Myrio On Live Sedge

Day 244: Beth Fallon, the Park's new Arnie (Plant Ecologist), got to meet Myrio today when she and I took a field trip to the site of our largest population. The receding snow meant that we had to do a bit more bushwhacking than Joe and I had done on Tuesday, but it also meant that new fungi had popped out further upslope to the limits of the host sedge. Beth agrees with me that a survey would be helpful toward understanding the effects of the fungus on the sedge, but unfortunately, it's too late to push it through the approval process this year. That said, she was intrigued by Myrio and my description of its life cycle, so to that end, I tried to find a free-floating specimen with its sclerotium still attached. I was unable to locate one, but for the first time, was able to take a sample of the complete fungus attached to its LIVING host. The specimen will go in the Park's herbarium once it is dried and mounted.

Herbarium Specimen

Day 217: I was a little unsure of protocol when I gathered two specimens of Tussilago farfara from the Park even though they were slated for removal, and decided that I'd better check with our Plant Ecologist before turning them over to the Invasive Plant Council. I'm glad I did, or I might have been guilty of a federal offense. Even noxious weeds growing within the boundaries of a national park are government property. I could have disposed of them in a government trash can, but I was prohibited from giving them away, even though both the IPC's and the Park's herbarium specimens eventually wind up at the UW's Burke Museum. After some discussion with Arnie regarding the irony of this situation, it was decided that I could keep them at home for pressing and drying, since he didn't have a place in his office where they wouldn't interfere with daily operations.

Per the instructions I had been given by the IPC, I placed the specimens between sheets of acid-free paper backed by newsprint and cardboard to absorb moisture. Stacks of encyclopaedias and dictionaries served as my press. Although I have not glued them down (I don't have the proper archival cement), they're ready to turn over to Arnie for further disposition. This was the best one, showing both the flowers as well as the leaf and root structure.

A Field Trip To Trifida

Day 197: Today, I had the delightful experience of taking the Park's Plant Ecologist Arnie Peterson on a field trip to see Corallorhiza trifida. After visiting the first site, we decided to hike the second trail despite impending rain. I had a little trouble relocating the specimen, but after backtracking fifty yards or so, I spotted it. At both sites, I had a little fun with Arnie, stationing him within a few feet of the plant and challenging him to find it. At the second site, I had to give a few hints: "About eight feet away...one o'clock from the maculata..." before he saw it. On the way back down, I stopped abruptly and turned to face him. "We're blind as a couple of bats," I said. Met with a blank look, I pointed. Two feet from the trail was a cluster of seven with one single off to the side. We'd walked right past them! It was a huge thrill for both of us.

We made another stop before returning to Longmire, and were equally baffled by a composite which had been brought to my attention by a colleague. The flowers were closed, but her photos had given enough detail to rule out several things, but even the expert was stumped. I had to chuckle when Arnie said, "I'm going to have look at all my books with pretty pictures of plants for that one."

My last surprise of the day was quickly snatched and pocketed with no restrictions on its harvest. Two nice morels followed me home to be turned into cream of morel soup. Mmmmmmm, yummy!