Menzies’ Burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii) is the least common of the burnets found around Sitka. It’s my understanding that it came about as a hybridization of the two more common species Canadian burnet (S. canadensis) and common burnet (S. officinalis). It certainly appears that way, with the shaggy look of the inflorescence like the former an the dark maroon color of the latter. Presuming it is of hybrid origin, I wonder how often such events occur, or whether most of them are descended from some original hybrid in the past.

Off the top of my head, I can only recall finding this species up along Harbor Mountain trail, and in some of the lower muskegs of Indian River valley (common burnet was much more common in most of the muskegs). It’s a listed taxon in British Columbia, where there are apparently few collections, but there seem to be more in Southeast Alaska with additional ones further north. Looking for records in the Arctos database is a little difficult since it appears that S. menziesii has been synonymized with S. officinalis based on the 2011 Catalogue of Life checklist. The 2014 CoL checklist has S. menziesii as a good species, however. The the range there is given as Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington – so it seems like it could be a Northwest Coast endemic (though I guess it depends on how you consider records from South Central and Western Alaska).

Questions:

• Have you noticed Menzies’ Burnet before? If so, where have you seen it?
• Do the flowers smell? (I don’t think so, but I also haven’t checked specifically)
• If S. menziesii is a hybrid, what’s the relative proportion of direct hybrid plants (i.e., seed came from cross pollination of the two different burnets) compared to descendants of direct hybrids? (I imagine there’s better technical language for this.)
• Does this species hybridize with either of the (presumed) parent species?
• Is this species moving and/or expanding its range post ice age? If so, which direction(s)?

Although the identity is yet to be confirmed, I’m reasonably confident the moth pictured here is the Caramel Looper (Autographa corusca). In Southeast Alaska it has previously been reported from Ketchikan. This record (presuming it is correct), may be the northernmost observation of this species. According to the Pacific Northwest Moths account, the larvae of this species are probably specialists on Red Alder (Alnus rubra).

This is the first one of these I remember seeing. It appeared to be very fresh/clean (rather than worn) and so I suspect it grew up somewhere nearby (as opposed to flying in from a distant place).

Questions:

• Do you notice moths in/around places you frequent?
• Has this species recently just moved in to the area, or is it just uncommon (or uncommonly observed), but has been around for some time?
• What do its caterpillars look like?

Recently we visited Magic Island (out at Halibut Point Rec) during a low tide and I took advantage of the opportunity to photograph some of the more obvious tidepool denizens which, for whatever reasons, I had not really spent much time with before. Prime among these are the giant green sea anemones (Anthopleura xanthogrammica).

As I understand it, the green color comes about either directly from, or through interaction with, symbiotic algae. I’m a little curious how those algae get in there in the first place, but perhaps further reading will reveal someone has investigated that. Individuals growing in dark areas (such as sea caves) may not be green at all. Another interesting trait of these anemones is their habit of gathering rocks about them during the cold and dark time of year.

They favor outer coast with higher energy, and are pretty common at Magic Island on the outer shore. It’s nice to find them in tidepools where it is possible to see them tentacles without the distorting effect of moving water.

I noticed this little critter making its way through some gravel adjacent to a forested area. I’m not sure where it was going, but I recognized it was a snout beetle of some sort. Some photos posted on bugguide got me the name: conifer seedling weevil (Steremnius carinatus). It’s apparently pretty common on Prince of Wales Island, as there were 700+ collections of this species in the UAF museum database along with a couple from Sitka among other locations along the southern coastal areas over as far west as the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island.

According to the abstract of a 1968 paper on the biology of Steremnius carinatus, this species can live as adults for multiple years, and tend to be a pest on the seedlings of very young conifers in coastal BC.

Questions:

• How common are these on Baranof Island?
• How do these move between islands? Do they have some sort of dispersal phase?
• How much impact do they have in Southeast Alaska? Are they mainly eating on young seedlings that would eventually be crowded out anyway?
• Do they live longer where temperatures are cooler?

