11 August

 A kind person wrote a much-appreciated comment for last week's blog, remarking that there is always something worth observing along the path into the wetlands and forest.  Today was certainly no exception.  

The weather has cooled, somewhat.  The skies were grey, and the light was softened.  


Along the path, the bracken fern is dry, and other vegetation is drying.

Just off the path, we discovered a stand of ghost pipe--drying to black, but with white fruit forming.


These rare plants are what Pojar and Mackinnon's Plants of Coastal British Columbia list under "Oddballs."  They lack chlorophyll, and are in their early stages a ghostly white.


Photo from Turner Photographics

They were once thought of as saprophytic, but are actually mycotrophic--as they lack chlorophyll, they draw their nutrition from the network of mycorrhizal fungi linked with the area's trees.     

We had not found these rare and striking plants while they were at their most abundant, but they appear shortly after rain following a long dry spell.  





In addition to the occasional rarities we find in the forest (last week's slime mold, today's ghost pipe), seasonal changes continue to be worth observing.

Brown cubical rot on fallen trees is a common occurence, and important for the health of the forest.  As it breaks down the wood of fallen trees, it nurtures growth of new vegetation.


Here we could see new bracken fern emerging, tiny huckleberry seedlings, and moss from the decomposition of the fallen tree.  

Fallen trees can also be a source of nutrition for bears and other wildlife in the forest.  It appears that a bear has broken down this log in search of grubs and other insect life.


Fungus are maturing as the season progressess.  The colouration of this red-belted conk (or red-belted polypore) is deepening.




Woodpeckers continue their work.


The hardhack fringing the marsh is drying, 


as are the sedges and other vegetation within the marsh.


The water level within the marsh continues to sink, 


but the marsh itself retains moisture, sustaining the surrounding ecosystem and feeding the groundwater.  

The forest is drying, but still nurtured by the marsh.  It awaits the revitalising autumn rains.


 








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