss in Washington State alone.
One big difference between mosses and lichen is that mosses have sporophytes while lichens do not.
Algae and fungi will go through a process called lichenization in order to form lichen. Lichen can go dormant when it is too dry out jut like mosses can. Lichen obtain water and nutrients from the air, therefore they are very sensitive to air pollution. Their level of stress is directly related to the number of reproductive, abnormal branching and less vibrant coloring. The more complex the structure of a lichen is the less tolerant of pollution it will be.

Posted on June 5, 2012 06:57 AM by mhf5