tessaf's Journal

Location: A small area surrounding the Hansee residence hall on the University of Washington Seattle campus. The areas in particular include Whitman Lane, Wahkiakum Lane, and Jefferson Road. I observed the plants between 18:14 and 18:29.

Route: From Red Square, head up past Kane Hall and through the Quad. Head up the stairs at the end of the Quad and toward the street. Cross the street, turn left, and head towards the building on the corner of the first intersection. Turn right at this building and walk to Hansee (there are signs indicating the building names). The Helleborus orientalis can be found in the gardens near the back entrance to the residence hall. From Hansee, walk down the street that is bordered by Hansee on the left and the grassy recreational area on the right, head down the stairs and walk past McCarty Hall. Walk down this road and follow it as it curves around past McMahon Hall. Next to the Hall Health building, one will find the Rhododendron and the Mahonia aquifolium I observed, though plenty of the Mahonia can be found all over this route.

Weather: The sky was overcast and the wind was blowing moderately hard. The temperature was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Habitats: The area I surveyed the plants in had plenty of tall trees and large bushes perfect for animals to hide in. There were small birds in the bushes on the sides of the paths and squirrels in the trees. There were no smaller trees on this route, only tall trees with thick trunks. There were both evergreens and deciduous trees present in the area. The ground ranged from asphalt or concrete to grass and to bark chips. Human influence in this area was obvious as the school's buildings ran all along this route. The animals' habitats mingled with the buildings, though by the time we reached Wahkiakum Lane the terrain was predominately buildings and there were only smaller bushes or wildflowers left. Most of the animal life lived in the areas near Hansee since this was where the greatest concentration of plant life was and where there were no cars to disturb anything.

Vegetation: Most of the thick vegetation was near Hansee and the other residence halls and there were plenty of interesting plant species that I did not get to survey but will at a later date. One path in particular that runs along the street near McMahon and McCarty was teeming with all sorts of different organisms and will be a good place to look for animals as well as plants. There is plenty of vegetation to hide in including thick bushes, ivy, and moderately tall trees. This area is mostly populated with deciduous trees and most of them have grown or are in the process of growing their leaves back at this time. The flowers along this route have mostly started to bloom and only a few are still buds. Most of the flowers present are on flowering trees or bushes and wildflowers show up as one gets further from the residence halls.

General Comments: Few cars and people pass through this area later in the day when I was out there, so it is a good spot for surveying. This place will be especially good for looking for nocturnal species as I know animals like raccoons call this area home (I've run into them many times walking in this area late at night). I was surprised to find such plant diversity in one small area, especially on a college campus in the middle of a major city. My next entry will most certainly contain plants from this part of campus as it is so easily accessible. I am curious as to what kinds of insects can be found in this area as we head into mid and late springtime as I did not see any at the time I observed these plant species.

Species List:
Helleborus orientalis
Genus Rhododendron
Mahonia aquifolium

Location: These plants I observed on Thursday, 29 Mar. 2012 from 15:19 to 17:53 came from two different areas on the UW Seattle campus. The two Camellia plants came from the copse near the fountain and Bagley Hall that we visited as a class and the rest came from the area near the Hansee, McMahon, and McCarty residence halls ending at the bridge that leads to Husky Stadium near the Mechanical Engineering building that I explored in my previous entry.

Route: From Mary Gates Hall, we went down the hill toward the fountain and down an asphalt path past Bagley toward an obvious copse of large Cedar and Douglas Fir trees. Later in the day, my route was exactly the same as the one outlined in my previous journal entry.

Weather: The sky was incredibly overcast all day and it was raining heavily from 12:00 to around 20:00. There was very little wind and the temperature ranged from 43 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the time I surveyed the area.

Habitats: The plants I looked at on this day on the route from my last entry come particularly from the path surrounded by trees near the McCarty residence hall that I mentioned in my last entry as a good place to look for subjects. This area is surrounded by mid-sized to tall deciduous trees, large bushes, and plenty of ivy. Flowering plants are abundant along this path as evidenced by the organisms I observed. The ground is covered in bark save for an asphalt path. The organisms from around 17:00 come from the area near the Power Plant and the bridge to Husky Stadium. This area is much more austere with little plant life and plenty of asphalt and buildings. There are few large bushes and only a couple large trees, so there weren't many places for animals to hide. I did, however, see one squirrel in one of these large trees, but it ran off before I could observe it further.

Vegetation: The plants that are near the Power Plant are often little more than weeds and grass, though there are a few flowers and other odd plants that were worthy of note. The area near the residence halls is, as I mentioned in my last entry, full of bushes, flowering plants, large and mid-sized trees, ivy, ferns, and other species.

General Comments: I was surprised to find as many interesting species near the Power Plant as I did. The flower from Family Ericaceae was particularly beautiful and so was the Red-flowering currant. The Red Deatnettle was little more than a weed, but I liked the purple hue it had, so I felt like it would make a good addition to my observations. There were plenty of other species in this area that I wanted to add, but I thought it would be best to wait until they had flowered for the full effect of their beauty. In short, I was pleased to find so many interesting things in such an austere area, as I was expecting to see most of the nicer plants in the wooded area near the residence halls. As for the plants near the residence halls, I was particularly interested in the two kinds of berries I found as I had never seen the Ligustrum vulgare before and as I enjoyed the color of the red huckleberry. I hope to find more kinds of berries to add to my observations in the future.

Species List:
Japanese Camellia (Camellia japonica)

Yuletide Camellia (Camellia sasanqua)

White flower with small petals and a soft yellow center with small, dark green leaves that I was unable to identify.

Lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor)

Western swordfern (Polystichum munitum)

Red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium)

Ligustrum vulgare

Small plant that stood upright on its own with a light green stalk and pale to light green, thin, tapered leaves coming out of its circumference. It almost looked like a miniature Christmas tree.

A plant with small, white, bell-shaped flowers that comes from Family Ericaceae.

Red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)

Red deadnettle (Lamium purpureum)