Purple Monkey Flower (Mimulus lewisii) is a plant with showy pink flowers that ranges from California to British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, over into the Rocky Mountains. I was excited to see this plant for the first time back in 2008 when I was doing some work in the Blue Lake watershed. There it was growing in a couple of places along stable gravel and sand bars. Since that time I’ve seen it a couple of other places, once at Rezanof Lake and then again along the river in Red Bluff Bay. On both occasions it was growing in similar gravel bar habitats. According to the wikipedia article for this species (there is not yet an FNA species account published), the habitat is similar throughout the range, with an emphasis on montane locations.

Elsewhere on Baranof Island, this species has been reported from the headwaters of Maksutof River (which drains into Rezanof Lake – so the same watershed as where I’ve seen it, but significantly higher up), Lake Diana, and in the Lucky Chance area. More generally, the only other collections made in Southeast Alaska are from the mainland near Hyder. I was vaguely aware that Purple Monkey Flowers are not exactly common in Southeast, but it was only recently that I took notice of the apparently peculiar distribution.

Collection map for Purple Monkey Flower (Mimulus lewisii) from e-flora BC interactive mapping site

A recent conversation (related to a talk about crossing Baranof Island (along a route that included Rezanof Lake) prompted me to take another look at the distribution a little more closely. I was struck by the lack of observations in Southeast, initially not noticing the Hyder collections. The Blue Lake records are easily the most northern. South of Hyder there are scattered collections through BC in the Coast Range and additional sites in the Rocky Mountains south of Prince George.

It seems likely that this species can be widely found throughout the Coast Range at least as far north as Prince Rupert and Hyder, but I imagine accessibility is challenging and so collections might be under representing the true extent of the occurrence of these flowers. Arguably the same could be true in Southeast Alaska, however I think there are at least a couple of reasons to think this might not be the case. Purple Monkey Flower has been considered a rare species in Alaska, it is also quite showy. That being the case, it seems likely that if any botanical worker had run into the plant, they would have collected it. The locations where it has been found on Baranof Island are not particularly difficult to access (at least not any more so than most other Southeast Alaska locations), so while there’s the possibility that it’s hidden away in other Southeast locations (in particular, on other islands), that seems less likely than for other species which tend to exclusively favor high alpine areas that are much less easy to get to.

If the distribution as currently understood based on the collection record turns out to be close to the reality, it makes me wonder how they could come to occur on Baranof Island, but not the inner islands between Baranof Island and the nearest other occurrence. One possibility that comes to mind is that the Baranof Island population is a relict of the last ice age. If this is the case, wonder if it would show up in the genetics. At this point I suspect there have not been any genetic studies done that included specimens from Baranof Island (though I did see at least one mention of two genetic groups within this species, one in the south – Sierra Nevada range in California – the other including the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest). Perhaps at some point the question will be investigated. I think it could be another piece in the puzzle of what species, if any, might have persisted in refugia along the Southeast Alaska coast during the last ice age.

Purple Monkey Flower (Mimulus lewisii) at Southeast Alaska Natural History Wiki
Purple Monkey Flower (Mimulus lewisii) photo gallery

I do not remember seeing Common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) around Sitka when I was growing up. There’s a good chance it was here and I didn’t notice it, but I suspect I’m fairly safe in saying that it probably was not as common then as it is now. This species is introduced, and potentially invasive, as it can do a good job of out competing other (native) species. Unlike some other introduced species, I have only seen these in areas of on-going impact by humans – but in those areas this species can be quite common.

Common Groundsel seems to be fairly cold tolerant – the plants shown here looked relatively fresh, despite multiple relatively heavy frost events – and also capable of blooming (and possibly fruiting) much later in the year than other species. It’s been quite some time since I have seen many lingering flowers on other plants around town (and the latest of the others also were non-native), but if it weren’t for all the undecomposed alder leaves on the ground, it might be tempting to imagine these were ramping up their bloom production in the summer.

It’s highly unlikely that the flowers shown here will manage to get pollinated and produce fruit, but last March I found a plant of this species in a similar state. I suspect the flowers persisted through the winter which seems pretty impressive to me. The plant was in a fairly sheltered location, which I’m sure helped. I did not go back and check on the plant to see if it ultimately fruited, and it was quite some time before I saw any other flowers (which reinforced my thinking that this plant had flowers persisting through winter).

Common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) on Southeast Alaska Natural History wiki.

Update: After taxonomic revisions, these are better known as Operophtera occidentalis
Rowan pointed out a moth on the side of a house and then we noticed there were several more. I was able to get these pictures of two different individuals. With help from bugguide.net they have been identified as the Winter Moth (Operophtera bruceata) (aka Bruce Spanworm).

