by
Course Volunteer Phyllis Daniels & Course Coordinator Mary Kiesau
Susan Ballinger, Wenatchee-area naturalist and
educator and creator of The Wenatchee Naturalist course, was the fourth speaker
in the Methow Conservancy's 2014 Methow Conservation Course “Botany: The Basics
& Beyond.” This is the 10th annual course.
Susan started the class off with some information
about the Washington Native Plant Society and a quick overview of a conifer key,
which is ordered according to their evolutionary development.
Male pine "cones" aka strobili will release pollen. |
Conifers are gymnosperms which means “naked
seed.” Unlike angiosperms (the flowering
plants we studied in the previous three classes), conifer seeds are not
contained within an ovary (aka not covered with fruit). The seeds are born in cones and on
scales. Most conifers are evergreen
(except Larch in our area) and have needle or scale-like “leaves.” Most
conifers bear both male and female cones. The smaller male cones called
strobili produce pollen. While the female cone produces seeds. The female
cone receives pollen by way of the wind.
Conifers have developed from uncertain conditions;
they can tolerate badly drained soil; they have adapted to wildfire; they are
sun seekers; and can grow tall and massive.
In the world’s forests most trees are broadleaf. Because of low
humidity, weeks of drought, with a mostly cool winter the Pacific Northwest has
mostly conifers.
From top left clockwise: Ponderosa, Lodgepole, Whitebark and Western White |
There are 3 families of conifers in WA
state and 19 native conifers in the Pacific Northwest. They are:
• PINE Family
– 4 true fir (Abies)
– 2 larch (Larix)
– 2 spruce (Picea)- 1 only coastal
– 4 pine (Pinus)
– 1 false hemlock (Psudotsuga)
– 2 hemlock (Tsuga)
• CYPRESS Family
– 1 white-cedar (Chamaecyparis)
– 1 juniper (Juniperus)
– 1 cedar (Thuja)
• YEW Family- 1 yew (Taxus)
Young trees often look different and
have differing characteristics than the adult trees that they grow into,
so to keep up with the incredible variety we must keep in mind some other
factors:
There are 3 habitats for conifers in
our area of the Pacific Northwest
•
Eastside
Low Montane Forest: 1800-3000 ft; gets 15-30” of precipitation; main conifers
that we find at this elevation have all adapted in some way to frequent
wildfires. They are the Ponderosa Pine, Western Larch, Douglas Fir, Grand
Fir, and Lodgepole Pine.
•
East-side
High Montane Forest: 4000- 6000 ft. - gets 35-50” of precipitation; the main
conifers are Subalpine Fir, Engelmann Spruce, Western Larch and Lodgepole Pine.
•
Subalpine:
6000 ft. - the closed canopy disappears and the weather is windy and dry. Growing there are Subalpine Fir, Whitebark
Pine, Subalpine Larch, and to a lesser degree Mountain Hemlock and Yellow
Cedar.
Common
Characteristics of our Primary Conifers
Western White Pine
·
Needles
are clusters of 5, whitish blue green, slender and flexible, 2.5 - 4 inches
long. They are lined with tiny teeth so feel rough.
·
Tree
shape is narrow open crowns with regularly spaced whorls of branches extending
from main trunk.
·
Cones
are long (6-11”), curved, slender, and have pitchy scales.
·
Bark
is gray and thin. Mature tree bark appears checkered. Sap weeps and orange
needles indicate blister rust infection.
Whitebark Pine |
Whitebark
Pine
·
Needles
are clusters of 5; yellow-green color, stiff and short (1.5 – 2.5 inches).
·
Confined
to the timberline zone in the Cascades it takes on stunted growth with shrubby
forms on snowbound windy sites.
·
Bark
is gray and scaly
·
Cones
are egg-shaped and 2-3 ½ inches long.
They remain closed on tree when ripe and rely on an unusual symbiotic
relationship with the Clark’s Nutcracker bird to disperse its seeds.
