Blog post #5 Gold Park

Gold Park

Group Members: Sara Leeman, Brandon Chapdelaine, Chet Przybysz

Organisms we identified:

Trees-

1. Grand Fir- the grand fir was hard to distinguish with other similar looking species. However, we were able to distinguish them because of the ridged and scaly bark on the older trees. These trees also have flat needles that are rounded at the tip, but sometimes pointed on cone bearing branches.

2. Singleleaf Pinyon- this one was a little easier to distinguish. It has pointed needles and  branches that angle upwards on a curve. It also looks very stocky and has very dense foliage that covers the trunk of the tree.

Shrubs-

1. Cascade Oregon Grape- We chose this plant because of it’s unique colorful leaves. At first we thought it was a black huckleberry bush (using the cascade plants identification book) but after using the dichotomous key (thanks Gwen!) we found it to be a cascade oregon grape.  

Ferns-

1. Deer fern- These ferns share similar features with the sword ferns but have a few distinct attributes. They have very pale green leaves with a stalk that grows out of the center of the plant but look different from fern itself. The leaves are also smaller near top and bottom of stalkings

-I had never been to Gold Park before, which is funny because it is so close to the college. It was a good experience, and it was interesting to find so many different organisms in one place. I think this trip helped me better understand how to ID plants.

-It was an interesting place to go on a field trip. I have actually been learning about the Gold family in the anthropology class and the obstetrics practice they held on the property, so it was interesting to visit the park knowing some of the history.

-I think something I took away from this little field trip was how I am often so unaware of all the different species of plants around me! It was interesting to learn about the different types of ferns and how to identify their differences. (deer fern, sword fern, oak fern). I didn’t really know about any other kinds of ferns besides the lady fern and the sword fern before taking this class.

- Some questions that came up while at Gold Park were what kind of animals inhabit this area, and how do they benefit the plants we identified? How does the park being surrounded by the city have an affect on the organisms?

Pictured here: Grand Fir, Grand Fir pinecone

Singleleaf Pinyon

Cascade Oregon Grape

Oak Fern