Scouler's Harebell

Day 266: Delicate Scouler's Harebell is purportedly common in lowland forests, but has been reported in only a handful of locations in Mount Rainier National Park. Over the last couple of years, Team Biota has contributed three new sites to the list, and there is some evidence that the seed is being transported by road equipment. While this isn't a major issue when we're talking about native species, seed dispersal of invasives by vehicles and equipment is a widespread problem. Non-native species such as the Lactucas, Fuller's Teasel, Knapweeds and others "hitchhike" in mud and soil caked in wheel wells and other accumulation pockets on vehicles. When these areas are not washed out properly, the dried material and the seeds it contains can be transported for many miles before dropping off the undercarriage of its own accord. Innocent as it may be of any plans for world domination, Scouler's Harebell might not have spread to the location where this image was taken had it not been for careless cleaning of equipment, growing in abundance around the stem of a new invasive which may have been "planted" by the same piece of machinery. It's food for thought.

The Cousins Epilobium

Day 295: Once thought to belong to the same genus as common Fireweed, the Epilobiums were set aside as genetically distinct and were retained as the genus while Fireweed was removed to Chamaenerion in another of those taxonomic moves which makes almost all of your field guides obsolete. If this nomenclatural shift seems insignificant to my readers, please understand that it is the result of hard science and as such, has benefits which outweigh the inconvenience of learning a new name. If we are to understand the ecological niche in which a species occurs, knowing that it is distinct from another species or genus is vital in order to determine its relationship to other species/genera within the same niche.

Shown here as a demonstration of diversity within a genus, the four-petalled flower characteristic of the Epilobiums is easily observed in species such as E. glaberrimum (left) and E. anagallidifolia (right), but not so readily seen in E. luteum (center) where the petals are broad and overlapping. With a loupe, one might also note that each flower contains eight stamens. When in fruit, the Epilobiums form a long four-chambered capsule which, when it is ready to release seed and splits, releases puffs of silvery-white hairs to which are attached individual seeds. The tiny seeds are dispersed by wind, borne aloft and sometimes carried for miles before dropping to the ground.