Leaves

Day 309: Here's a quick lesson in basic botany, presented in the form of a visual quiz. Don't worry, you won't be graded on your response.

We talk about leaves in many ways, throwing around words like "serrulate" and "runcinate" to describe their margins, referring to their tips as "cirrose," "aristate" and so on, "obelliptic" and "flabellate" for their shapes, but in the most elementary terms, leaves can be placed in one of two categories: simple or compound. A simple leaf is just that: it has a central vein and if it is lobed (think of an oak leaf), the most deeply cut portion of the lobes do not reach the central vein. It is generally attached to the main stem of the plant by a petiole (stalk). Please note that I said "generally." Sessile (stalkless) forms do occur. A compound leaf is made up of multiple leaflets arising from a single petiole, and compound leaves can be palmate (shaped like a hand) or pinnate (resembling a feather).

I promised you a quick lesson, so I won't go any further down the rabbit hole than this. From left to right, top row: 1) Golden Chain Tree, 2) Red Alder, 3) Sitka Mountain-ash; bottom row: 4) Vine Maple, 5) Philadelphus, 6) Horse Chestnut. Categorize these six leaves as follows: simple, palmately compound, pinnately compound.

And there. You learned a couple of new words in a relatively painless manner.

Answers: elpmis, evif, ruof, owt; dnuopmoc yletamlap, xis dna eno; dnuopmoc yletannip, eerht.

Penny Perspectives - Graphis Scripta

Day 99: Graphis scripta (Common Script Lichen) is as elegant as its scientific name sounds. The Latin words mean "inscribed" or "written," and it does indeed look like pencilled scribbles where it appears on bark. It is known to occur on a variety of trees (birch, beech and others), but here in the Pacific Northwest, it is most commonly found on Red Alder. As you can see, it is quite small, but when viewed under a hand lens, the unique elongated fruiting bodies reveal a longitudinal split. Where grain lines appear in the bark, these lirellae often follow the path of bark texture. What secret messages are hidden in Graphis scripta's code? Are they telling you to get outside and take a closer, much closer look at Nature?

Height Matters

Day 165: It's hard for me to make any progress along the trail when it's flanked by alder trees because that's where I'm likely to find one of my favourite lichens, the tiny (1/4" long) dashes of Graphis scripta. That said, I have made an observation which has so far held true: height matters. I always have to bend down to locate it. I have not yet seen it more than 3.5" from the ground regardless of exposure. None of my field guides mention this phenomenon and indeed it may not be universal. There are still a lot of alders out there which I haven't checked. I may never get where I'm going!

Needle In A Haystack

Day 134: Given the size of Graphis scripta, I knew that trying to document its occurrence in the Park was going to be a challenge. The only thing I had working in my favour was the knowledge that it likes to grow on alder (Alnus rubra). Kevin and I had spent some time examining alders up Kautz Creek last week with no success, so today, I hiked up the Westside Road to another location I thought might yield up my "target species." A deer was my only companion as I wove my way among Devil's Club and salmonberry vines, and I was just about to throw in the towel and was working my way back to the road when I thought to check the other side of a three-inch tree I'd already examined. There, threatened by concealment by bryophytes, was my prize!

These photos are the first I've taken since being given the go-ahead for a research project to document lichen species in the Park, and I don't have to tell you how jazzed I am at the prospect. But Graphis scripta was not my only find for today. Stay tuned! You'll see more in coming posts.

Penny Perspectives - Graphis Scripta

Day 119: At first glance, you could be excused for describing the bark of Red Alder (Alnus rubra) as a patchwork of white, grey and pale grey-green, when in actuality it is ash-grey to greyish-brown beneath a dappled surface. The motley coloration evidenced here in the "Pacific Northwe't" can be credited to a variety of finely crustose lichen species, among them the delightful Graphis scripta (Common Script Lichen). Its specialized apothecia (fruiting bodies) take the form of linear lirellae resembling pencil marks scribbled on a white canvas (the thallus of the species). Graphis scripta is the only script lichen common outside the southern US, and may be found on birch as well as alder within its PNW range. Presented here as a Penny Perspective, you may want to take a hand lens if you go hunting for it!

It's All Der Pollen In De Air

Day 168: It's dat time of year again, da time when all der pollen in de air makes my eyes water and my nose run. Red Alder (Alnus rubrum) is the current culprit, soon to be followed by Douglas Fir, the primary tree species in the Pacific Northwest. It's a hell of a note for someone as outdoorsy as I am to be allergic to the woods but fortunately, my allergies aren't severe. In fact, it usually takes me a couple of weeks to make the connection between irritated eyes and the blush of color on the Alders. My reaction to Doug Fir is a little more radical. Standing at the end of my carport, Big Doug powders my car with yellow dust which then works its way into the air recirculating system. A trip to town will have me scratching at my face and sneezing unless I remember to drive with the windows open for the first few miles. A few weeks of taking a mild antihistamine will get me through the spring season, and then I won't have another bout until the grasses bloom at the end of summer. For now, though, it's just Alder pollen in de air. No need to buy Kleenex stock just yet!