These moths fly in the late fall and early winter, with males searching out flightless females. They spend the rest of the winter as eggs, before hatching in the spring and eating on leaves of deciduous trees (perhaps Alder around here?). They pupuate and emerge in late fall to start the cycle over.

One thing that occurred to me while learning about these moths is given the flightless females, it’s not at all clear how they can colonize islands. Eggs are laid in cracks/crevices, so it’s possible a winter storm could bring down a tree that would drift to an island, but that would assume they could survive exposure to salt water. The more likely scenario seems to me they hitched a ride with humans at some point. I don’t know plausible it is that females might occasionally develop wings and being able to fly, thereby achieving greater dispersal, but that might be another possibility. In any case, it seems possible that this species has been introduced to Sitka in the last couple of hundred years, though I am not sure how/if this could be proven.

Update: I have subsequently been told they can disperse as small caterpillars by letting out silk and catching the wind – similar to how spiders disperse

St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum) observed at Sitka Rocky Guiterrez Airport.

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 happens with it over the next couple of years, as it may have only recently been introduced here (though it’s been reported at other locations in Southeast for many years).

St. John’s-wort (Hypericum perforatum) at Natural History of Southeast Alaska wiki

Coral Slime (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa) observed at Totem Park.

Coral Slime (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa) seems to be one of the more common slime molds around Sitka. Individuals growths are small and can be easy to to overlook when they occur in small clusters. I associate this slime mold mostly with rotting wood in coniferous forests. I’ve also only noticed it at lower elevations, though this may be due to lack of time spent at higher elevation forest.

More pictures of Coral Slime (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa)

This photo is from a hike up Indian River in 2006. I noticed a metallic gold beetle crawling on the zipper of my backpack while stopped for a break. Only recently did I get around to posting it on bugguide.net, where it was quickly identified as Lioligus nitidus by v belov, who noted it was a new genus for the site.

Looking on-line, I found very little about this beetle, but I did find one paper about a study done on Prince of Wales Island where this species was one of many invertebrates found in alder leaf litter. (That study was looking at diversity/productivity of conifer and alders, with a mind toward the management of second growth, and whether alder should discouraged, as it has been in past years, or encouraged.)

Thallophaga hyperborea observed mid-May 2010.

In May Connor found and brought me this Thallophaga hyperborea which had been crawling up a stake he had pounded in the ground. It seemed a strange place to find a moth, but upon learning its identity (via bugguide.net) and reading a little about the life history, it made more sense.

Larvae of this species dine on conifers, including our local Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) then spend the winter as pupa in the soil before emerging as adults in the spring. It seems likely this individual was just emerging when Connor found it.

Thallophaga hyperborea observed mid-May 2010.

Thallophaga hyperborea observed mid-May 2010.

Variable Carpet (Anticlea vasiliata) observed mid-May 2010.

Variable Carpet Moths (Anticlea vasiliata) are aptly named for their diverse array of color morphs. This May I photographed two different ones, to go along with one I photographed April 2009.

Information I’ve seen about larval food plants does not includes only raspberries, which many people raise, but they are not especially common. It is possible this species moved in with the introduction of raspberries, though I suspect they have other food plants that are native – perhaps salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) which are abundant.

The photo which leads the post represents the least marked end of the spectrum for this species, with those shown below being perhaps more typical. Note the dark lines present in the relatively unmarked individual are also present on the other individuals, though the darker bands obscure them somewhat.

Variable Carpet Moth (Anticlea vasiliata) observed on Hillcrest Drive.

Variable Carpet (Anticlea vasiliata) observed mid-May 2010.

Pearsall's Carpet Moth (Venusia pearsalli) observed 6 May 2010 on Hillcrest Drive.

Connor and Rowan noticed this moth on the outside of my home office window, so I went out and took a picture of it. It’s been photo identified as Pearsall’s Carpet Moth (Venusia pearsalli) courtesy of Bob Patterson on bugguide.net, though it may be a similar looking closely related species.

The NPWRC account for Venusia pearsalli indicates that it is abundant and widespread in the wet coniferous forests of Western North America. The only larval food plant listed which occurs in the Sitka area is alder.