Because of the birds habit of burying a cache of these seeds the trees
tend to grow in clumps or groups. The cones are an important food for the
grizzly bear.
Ponderosa Pine
·
Needles
in clusters of 3 (sometimes 2), dark green and very long (5-10”).
·
Mature
trees have broad crowns of regular whorls of long limbs. As they grow, they
shed their bottom branches as an adaptation to fire which is hindered from
reaching the crown and forced to stay low to the ground.
·
Bark
is gray brown when young and becomes red-brown and deeply furrowed when mature.
Large trees shed the bark in jigsaw puzzle plates with a corky texture
that are resistant to burning. Once burned the area weeps causing a
“catface” that serves as insulation.
·
Cones
are egg shaped, symmetrical, 3-5 inches long with prominent prickly scales. Male strobili are purple
·
Needles
are in bundles of 2, are yellow-green and 2” long.
·
Bark
is thin, gray-red/brown, scaly and pitchy
·
Cones
are usually bent and narrowly egg-shaped. 1-1/2-2 inches. Sharp prickle on back of cone scale. Can remain closed on tree for several years
until burned.
·
Trees
are relatively short-lived (ave age 60 yrs) and have a small and slender form
in forested habitats, rounded crown in open habitats.
·
Adapted
to stand-replacement wildfires: -- their serotinous cones open only when heated
by fire. Seeds then spread & grow in full sun
Western Larch
·
Needles
are deciduous, in soft fine clusters of 25-40 on little woody spurs on branch.
Triangular, bright yellow-green,
·
The
tree has a tall narrow pointed crown.
·
Cones
are small (1 – 1.5”) with long bracts that extend beyond scales.
·
Bark
thick, deeply furrowed, flakes into orange brown plates. At base, thick and
corky and fire resistant. Rapidly grows
tall into a high open canopy.
Subalpine Larch
·
Needles
are like Western Larch needles but are in smaller clusters (20 – 30 needles),
are 4-sided, are blue green, and are marked on all sides by white rows of
stomata.
·
Bark
is yellow-brown, furrowed and thin, and broken into large loose scales.
·
Cones
are same size as W. Larch, are rounded and deep purple, covered in wooly hairs,
bracts longer than scales, end in long spikes.
·
New
shoots are covered with fine, white, wooly hairs, unlike W. Larch.
Sharp Spruce Needles |
Engelmann Spruce
·
For
Spruces think about Ss. Needles are sharp, and square (you can’t roll them between
your fingers) and short.
·
For
Engelmann spruce, needles are blue-green with whitish bands, about 1” long and they
extend from all sides of a twig.
·
Cones
hang down like a pendant, are oblong, 1-21/2” long, scales diamond shaped and ragged
at tips; rubbing them sounds like paper.
·
Bark
is thin, dark purple/reddish-brown; in loose scales that flake off easily
Douglas Fir (aka False Hemlock)
·
Not
a true fir.
3-pronged bracts extend beyond cone scales. |
·
Needles
are soft (fir think fur) and scattered singly over the twigs, often in rows on
opposite sides of the twigs, length varies around 1” long, mostly blunt at
apex, yellow or blue green.
·
Bark
is dark brown to black, deeply furrowed & thick
·
Cones
are 3-4” long, oblong to cylindric, pendant with a three-lobed bract that
extends past the cone scale (looks like a mouse feet and tail)
·
Best field ID mark: there’s a spear-like
tip at the end of every branch – touch the tip to feel a poke (true firs have
rounded tip)
Western Hemlock
·
Needles
dark green on top, whitish below; variable length up to 1 inch. Project outward on the sides of twigs,
making branches look flattened & spraylike.
·
Cones are small, up to 1 inch long, and almost as wide.
·
Bark is dark gray-brown & heavily furrowed, but only 1-inch
thick. Inner layers dark red to purple.
·
At
tree-top, bent over leader.
