On a Lifelong Journey to Learn my Place
Plants
Late season flowers on a European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia). While walking home one day last week, I noticed some light-green new looking growth on a Mt. Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) along the Lincoln Street green belt adjacent to Crescent Harbor. A little further along, I noticed a tree that had a few flowers. This struck … Read more
St. John’s-wort is introduced in Southeast Alaska. While it is an invasive plant in many regions, to this point it does not seem to have made in-roads around Sitka, as I have only noticed it growing at the edge of the long term parking at the Sitka airport. It will be interesting to see what … Read more
Unidentified fungus growing on a spruce log. This is at least the second time I’ve seen this species, but I do not know what it is.
Oysterleaf (Mertensia maritima) – present throughout much of southeast, but seems to be largely absent near Sitka. This plant was growing with several others along a private drive that was created by putting an extra layer of gravel on an intertidal flat. I suspect it may have been introduced to that particular location.
Its large size, scaled cap, pores, and a few other features make Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) fairly distinctive. Mushroom Expert describes this species as “widespread east of the Rocky Mountains”, and the Northwest Key Council indicates it is found occasionally in the Pacific Northwest. I found this mushroom growing on a standing dead Cottonwood near … Read more
Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) is a fairly common species that I associate mostly with disturbed or gravelly areas near stream. I’m most familiar with it from near Indian River, and to this point my experience with this species is only at low elevation. Ranunculus is one of the more diverse genera in Southeast Alaska, with … Read more