American Camp, San Juans 5/5
American Camp is a National Historic Park dedicated to the Pig War. The park itself is very prairie like, with lots of tall, dry grasses from the dessication due to the wind, as well as lots of rock patches, as there are bluffs on the egde, since its right off of the Puget Sound. As was the case with Mt. Finlayson, there were minimal trees, but there were even less here because there was not a valley that ropped down to shield the trees and vegetation from the wind. The trees that interspersed were very wind blown and the branches were relatively sparse. Rather than trees, there were many head tall or slightly taller shrubs. The most common was the snowberry and rose bushes lining the path that took us down to the water. There were also man cat tails and lupines lining the path with the shelter of the thicker and taller snowberry bushes. Unlike Mt. Finlayson, there weren't nearly as many wildflowers, even though it was a very similar environment with the same type of exposure, although it was much closer to sea level, which perhaps made the difference, as many wildflowers grow in the more medium to higher elevations.
Species List:
Snowberry
Seashore lupine
baldhip rose
field horsetail bull kelp
doulas fir
willows
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Seashore Lupine (Lupinus littoralis)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
Most certainly a lupine, with their distinctive purple-blue pea-like flowers at the top of the plant, and the thin and pointy leaves in groups of 5 or 6. Slightly hairy, difficult to tell apart from other lupines, but because of its very close proximity to the coast as we were right off of the beach it seemed like it was seashore lupine.
Photos / Sounds
What
Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
Very common, seen everywhere, the horsetail is distinctive with its segmented, hollow stalk and its upward, flimsy green branches that continue to grow and become very much like a sort of tail.
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