Moist Evergreen Forest

For this exercise, I hiked on the Tanglewood Path and the Stonewall Panoramic Trail in the Berkeley hills.

One of the first organisms I noticed is what appears to be a California Blackberry. The California Blackberry needs regular moisture in order to produce its best fruit, which means it found its niche in the moist nature of the evergreen forest. Similarly, I also found a mushroom, an organism that thrives in cooler and wetter areas.

Later, I came across a California Hedge Nettle. Apparently, this organism likes moist slopes under some shade. This is fitting, because I found it on a slight incline under partial shade provided by the many trees above it. Therefore, it clearly carved out this niche.

I also took a photo of the aforementioned trees, which I assume to be some sort of evergreen species. These trees clearly thrive in the evergreen forest where their constant leaves allow them to participate in photosynthesis year round. In addition, the waxy nature of the leaves allows them to contain water they might otherwise lose.

I also found a plant within the genus Euphorbia. These plants have a poisonous sap, which may have been adapted in order to fend off herbivores who might attempt to end the plant's life.

Posted on February 22, 2013 02:51 AM by