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.


 








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

15 October

Image
  Sunday in the Wetlands and Forest.  A day of multitudinous  mushrooms and (to alliterate again) what my Dad used to call a "marsh hawk."  These days, more correctly, if not alliterative, a female northern harrier.   The forest has an abundance of mushrooms this year.  I'll pick some this coming Friday for the annual Arrowsmith Naturalists' Mushroom and Nature Festival, and try to include photos to show where my harvest was growing.  Hopefully, after the Festival, I'll be more able to identify what I'm photographing.   For now, a sampling: They grow in a variety of settings: This bracket fungus emerges from a dead, mossy alder. A stand of beautiful mushrooms emerging among oregon grape and trailing blackberry. A cluster of saprophytic* mushrooms emerging from a dead stump. Possibly staghorn jelly fungus? The spectacular and lethal fly amanita, or fly agaric, growing in kinnikinnik. * saprophytes: organisms that feed on a variety of dead organic matter. --- Me
Read more

26 November, 2 December

Image
  26 November A foggy morning in the Forest and Wetlands.  Odd, it was clear near the coast, but as we moved inland, the fog thickened.  Visibility in the Forest was limited, visibility in the Wetlands was -- like an impressionist painting--beautiful but less than informative. A raven accompanied us on our walk, commenting on our presence.   https://soundcloud.com/ebredberg33/parksville-11 I tried for a photo, but just got fog.    A very tall alder had fallen across the path. It was a bit strange to see;  often when trees fall there are signes of decay within the trunk, but this tree looked very sound throughout.  There had been a strong wind the week before, which must have brought the tree down. The fungus and moss growth continues:  The moss on the "muppet" log becomes increasingly shaggy. A showy polypore on a log  was accompanied by evidence of woodpecker work on the same log.   On reflection, this combination adds up--conks will grow on trees or logs with inner decay, a
Read more

17 March

Image
  Gradually, spring is making its way into the Forest and Wetlands.  The frogs were in full voice this morning, celebrating the change of the season.       https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kEgrY6-12eF-hQS9O2krJc-B62u7uAg-/view?usp=sharing     It was, finally, a sunny morning, and the forest is becoming increasingly lush.  Skunk cabbage shoots are just appearing. A variety of mosses are emerging, some of which we hadn't seen before.  We'll hope for identification. We've only seen the moss below in one spot.  It seems uncommon for this area;  it will be worth monitoring its development as well as submitting it to iNaturalist. There were a couple of patches of birds-nest fungus among the mosses. I've observed the branches of this conifer before, thinking it was a western hemlock, but looking for the parent tree or cones to confirm my identification. Today I realised that it is actually an entire young tree, with the central trunk emerging from the fallen tree that is visib
Read more