Polyporus squamosus observed growing on standing dead Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) trunk along Mendenhall River in Juneau.

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 the Mendenhall River while wandering around during a layover in Juneau. Though Sitka and Juneau are not far apart and share similar climates, it seems likely there are many species which are not found in both locations. To my knowledge this species has not been found around Sitka, though if it favors cottonwood trees, there are not so many of those in well traveled places near Sitka. I do hope to spend some time in areas with a fair amount of Cottonwood this summer, and will be keeping my eyes open for this mushroom.

Polyporus squamosus observed growing on standing dead Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) trunk along Mendenhall River in Juneau.

Polyporus squamosus observed growing on standing dead Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) trunk along Mendenhall River in Juneau.

Polyporus squamosus observed growing on standing dead Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) trunk along Mendenhall River in Juneau.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) found on Hillcrest Drive, 20 May 2010.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) is the most common butterfly in the Sitka area (not that it has much competition, as there seems to be only one other regularly occurring species). During the warm years in 2003 and 2004, I remember seeing lots of these flying around during the summer, especially in June. In the years since, they have been much less common, though I’m pretty sure I noticed at least a couple each year.

Larvae of this species are said to feed on plants in the mustard family and they will often have two flights a year.

E-fauna BC shows a Sitka record for another related species, P. angelika, but assuming it’s a valid record, I suspect that species does not typically occur here given its overall range and the lack of other records along the coast.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) found on Hillcrest Drive, 20 May 2010.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) found on Hillcrest Drive, 20 May 2010.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) found on Hillcrest Drive, 20 May 2010.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) found on Hillcrest Drive, 20 May 2010.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) found on Hillcrest Drive, 20 May 2010.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) found on Hillcrest Drive, 20 May 2010.

Pied-billed Grebe observed at Swan Lake 7 June 2010.

While relaxing on a bench at Swan Lake, I happened to notice an unusual bird pop up to the surface. I wasn’t sure whether to believe it when I thought I saw a Pied-billed Grebe, but after waiting a while longer, I saw it resurface several more times and was able to confirm (and get the pictures seen here) that it was a Pied-billed Grebe. I had previously seen and photographed a Pied-billed Grebe on Swan Lake two and a half years ago. It was interesting to see the differences – this time of year the pied-bill definitely shows up much more clearly.

Like the first one I saw, this one seemed to prefer to hang out among the weeds and avoid being seen clearly. I did manage to get a couple of clear looks, but most of the time I could not find it, and when I did, it was tucked in among the pond-lily leaves. It was favoring the south side of the peninsula while I was watching it today.

Pied-billed Grebes seem to show up somewhere in Southeast Alaska each Fall. They are considered Very Rare in the Winter and Spring seasons, and only Accidental for summer. In Sitka they seem to be Very Rare Fall through Spring, but this appears to be one of a very few (perhaps the only) June (or Summer) record for Sitka.

Pied-billed Grebe observed at Swan Lake 7 June 2010.

Pied-billed Grebe observed at Swan Lake 7 June 2010.

Pied-billed Grebe observed at Swan Lake 7 June 2010.

Pied-billed Grebe observed at Swan Lake 7 June 2010.

Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata) photographed 24 May 2010.

Connor noticed this moth resting on the side of the house. I caught it and brought it inside to photograph. The larvae of this species are said to feed on fireweed. As this is the first time I have noticed this particular species, I do not know how common it is around here. It is one of the more striking moths I’ve photographed so far, however.

Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata) photographed 24 May 2010.

Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) observed along Indian River Trail 4 June 2010.

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 15 or more species reported, though at least two of those are introduced and considered invasive. The small inconspicuous flowers of uncinatus are fairly distinctive, though the overall growth form of this species also sets it apart from the rest of its buttercup relatives.

Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) observed along Indian River Trail 4 June 2010.

Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) observed along Indian River Trail 4 June 2010.

Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) observed along Indian River Trail 4 June 2010.

Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) observed along Indian River Trail 4 June 2010.

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) one of two observed near Sealing Cove.

Download Audio Clip

Eurasian Collared-Doves have only been reported in Alaska for a couple of years, and I think last summer was the first time any were reported in Sitka. However, their numbers do seem to be expanding, so it remains to be seen how common this bird becomes and in what seasons.

