This is a moss that looks similar to fern morphology.
This plant was covering the ground near a walkway. This seems to have been planted here recently. The leaves are spade-shaped and curl inwards near the top. Most plants are bright green, while small sections are deep red and purple. The plants have flowers growing among sections coming from the ground; might the flowers come from the same root system? The stems look identical, so I figure the flowers must be a part of the plant. The flowers look like miniature daffodils in their appearance and color.
I found this plant covering the ground in the garden next to Smith Hall on campus. The leaves were splayed out and several buds were forming. A few early flowers had already bloomed-light pink petals and coral colored stamen. This plant may have been physically planted here as a horticultural edition, rather than a native species.
This Big Leaf Maple was one among many on the Burke Gilman Trail. The leaves are not at their biggest size and these trees seem to have developed their leaves slower than most other foliose trees in the area. However, the one I chose to document has flowering stems extending from the leafy area. This means it must be distributing its seeds/pollination.
This young fir was found on a hill that used to serve as a ski slope many years ago. The ground is covered in snow with no trees within 15 feet of this one. There were 2 more that I saw in the area. The needles also grow up the main branches.
This conifer had very dense and long needles, compared to the other conifers which had shorter, varied, and flatter needles. Cedars were rare to find, except near water sources. This one was found near I-90.
This fungus was found on a conifer in the forest. The color is a coral-orange, and the fungus appears as dots on the bark in the first image. The diamond shape of the fungus is interesting. What could be the advantage or reason for making a shape like this? The second image shows it on a branch in one of the many places along the branch.
This Spruce was found all over the forest area in Snoqualmie. The location is near a river, yet at higher elevations. There were also a few hemlocks in the area, which made the forest look quite homogenous. There was still snow on the ground- I'd estimate about 6-10 feet.
This tree has fungi all over it! The fungus looks different from the other specimens I encountered. They're not shelf fungi, but more rounded, smaller, and less colorful.
The weather is overcast with some sun breaks. It's 60 degrees outside. The dominant species are Douglas Fir (old growth), Western Red Cedar (old growth), Madrone, Alder, and possibly Pacific Yew (the trail mentioned it, but I couldn't identify them). There wasn't a lot of undergrowth, but when there was, I discovered Salal, Tall Oregon Grape, Ferns, and Red Alder bushes. I'm not sure what this plant is because it looks like a cross between Salal and Oregon Grape. It was located amidst more Cedar trees than anything else. It was in a pretty homogenous area besides the Cedars and Red Alders.
This is a large glacial erratic named "Waterman Rock" which is a boulder deposited in the middle of these woods by glaciers thousands of years ago. Moss covers almost the entire rock and a pathway has been formed around the entire circumference. A few years ago, I was able to climb the rock to have a picnic with some friends.The rock is surrounded by Western Red Cedars and Western Hemlocks. There is a lot of Salal undergrowth, more than any other place I'd ventured to in Saratoga.
This bush was found on the delta, quite far from the trails. The bush appears bright orange with long, wispy, and vertical branches. The bushes were typically 20 ft apart, amidst tall grasses.
The location is near Mt. St.Helens Park off the Castle Rock exit on I-5. The weather is overcast with very bright clouds; sun is trying to break through. The location is a forest and residential area. Dominant species are Maple, Cedar, Hemlock, Sword fern, lychen, moss, and English Ivy. I found this 4 foot tall shrub growing out of a multi-tree stump. It could possibly be the original growth of the cut tree, an epiphite, or a nurse log. The individual stems grow out of the stump and have buds scaling the entire stem. The buds are bright green and have some bright red spots. These spots may be the potential petals of the flowers. The close up shows the individual hairs on the bud, similar to what a pussy willow looks like when it has buds.
I found many yellow and orange protists along the trail, often attached to logs and wood surfaces, like benches. While the one attached to the end of the log is curly and somewhat horizontally layered, the one on the parallel side of the tree is more orbed and circular. Could they be different species based on the physical and color differences?
I found this banana slug on a tuft of grass along the trail. It's quite the opposite of the other slug I discovered earlier on my journey. It has more faint grooves in its hind-area.
I found this red flying bug along the trail. I was able to get quite close to it, it never flew away. It's bright red and has long rectangle-shaped wings, and it's legs are red as well..
I found many of these mushrooms around the woods, especially on trees as a shelf/bracket fungus. Some were brightly colored, some were quite dark on the top. I found a fungus underneath a shrub that was quite dark. Maybe the amount of light that a fungus experiences makes it more or less colorful.
I had never seen moss like this before. Each individual frond is like a fern-hence, fern moss. A book cites it as Hylocomium splendens. However, it could be something completely different, although a type of moss. I posted two different kinds of fern moss in the two pictures, both found along the trail and on the forest floor.
This fungus was found on a Western Red Cedar tree. It's a bracket or shelf fungus, similar to red-belted polypores which were found in other parts of the forest. The top is bright red, which should make it easily identifiable.
This fungus was growing on a fallen log. It appears in layers along the log. I wonder how far the fungal growth extends within and under the log. The fungus is brightly colored browns, tans, and oranges. It appears wavy at the sides. I saw many of these types of fungi along the trail and no two were alike. However, they would all attach to a wood surface or tree.
This slug was found at the entrance of the trail. It's black and has deep grooves on it's hind area. I haven't been able to identify it specifically based on these deep grooves and how dark it is.
This tree is possibly a Noble Fir, White fir, or a Pacific Silver Fir, but definitely in the Abies family. The pine needles have a blue-ish tint with some needles more dark green than others. The tree was around 20 feet tall and the trunk was a medium circumference. It was found at the entrance of the Saratoga Woods on South Whidbey Island. Since it's at the entrance and I saw no other trees like it, it may have been planted there.
This plant was situated between the forest and grass of our backyard. The leaves are like palm fronds and also look like green daisies.
This 4 inch plant was growing next to where my neighbors were supposed to plant their garden next to the bluff. The soil was disturbed, but is now overgrown by grasses and other unknown plants. This indicates that it is perhaps a weed. The leaves have a texture similar to the texture of mint. It looks like it may be edible-not sure.
I spotted this Robin in my neighbor's field. There are many Robins that live in the area as well as sparrows, eagles, seagulls, crows, and hawks.
St. John's Wort is all over the bluff overlooking Holmes Harbor. I believe the plant is good for sustaining soil to prevent slides and erosion. In the summer, the plant blooms bright yellow flowers. It may have been planted long ago because the most elevated part of the bluff has huge amounts-is it a vine or a bush?
This Western Red Cedar is located on the very edge of a bluff. The bluffs in the area have recently experienced damaging slides. This Cedar has survived and most likely thrived in this location. It shows the Cedar to be well-rooted-a good tree for taking up water on bluffs.
This sea plant looks like a bunch of dark spaghetti noodles. I'm not sure what it is, nor if I can ever recall seeing it in this location before. It's rooted into the sand, so it must be quite deep. The color in daylight was an interesting deep red-brown color.
