Field Study Plants

study geo or get pickled in a bog

Deer Fern

2 kinds of fronds on these plants

• Vegetative fronds:

  • lance shaped

  • leaflets not toothed

• Fertile fronds

  • shoot above the rest of the plant

  • have spores on the undersides of the leaflets

Oregon Grape

• This evergreen shrub features holly-like leaves and produces yellow flowers followed by dark blue berries

• All leaflets on each leaf are connected by 1 central stem.

• comes in Tall or Dull types

Tall

• Found in open, rocky areas in southern BC to central Oregon

Dull

• Found in closed canopy Douglas fir forests

Step moss

olive green/yellow/red in colour

-forms branches up to 20 cm long

-age determined by counting the number of steps in moss

-shade-loving plant

-able to “climb over” other mosses and other forest debris

Oregon beaked moss

Pinnately branched (leaves are on opposite sides of the stem)

Well-separated branch leaves

lichen

• light green flaky substance

• important factor in symbiosis between fungi and algae

• one of the first things to attack a bare rock (don’t need to grow in soil)

• one of main components in producing soil

bog rosemary

• requires A LOT of water

• blue-green leaves with clusters of white-pink blossoms

• POISONOUS (please be careful around these)

• 1-2 feet tall

Sword Fern

• evergreen

• up to 1.5 meters tall

• clustered fronds that are lance shaped

  • fronds have pointed, sharp, toothed leaflets

    • each leaflet has a small lobe on the top

Lady Fern

• lacy, delicate, bright green fern

• lance shaped fronds

  • tapers at both ends

• softer than other ferns

• oval clusters may be found on the undersides of the leaves

salmonberry

• leaves have 3 triangular hairy leaflets

• reddish-purple flowers

• berries are orange-bright red

• up to 4 m high

red huckleberry

• angled stems

• bright green foliage

• ovalular leaves, widely spaced

• round, red berries

• small, urn-shaped flowers at base of the leaves

sitka spruce

• 60-70 meters high

• droopy, sharp-needled branches

• thin, grayish-brown scaly bark

western hemlock

• soft, flat, round-tipped needles

• droopy top most twig

• 70 meters high

• small oval cones attached to the branches

western red cedar

• red bark that peels in long strips

• flat, scale-like needles

• 60-70 meters high

• flattened, droopy, branches with tiny scaly cones at the ends

vine maple

• shrub

• leafy + wide-spreading

• light green leaves (that turn red in the fall aka now)

  • similar shape to maple leaves but smaller

red alder

• can be a tree or a shrub!?!

  • up to 20 meters tall as a tree

• thin, smooth bark that is marked with horizontal lines

• leaves have pointed ovals + toothed, rolled-under edges

skunk cabbage

• only grows in standing water or saturated soils (dw the wetlands gotchu)

  • HUGE 1 METER leaves

  • tiny flowers are surrounded by a yellow spathe

  • stinks (in the spring)

• use the tree trunk in the background of the photo as a size reference…these r pretty huge

creeping buttercup

• soft, hairy compound leaves

  • 3 leaflets

• stands on long petioles aka mini leaf stems

• 5-petaled yellow flowers

• round fruits with greek spikes

salal

• dark green, almost-waxy leaves

• distinctive sweet, dark blue berries

• incredibly adaptable (can survive in most climates and requires little care)

• 0.2m - 3 m tall

• spring flowers are white and slightly sticky

• grows in lush thickets

hardhack

• shrub

  • 1-2 meters

• hairy magenta flowers in summer (turn darker in the fall)

• forms conical clusters

• oval leaves with tiny teeth

• aggressively grows in moist climates (more controlled growth in dry areas)

• grows in thickets

labrador tea

• dark, leathery leaves

• rusty, orange coloured hairs on the underside of the leaves

• edges of leaves curl over

• white flowers arranged in clusters at the ends of the stems

• up to 2 meters high

• green year-round

• evergreen leaves used to make tea; crushed leaves give off a fragrant scent

• generally able to survive forest fires (one of the first plants to recolonize after a fire)

• grows in dense colonies

• grows up to 1 m tall

sphagnum moss

• shallow roots

• grows very close together (often forms “bog mats” that are VERY strong)

• can hold a large amount of water (up to 20 times its weight) due to capillary tubing

• tiny, slightly-toothed leaves

bog laurel

• shrub

  • up to 50 cm tall

• often confused with Labrador Tea

  • leaves are darker

  • leaves have a distinctive white midrib

• flowers are saucer shaped and deep rose in colour

sundew

• narrow leaves that extend to rounded ends

  • covered in long, reddish, sticky hairs

• leaves form a whorl

• flowers at the base of the leaves

• carnivorous

cranberry

• shrub

  • small + trailing

• leathery, green leaves

• deep pink flowers that develop into red, waxy barries

cotton grass

• sedge

• tall, stout stem

  • 30-70 cm in height

• flower cluster at the end of the stem develops into a cotton-like tuft

• leaves, if there are any, are at the base of the plant

common cattail

• long, narrow, grayish-green leaves

  • pointed tips and a brown, flower spike

• just see the picture…

sedges

SEDGES HAVE EDGES!

• grow in standing water or saturated soils (dw the wetlands gotchu)

• triangular stems

• fibrous roots

  • if it has leaves, it is grass-like and shaped like a “w” when cut across

common rush

RUSHES ARE ROUND!

• grows well in saturated soils or standing water up to 4 inches deep

• smooth, cylindrical, upright stems

• leaves that sheathe the stem

  • may have clusters of brown or green flowers

spike-rush

• clumps of round or flattened stems are dark green

• no leaves

• flowers form a small brown cluster at the tips of the spikes

small fruited bulrush

• w-shaped, grass-like leaves

• triangular stem

  • up to 1.5 meters tall

• clusters of dark green or brown flowers above the stem

Canadian Rush

• stem is round-oval in cross section

• leaf is elliptical in cross section

• 40-120 cm tall

• small green-brown flowers

reed canary grass

• a strong grass

• hollow stems

• upper leaves are 45 degrees from the stem

• little, scaly flowers held atop the stem

Quack

• 30-120 cm tall

• flat-smooth leaves, with hairy lower sheaths (distinctive curling in leaves)

• considered an invasive weed

• can grow up to 2.5 cm a day (under ideal conditions)

reed grass aka common reed

• very tall (for grass)

  • 2-3 meters

• long stems + leaves

• flower is a purple, rush-like spike that fades into straw colour

bog blueberry

• 20 to 50 cm high

• leaves are bluish-green, smooth and are widest at the tip

• the berries are dark blue and have a waxy coating on them when in season

red elderberry

• shrub to small tree with soft, pithy twigs

• bark reddish-brown

• divided into 5-7 leaflets

cloudberry

• TINY dark green toothed leaves

• also consists of clover-like leathery leaves

• looks like a raspberry, but more orange

• 10-25 cm in height

• more plentiful in wooded than in sun-exposed areas