Arboretum, Seattle 5/19
We took the waterside path down to the Arboretum, so all of the plants that we observed were right off of the water. We observed a lot of water lilies, and a good amount of flowering plants. We saw multiple Laburnum watereri (don't know the common name) flowering with many yellow pea-like flowers hanging down We also saw this strange plant, later to be identified as Viburnum rhytidophyllum through iNaturalist, that had these massive leaves with distinctive grooves that were actually chalky to the touch. We also saw some wild flowers that were in full bloom. There was this one tree/shrub that I could not find in the identification book, which was blooming. its flowers were whitish and pinkish, with leaves pictured in a drawing in my physical journal. The flowers had five petals (see iNaturalist links for pictures).
We carried on, and on the path there was lots of cotton from the cottonwood trees, which means that the tree is dispersing its seeds via the cotton so that they are able to spread their seed over long distances to reproduce due to the ability of the cotton to float in the wind and on the water, most likely giving it a competitive ede in reproduction. We also saw a couple different types of willows along the trial, but I could not identify them (drawings showing leaves and flowering structures in physical journal).
While we crossed the bridge to the marshy area we observed what appeared tobe shovelers from far away, because they were feeding only by dipping their beaks in the water to filter out their food. We saw a lot of these flat leaved plants coming out of the water by the trail with some pea-like larged yellow flowers on the top of those stalks that came out. The leaves were very stiff and relatively thick, with the edges being sharp.
Species List:
laburnum watereri
dawn redwood
red osier dogwood
forget me not
creeping buttercup
hardhack
willows
black cottonwood
viburnum rhytidophyllum
northern shoveler
common raven
eastern gray squirrel
american white waterlily
cat tail
reeds
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
American White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
Seen in the shallows of Lake Washington on the way to the Arboretum. Covering a large surface of the water.
Photos / Sounds
What
Hybrid Laburnum (Laburnum × watereri)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A large shrub or small tree seen with bunches of yellow, pea-like flowers hanging down from the ends of the branches. The bark was dark brown, and there was a group of dead and dry pea pods hanging down near one of the flower bunches. It was covered in ivy near the Montlake Cut.
Photos / Sounds
What
Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A tree with light brown, very flaky bark. The needles came off of the branch flat, and were light green, and soft with a sort of rubbery feel. There were no cones to be seen.
Photos / Sounds
What
Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A shrub on an incline by the water, it had dark red bark, with large, light green leaves that were substantially grooved. On top of the large leaves at the end of the oppositely branched branches there were clumps of small, white flowers with four petals and stamen that protruded significantly.
Photos / Sounds
What
Forget-Me-Nots (Genus Myosotis)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A large clump of small, light blue flowers with yellow centers. Each stalk was lightly hairy, and had about four flowers each, with many more buds coming off of the stalk that had not yet started to open. Each flower had five petals.
Photos / Sounds
What
Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A buttercup flower. Very yellow, flowers have overlapping petals that had not quite opened up all the way, and curve up in a sort of cup fashion. The stems had three thin leaves coming off in different directions but on the same plane.
Photos / Sounds
What
Meadowsweet (Genus Spiraea)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A small shrub that extends up, with alternately branched, soft, oval leaves with lightly serrated edges coming off of a light branch attached to the main, brown stalk. At the top of the shrub there was a large collection of what appeared to be small, dead flowers that were now brown and dry.
Photos / Sounds
What
Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A ground shrub that extended more out than up, it had very distinctive, large leaves that were very textured, aside from just the defined grooves that went up the leaves, and were fuzzy on the bottom. The branches were very light brown, and at the top of the branches above the leaves there were clumps of small white flowers with long stamen. The leaves were almost chalky to the touch, and disintegrated when rubbed between my fingers.
Photos / Sounds
What
Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
Definitely a cottonwood. Very tall, straight with few branches coming off in the lower section. Covered in ivy, its branches had the tell tale seeds with cotton that give the tree its name. There was cotton all over the path right next to the tree.
Photos / Sounds
What
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A darker head than the mallard and less shiny, and exhibiting the dabbling common for the shoveler; rather than dipping their head and upper body into the water, they just dipped their bills in the water as they swam. There were two females accompanied.
Photos / Sounds
What
Common Raven (Corvus corax)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
All black bird with a slightly curved beak perched on top of a light post
Photos / Sounds
What
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A grayish squirrel with rusty red fur around the head, underbelly, and tail. Scampered around the tree, and then up the tree just after I took the picture.
Photos / Sounds
What
Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
Either a large shrub or a small tree, it was flowering and observed multiple times on the waterfront trail by the Montlake Cut. The flowers were white or pink, small, had five petals, and were in bunches on top of groups of leaves. The leaves showed opposite branching of these rounded ends that were observed in pairs of 2-4 per leaf, with there being many stemming off of the branches.
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