a small plant with crimson flowers, when the leaves were tasted, there was a distinct sour, lemon flavor.
a small plant with interesting brown sores on the leaves. several other individuals also had these on their leaves
One individual was found trekking along the vehicle path toward the grass coming from the parking area.
An interesting configuration of fronds for this sword fern; it was found above the floodplain, near one of the roads.
An Invasive plant found in the floodplain of this natural area. large areas were taken over by fields of these tall plants.
distinctive flowers on this honeysuckle stand out as a distinguishing characteristic, only a few individuals were seen on this trip.
Saskatoon was one of only a few flowering shrubs found here at this time.
Thimbleberry was spread out as some of the varying ground cover plants throughout this location
several individuals of hazelnut were here, as one of many species found near the parking area at this location.
Cascara among many other species near the parking area at this park.
Vine Maple growing alongside parking area.
Our last mushroom examined, which we have seen on campus, was an Artist Conc. These have to be my favorite mushrooms because of their unique artistic canvas. On the underside of Artist Concs are thousands of small pores. However, if one draws on these pores the image will stay forever. I learned that these mushrooms grow a new layer each year. The one picked up at the site was about seven or eight inches across. We found four on a log by our parking site.
Before we left Index Road we looked at two different mushrooms. One mushroom is called Polyporous badius. This mushroom has an odd non-symmetric shape and pores underneath it without gills. These pores are visible without a hand-lens, but the lens brings more clarity. Underneath the mushroom, where the pores are, is completely white. However, on top the mushroom is varying shades of brown. The very edges tend to be a lighter brown than the middle. I learned that the spores for this mushroom are held inside the long pores.
I have to say I find these plants absolutely beautiful. The leaves have a lacey quality about them, and are very light and nimble. The purple flower is downward facing and looks somewhat like the shape of a heart. We saw about three of these plants, but I have seen them on campus before and did not know what they were. While the light purple flowers are beautiful I think I like the leaves the best. They seem very unique to me. I took a leaf and traced it in my journal (please see picture).
Along our way we came across a slimy black slug on top of a dead leaf. I do not know the species of the black slug or what kind of distinguishable features I should look for trying to identify the slug. I know it was about an inch long. The picture can provide more information.
Stinging nettles can cause an extreme amount of discomfort if touched. The leaves are deeply toothed and it has a couple holes in the leaves, mostly likely from an insect. The leaves are very wide. Most noticeable are the large spikes on the stalk. We did not see very many of these plants, fortunately; only about two or three on our entire trip. At the base of the Stinging Nettle were more False Lily of the Valleys.
The leaves seem to grow in parallel with the ground and the small white flower is underneath the leaf. I think the flower is under the leaf to protect itself from the rain. The flower is white in color and about an inch long. I included a rough sketch of the plant that I drew. The leaves have indented strips, about four or five per leave going outward. The stem has small little hairs on it.
Farther into the forest are a few Wood Ferns. These were not nearly as abundant as the False Lilies, but there are at least five in our general area. They have thin stalks and dainty leaves. There are little brown hairs grown on the side of the stalk.
Directly on the side of the road are more than 50 False Lily of the Valley plants. Some of these had small white buds shooting from the top of them, but not all. The leaves are incredibly smooth and heart shaped. As the name suggests these plants have a certain quality to them that could mistake them for Common lilies. The parallel veining in the leaves could suggest this. The plants are only about five inches tall. Underneath the plants is a thick layer of dead tree leaves, twigs and decaying matter. I could also hear a river in the background. I think this is the same river as the one at the Goldbar stop.
This plant is deciduous, but drops its leaves in the summer so when winter comes around there is plenty of light shining through the trees for the plant. Found growing in coniferous trees along Index Road. A few students in my group ventured to try and eat these plants, but many found the taste dissatisfying.
It is about two and a half feet talk, but the interesting characteristic about this fern is that it is curled up very very tight and as it grows it unravels. The stem is sturdy and thick. I am also not sure I heard the name of this plant correctly.
Past the parking lot closer to the road we found a Dogwood tree. The leaves felt somewhat like paper and I learned a unique way of being able to identify a Dogwood using its leaves. By gently pulling the leaves in opposite directions (from stem to tip) the leaf will break apart, but small strings will remain attached to either side. I drew a small illustration of this in my journal. I never knew this about Dogwoods, but it is a very cool fact. The flowers on the dogwood were bright white and had four petals. The middle was a bunch of small rough yellow structures that formed together to make a half sphere shape.
As we were walking back to the parking lot along the trail (that seemed to loop) we heard a bird. There were many birds in the area, but this one in particular caught our guide and professor’s attention. Using the iBird application on the iPhone our professor put out calls of the Hermit Warbler, which is what they thought it was. The bird moved a little bit closer, but upon examination we discovered that the bird was not a Hermit Warbler, but rather a Black Threader. After trying to find the bird online, I think I might have heard the name wrong, especially the ‘threader’ part. Since the bird was very far away and high up in the trees I was unable to take a picture, but I did take a picture of the area in which we found it.
Directly next to the Indian Plum was a Pacific Crab Apple. I have seen this tree on campus (during a fungi tour), but it was wonderful to see the tree in its natural habitat. The tree was blooming with whitish-pink blossoms near the river. It hung over the trail.
On the outskirts of a clear space near the river was an Indian Plum plant with berries. I was very happy to see the berries on the Indian Plum because our first field trip showed us the Indian Plum in its flowering stage and now we were seeing the berries growing (which were very green and unripe at this point).
This whole area is full of cottonwoods. One in particular was found near the bank of the river, however, it has been partially uprooted possibly due to flooding. Lines on the tree showed that the soil came up much higher than where it was now and many of the roots were visible. While partially uprooted the tree seemed to be surviving and there were still many leaves growing at the top.
Along this same path I came across an unknown flower. Its stem has small thin spike on it. I did not touch them to see if they were bendable because I am unfamiliar with this plant and I did not know if it had any poisonous properties. The flowers of the plant were coming directly off the stem and downward facing. The petal-structures were bright pink and very small (only about half a centimeter long) and curled back onto the plant. The top of the plant seemed to have many more of these flowers, but they were all green and unopened. It also was drooping down, but this seems like a natural characteristic of the plant rather than a sign of poor health. The leaves have three general pointed sections, but the whole perimeter of the leaf is dentate. I would love to learn what plant this is. I could not find it in my guidebook and nobody I was around seemed to know what it was.
Along the path to the river on the left side was a Snowberry plant. Its leaves are very rounded, but the leaves closer to the base had some denates on them. This plant was not yet producing berries and was four feet high at its highest.
We saw a Big Leaf Maple plant, which was still young, but a good comparis
