UW Arboretum Part 1

May 26th, 2012 7PM -9PM

It is a warm, beautiful day that is suited for the weather of the first day of three day weekend. By this time of the year, spring is starting to fade and is gradually replaced by summer weather. I have been spending the day in a polo shirt and shorts as it has been the perfect temperature to be in such attire. In this beautiful day I decide to visit the UW arboretum, which is a property of the University of Washington but unfortunately not many people know about it. The UW arboretum is referred to by many names, like Washington Park Arboretum, which I believe to be the official one, and UW Botanic Gardens, which may be the umbrella name for UW arboretum and Center for Urban Horticulture combined. From the UW Seattle campus one would walk across the Montlake bridge or take the 43,48 bus to downtown and get off at Seattle Public Library Montlake branch. The UW arboretum website describes itself as "the hidden gem on the shores of Lake Washington," and I began to think that it is quite impressive that a 230 acre land of arboretum could be a hidden gem.

I have never truly gotten accustomed to the unit of acres. Supposedly 1 acre of land is roughly 4 square kilometers, therefore 230 acre arboretum is very roughly 920 square kilometers of land. Since the Union Bay Natural Area is approximately 50 acres, one can appreciate the size of the arboretum. The whole property has a wide collection of plants not only restricted but with an emphasis on native Northwest plants except for the Japanese Garden. In fact, I used to be involved in a project called Seattle Survey of Native Species when I volunteered for the Arboretum. The project, which I may discuss in other journal entry to compare the state of arboretum, was carried out during the fall of 2011. With different seasons it is only natural to observe plants in different stages of life.

If I were to obtain a birds-eye view of the property today, then I imagine that the area would be covered in healthy green. This consequently means that from ground-level the vast overstory cover shades sunlight and makes some ground pretty dark. Even though coniferous trees are fairly abundant in the park, such as ponderosa/shore pines, western red cedar, and giant sequioa, the vibrant maple leaves make a tremendous difference in the amount of sunshine penetrating through the overstory. Especially the big maple leaves have much more of surface area to block the sun, and therefore the arboretum felt a little cool in a t-shirt. The amount of overstory is one of the ways nature maintains balance in the ecosystem by preventing drastic temperature gradients.

Even then, the arboretum is cheerful with lots of understory shrubs and grass. It is impressive to find different species of plants named berries: snowberry, red huckleberry, evergreen huckleberry, salmonberry, sugarberry, bearberry, etc. I have only tasted the evergreen huckleberry and have had great experiences consuming it. Their berries are tiny and dark purple, almost like a small blueberry. They may taste like blueberries as well, but perhaps a little sour. Evergreen huckleberries are great for picking when you are hungry during a hike. I have heard about the vulnerability of crops and berries to cold weather, especially below zero with snow and frost, but evergreen huckleberries prefer cold and increase their sweetness after being exposed to below zero temperatures. I would assume that berries are producing more nutrients to protect themselves from harsh conditions that make them better tasting.

Another interesting berry is the California bearberry, which I go with the name kinnikinnick. They grow very low to the ground, with dark, small, and alternating leaves. Berries grow to be red but typically only grow to be about half as large as conventional blueberries. I have been told that kinnikinnicks are not much tasty, and I wonder if the berries are universally dissatisfying to all species or just to humans because apparently bears eat kinnikinnick, hence the name bearberry. Their preferred habitats include slightly disturbed areas such as right next to trails. Kinnikinnick does not require too much sunlight along with several of other shrubs - so it raises the question about how much sun do understory layers get at the Arboretum. My hypothesis would be not too much given the Pacific Northwest weather and the overstory coverage, and probably that understory are fairly dominated by species that do not require too much sun to flourish.

Species List

Pinus ponderosa - Ponderosa pine
Pinus contorta - Lodgepole (shore) pine
Sequoiadendron giganteum - Giant sequioa
Thuja plicata - Western red cedar
Acer macrophyllum - Big leaf maple
genus Symphoricarpos - Snowberry
Vaccinium parvifolium - Red huckleberry
Vaccinium ovatum - Evergreen huckleberry
Rubus spectabilis - Salmonberry
Celtis laevigata - Sugarberry
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi - California bearberry (kinnikinnick)
genus Vaccinium - Blueberry

Posted on May 30, 2012 10:38 PM by bluehoneysugar