·
Needles
-- scattered singly and project from all sides of the twigs (looks like it has
crazy hair), about ¾ inch pale green or whitish on both sides b/c of rows of
stomata on both surfaces.
·
Bark
is dark reddish purplish brown, deeply divided by rounded scaly ridges.
·
Cone
is broadly cylindrical 1-2” long.
·
At
timberline, grows in a shrubby form.
True Firs have:
• Cylindrical cones stiffly erect on horizontal
branches near the top.
• Different pattern of foliage on
cone-bearing branches (denser)
• Cones stand upright on tree, are purple
and sappy when young, and then scales open and fall away, leaving the stalk of
the cone standing upright
• Young fir trunks have resin-filled
blisters on smooth bark.
Pacific Silver Fir
·
Needles
flattened, blunt, 1-inch long, glossy green on top, silvery white on rows of
stomata on underside (2 bands). Neatly
arranged with 3 rows of needles: one row each project horizontally from
opposite sides of twig, and one row runs along the top of the stem.
·
Bark--
ashy gray with lichen blotches, thin and smooth with resin blisters becomes
scaly on old trees.
·
Cone
is upright cylindrical, 3 ½ - 6”, deep purple and smooth.
·
Key field ID mark: Looking down on
branch, the stem is hidden from view; unlike grand fir with brown stem always
visible
fir cones stand upright and are purple and sappy |
Subalpine Fir
·
Needle
tips rounded, whitish on both sides, <1 inch. One white band above, 2 white bands
below. Growing on all sides of the
twig-on short, stiff horizontal branches all the way to the ground.
·
Cones are 2.5 – 4”, deep purple, often covered with an “icing” of
shiny resin.
·
Bark
is thin, smooth, light grey.
·
In
rocks & on ridge tops, takes on shrubby form
·
Slender
cone-shape sheds snow.
Grand Fir
·
Needles are flat, blunt, dark shiny green above & whitish (2
bands) on underside, >1 inch long.
Spread in two regular comb-like rows from opposite sides of twig
in a “two-ranked” array.
in a “two-ranked” array.
·
Cones are 3-5 inches, greenish. Sit upright, but sometimes tip
sideways due to weight.
·
Bark
is thick, furrowed, divided into narrow flat plates. In young trees-dark, gray,
& thin.
·
Fire-ladder,
due to low branches
Red Cedar |
Western Red Cedar
·
Needles are scale-like, oval, lying flat against
the twig, opposite in 4 rows, rounded on back & sharp pointed, and dark
yellow green.
·
Branches are spray-like, spreading down & outward.
·
Bark
is thin, ridged and fissured; is grayish to reddish brown. Mature tree bark can be peeled off in long
thin strips
·
Cones
are small, woody, egg-shaped, less than ½-inch thick.
Alaska
Cedar
•
Needles are scalelike, opposite in 4 rows. Prickly tip, Keeled
ridge on back. Dark bluish-green. 1/8-inch.
Branch in flat fern-like sprays.
After 2 years, needles turn yellow-brown for 1 year before being shed.
•
Cones are woody, rounded, <1/2 inch thick.
•
Bark
is shaggy & gray, hanging in loose rough pieces, but will not peel off into
strips.
•
Thrives
in cold, wet, climate. Deep snowfall
insulates tree from extreme cold.
•
Slow-growing-often
at upper limit of trees, avalanche chutes, bogs, or rocky crags.
Pacific Yew
·
Needles
are flat with pointed tips; arranged in two rows, one along each side of the
twig; dark green above, paler below (no white bands), ¾ - 1” long.
·
Bark
is reddish brown, thin, broken by broad fissures into red to purplish scaly
ridges.
·
Small
low-spreading tree 20-50 feet tall with asymmetrical form, often branching to
the ground, in understory of moist, mature and shady conifer forest and along
streams at low to mid elevations.
·
Cone
is hidden in a rounded scarlet, fleshy berry-like-cups (an aril); open at one
end.
·
Next
week’s class is on Ethnobotany.
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