BLOG POST #5 BY: Kevin Ng, Kaki Tang, and Tyler Morris

Group Names: Kevin Ng, Kaki Tang, Tyler Morris

Organisms Identified:

Shrub #1: Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)

Our goal was to first identify a fern that was not a sword fern. We quickly stumbled into the bracken fern which stood out to us because of its narrow stalk and round leaves. Underneath the leaves the sori are consistent and continuous.

Shrub #2: Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus Armeniacus)

A common shrub that seems to be all around us if we look hard enough. We decided to identify this shrub because of its external defense system, thorns. Something we all know so well when we try to pick blackberries. We decided to see what characteristics the key would show us.

Tree #1: Bitter Cherry (Prunus Emarginata)

What was interesting about this tree was definitely it’s round shiny leaves. Although they are toothed, it is a distinct and very smooth pattern. It was slightly difficult trying to identify this tree because it was lacking the fruit that the key was referring to.

Tree #2: Western Hemlock (Tsuga Heterophylla)

What caught our attention about this tree was the tiny little pinecones. Although they were small, they were very consistent throughout the branches. What helped identify this tree was the pines which were rounded and opposite of each other.

I have been to Gold Park before, something that really surprised me was I’ve never noticed the little signs throughout the park that identify certain things growing in the park. I think it was interesting because it’s so close to the school. It is nice for students to realize how close they are to native species of the ecosystem.

One of the most interesting things I saw while walking through the park was the sign I initially saw that made me begin to notice them, which was a sign for ginger. Although I did not dig in the ground to see if it was still actively growing, it is amazing to think it was growing there at some point and time.

I did experience a perspective change, not necessarily in Gold Park itself, but more towards ferns and their variety. It is amazing to see all of the different kinds coexist with each other and cover low regions of shrubs. One question I had was does all of the runoff at the bottom of the park effect the health of the nearby organisms or are the organisms servicing us by being there? Another question I have is would it be more effective to the environment to implement a lot of smaller sized parks or fewer larger sized parks?