Week 4
These forests characterize the lower and mid slopes in the moist, cool valleys of the southern interior between 800 to 1450m in elevation. The climate is characterized by moist summers, mild, snowy winters and long productive growing seasons. The vegetation is diverse in trees and shrubs, herbs and mosses as well as wildlife. Recurrent fires as well as timber harvesting activities have created diverse landscape of vegetation and forest structure.
Lodgepole Pine - Pinus contorta
- -conifer (20-25m tall)
- -Bark:grey, covered by small,loose scales
- -Leaves:Evergreen needles in bunch of 2
- -Cones:cylindrical to asymmetrical, often remain closed
- How to distinguish from other pines: by its needles, in bunch of 2.
Willows-Salix spp.
- leaves: linear shaped with smooth edges, but can be nearly round
- dwarf shrub or small trees
- flowers:tiny borne in catkins
Grouseberry- Vaccinium scoparium
- dwarf deciduous shrub (10-25cm tall)
- leaves: toothed edges and sharp-pointed tip, thin&light green
- pearly pink corollas, urn shaped
- fruit: bright red, something purplish
- broom-like
Five-leaved Bramble-Rubus pedatus
- unarmed dwarf shrub
- 5 glossy leaflets
- flowers:white
- raspberry-like clusters of a few bright red drupelets;juicy and flavourful
Red-osier Dogwood-Cornus stolonifera
- extremely important moose winter browse
- young stems usually bright red, especially after frost
- leaves:opposite,5-7 prominent parallel veins
- flowers: white to greenish
- fruits: clusters of small, white, berry-like fruits
Soopalallie-Shepherdia canadensis
- 1-2m shrub
- branches covered with small,bran-like scabs
- leaves:opposite, oval, silvery whitish felt of hairs and rusty brown spots
- flowers: inconspicuous and yellowish-brown
- fruits:bright red,oval berries
One-sided Wintergreen- Orthilia secunda
- leaves: oval-elliptical
- flowers:pale green to white,bell-shaped
- distinguished by: leafy stem&1-sided inflorescence
One-leaved Foamflower - Tiarella trifoliata var.unifoliata
- leaves: heart shaped,inequally 5-lobed & coarsely toothed
- flowers: delicate,white,surpassed by the 10 stamens
Bunchberry-Cornus canadensis
- low perennial, 5-20cm tall
- leaves:4-7 in a whorl at top of stem, oval-elliptic
- flowers: 4 white (to purplish) petal-like bacts
- fruits: bright red
- explosive pollination mechanism
Sweet-scented Bedstraw - Galium triflorum
- smells like vanilla
- usually 6 leaves
- can be used for dye
Cow Parsnip-Heracleum maximum
- 1-3m tall
- leaves: large,compound, divided into 3 large,stalked segments
- still used as green vegetable
Stiff Clubmoss-Lycopodium annotinum
- leaves:narrow and pointed
- main stems leafy,creeping on or near surface of ground to 1m long
Canby's Lovage - Ligusticum canbyi
- taprooted perennial,50-120cm tall
- leaves:compound, divided in 3 main parts
- flowers: coumpound, umbrella-shaped inflorescences of small,white flowers
Pathfinder - Adenocaulon bicolor
- leaves: broadly triangular to heart-shaped
Leafy Mosses- Mnium spp.
Red-stemmed Feathermoss - Pleurozium schreberi
Western Larch- Larix occidentalis
- large conifer, to 55m tall
- bark:reddish brown
- leaves: green turrning yellow in fall
- cones:long, slender bract tips extend beyond scales