The recording above features a Eurasian Collared-Dove making the lower frequency (compared to other birds) cooing/hooting sound.

Hairy Butterwort (Pinguicula villosa) observed blooming in Sitka area muskeg 22 May 2010.

Hairy Butterwort (Pinguicula villosa) is a small plant found on relatively dry hummocks in muskegs. Easy to overlook because of its size, this plant, with its delicate purple flower, is worth the effort to find and take a closer look at. Like its larger and more common relative Common Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris), this species is carnivorous. Its leaves are sticky and secrete enzymes which allow it to digest and the nutrients from any insects or pollen that become trapped on the surface. (As a carnivorous plant, it has attracted the attention of people who enjoy growing carnivorous plants, and any seaches for this species on-line will turn up pages about this species and how to grow it.) In order to survive the winter, it forms a hibernaculum (a type of bud) that offers greater protection from the cold.

Despite the fact that this species grows in an easily accessible location close to home, last weekend was the first time I had ever observed it, and I almost missed it this time as well. When my brother spent a year here in the 2003-2004, he mentioned finding what he said was a flower that looked like Common Butterwort, but was much smaller. At the time I figured it was probably P. villosa, but I did not get over to the muskeg to see it. In the following year or so I visited the muskeg where he had seen it, but never noticed it myself. Eventually it slipped off my radar, and I didn’t think about it anymore. Last weekend I got a call about a Sandhill Crane that showed up near that muskeg, and since Rowan had not seen one before, she, Connor and I walked over. The crane was gone by the time we got there, but we walked around the muskeg for a little while. On the way home, Connor wast telling me about the flowers he saw (we recently started playing a game where we try to see how many different kinds of wildflowers we can find on a walk), and mentioned seeing a small purple flower. After questioning him about its details, I thought it was likely P. villosa, so when I had time the next day, I walked back over and took the pictures seen with this post.

Even after I found the first one and knew what to look for, it was surprisingly easy to overlook additional plants. I took several photos of the second one I found, but only realized after I was done that 3 or 4 more were blooming within a foot of the one I photographed.

Some of the information I learned about this species came from the following sites:
Profile of P. villosa at pinguicula.org.
Article on the genus Pinguicula at Wikipedia.

Hairy Butterwort (Pinguicula villosa) observed blooming in Sitka area muskeg 22 May 2010.

Hairy Butterwort (Pinguicula villosa) observed blooming in Sitka area muskeg 22 May 2010.

Hairy Butterwort (Pinguicula villosa) observed blooming in Sitka area muskeg 22 May 2010.

Hairy Butterwort (Pinguicula villosa) observed blooming in Sitka area muskeg 22 May 2010.

Hairy Butterwort (Pinguicula villosa) observed blooming in Sitka area muskeg 22 May 2010.

Blooming Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum)

Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) is a common species that can be found from sealevel to lower alpine meadows. This species seems to do well in places where conditions are open and dry. Mostly I’ve noticed the plants growing in muskegs (on the hummocks) and lower alpine meadows, but I’ve also seen them growing on moss covered boulders along the shoerline just above the splash zone (though you do not see that habitat along the road system).

By late summer it is usually not difficult to find the closely attached dark berries fully ripened. I’ve tried eating them on a couple of occasions (typically in the lower alpine habitat) and was not particularly impressed with the flavor, so on the occasions when I’ve seen them so thick I could have run my hands through the patch and come away with a handfull of berries in each pass, I was not at all tempted to stay and pick them.

Over the last few years, I have wondered about the flowers. When I first tried to find them in summer, I found green berries, but no flowers. In mid-May 2006 I found what I thought might be a single flower. However, there was so little there, I was not at all confident about this, especially considering there was only one potential flower, and the actual berries were often quite abundant. Last year I finally did see some flowers in late April and then found berries already well along by late May in a low elevation muskeg. Then in July on Mt Verstovia, I took the picture that leads this entry.

The Crowberry flowers I have seen seem to consist mostly of long gangly anthers, with little else to suggest there is a flower there. Apparently there are two subspecies of Crowberry, one with male and female plant types, the other which mostly has flowers with both male and female parts. The subspecies with male and female flowers separate is said to be the one that occurs in Southeast Alaska, so perhaps I have only managed to find male plants in bloom so far.