Post 6: Pine Ridge Park - Fungi Field Trip

On October 27th at around our class met at Pine Ridge Park in Edmonds, Wa. It was a clear sunny morning, but the air was crisp and chilly. You could tell it was a forested wetland even at the parking lot, because of the thick coldness of the air indicating humidity. Parts of the forest were just tall Douglas Firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Western Red Cedars (Thuja plicata) and other coniferous trees, on the forest floor there were some sparsely spaced shrubs and ferns. On the other side of the park there is a drainage basin and a pond named Goodhope Pond with a surrounding wetland.

                                                      Here is a map of Pine Ridge Park

One of the organism I observed was Dust Lichens (Lepraria species). Its greenish bluish powdery granules made it easy to identify. It is usually found on bark, wood, or rocky outcrops in humid places like this forested wetland. In this case I observed the Dust Lichens growing on a Douglas Fir trunk.

                                                                               
   












                               




Another organism I identified was Deer Fern, its medium size and frond-like leaves. The stalks tend to be 20-80cm tall or long. There tends to be about 35 to 70 pairs of frond leaves on each stalk, and are spaced widely apart. They thrive in moist, or wet forests, under Alder, on stream banks or bogs. They look very similar to a sword fern. The few I observed were grown through some fallen sticks and branches.

The last organism I identified was Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). This tree is easily identified by its reddish fibrous bark. They are usually longer trees, with branches that spread out and droop. The leaves are scale like, with a egg shaped pollen cone. They tend to grow in moist to wet forested areas, but will grow in drier areas if the soil is rich in nutrients. I found this tree near the beginning of the park on a slope.


Works Cited:
MacKinnon, A., et al. Plants of the Pacific Northwest coast. Partners Publishing, 2016.