Lindsay Blair Rice Biology 470 Natural History Project
Introduction
For my Natural History Project, I chose to learn more about the organisms in the Northwest part of the Seattle University Campus. The taxonomic grouping that I decided to focus on was
Woody Plants.
1. Common name (s) Weeping Alaskan Cedar, Nootka Falsecypress
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2. This is an elegant, weeping, pyramidal evergreen. It can reach 60 to 90 feet in the wild; however, it normally ranges from 20 6o 35 feet. Since it is evergreen, it does not lose its leaves in the fall and has no color change. It has long, flattened branches, with bluish green scale like needles. The trunk stays straight throughout its lifetime.
3. There are six of these trees on the Northwest part of Seattle University campus. They are on the Northeast side of the Administration building on both sides of the sidewalk there. On the
South side of the sidewalk there are 3 that are next to each other. They look like they are about the same age and they are all three about fifteen feet tall. The other three are younger and are all about six feet tall. November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
November 17, 2006, 9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis pendula from the family: Cupressaceae
5. This tree is often used as a Bonsai tree, or in containers and above ground planters. The
Nootka Falsecypress is native to the Pacific Northwest and to coastal Alaska where the humid weather and moist soil conditions are optimal for its best performance.
6. I identified the Weeping Alaskan Cedar using the Seattle University tree identification sign.
My ecological facts came from the US Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service Website: http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/CHANOOA.pdf
2. Common name Fragrant Snowbell
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2. Fragrant Snowbell is a small 20 to 30 foot deciduous tree. Its leaves are dark green and 6 to 8 inches in length. From May to June it produces white bell shaped flowers with a pleasant fragrance.
3. This tree can be found on the Northwest part of the campus of Seattle University on the East side of the Administration Building. November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit. November 17, 2006, 9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Styrax obassia from the family: Styracaceae
5. The Fragrant Snowbell is native to Japan, Korea and Manchuria. Styrax produces a highly fragrant, balsamic resin called Benzoin, which is used in lotions, perfumes, tooth powders and incense and as an expectorant, inhalant and an antiseptic for external use.
6. I identified the Fragrant Snowbell using the Seattle University tree identification sign. My ecological facts came from the US Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service Website: http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/STYOBAA.pdf, and from the website http://www.botany.com/plant.aspx?plantid=101
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Lindsay Blair Rice Biology 470 Natural History Project
3. Common name Deodar Cedar
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2. This is a large evergreen coniferous tree with a pyramidal shape and a fairly straight trunk with lateral branches that are horizontally drooping. It grows 40 to 50 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide, while its trunk can reach almost three feet in diameter. Its needles are grayish green and 1 to 2 inches long. The female cones are barrel-shaped, and 3 to 5 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide. The male cones are 1 to 2 inches long, and disperse their pollin in autumn.
3. This Deodar Cedar can be found on the north side of the walkway that separates the Quad and the Piggott building slightly east of the South doors. November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit. November 17, 2006, 9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees
Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Cedrus deodara from the family: Pinaceae
5. The Deodar Cedar is a species of Cedar native to the western Himalaya in eastern
Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, Kashmir, northwest and north-central India, the southwestern most part of Tibet and western Nepal, occurring at altitudes between 1500-3200 m. The specific name deodara comes from the latinisation of the Sanskrit name, 'devadara', meaning timber of the gods.
6. I identified this Deodar Cedar using the US Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service
Website: http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/STYOBAA.pdf. My ecological facts came from the Wikipedia encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedrus_deodara .
4. Common Name Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine
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2. This is a medium-size coniferous evergreen that reaches 15 to 45 feet with a trunk diameter of up to 4 feet. Its bark is grey-brown, thin and scaly at the base of the trunk. Its leaves are 1 to 2 inch long needles with a deep green to blue-green color. Its cones are cylindrical with dimensions of 2 to 4 inches long and 1 to 2 inches broad. The cones are purple at first and turn to yellow when ripe.
3. This tree can be found on the Northwestern part of the Seattle University Campus. It is on the southeast side of the Administration building right off of the walkway to the south doors.
November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit. November 17, 2006,
9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Pinus aristata from the family: Pinaceae
5. The Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine is a pine native to the United States, where it occurs in various places such as the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and northern New Mexico, with an isolated population in the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona. It thrives in very high altitudes, from
7500-11000 feet, and in cold, dry subalpine climate conditions. Rocky Mountains Bristlecone
Pine is the most common of the bristlecone pines in cultivation, where it is a very attractive slow-growing small tree suitable for small gardens in cold climates. However, it is never as longlived as in the wild, typically living less than 100 years before it dies due to root decay in the warmer, moister conditions common in most inhabited places.
6. I identified this specimen of the Bristlecone Pine using the Seattle University tree identification sign. My ecological facts came from the Wikipedia encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_aristata.
5. Common name Mountain Hemlock
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Lindsay Blair Rice Biology 470 Natural History Project
1. Picture 3007
2. The Mountain Hemlock is a large evergreen coniferous tree that grows from 60 to 120 feet tall and can have a trunk diameter of up to 6 feet. It has thin bark that is square-cracked and gray.
The leaves are needle like and the branchlet tips are slightly pendulous. The cones are very small and dark purple when immature. 5 to 7 months after pollination the cones mature to a redbrown.
3. This tree is located on the West side of the Piggott building near the west doors. November
16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit. November 17, 2006, 9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Tsuga mertensiana from the family: Pinaceae
5. The Mountain Hemlock it is not very shade tolerant, with young plants typically growing up in open conditions in full light. It has the most success in moist sites with very heavy winter snow which provides it a steady source of meltwater through the spring and summer. Its drooping branches are an adaptation that allows it to cope with heavy snow and ice loads and shed snow readily. It is native to the Pacific Northwest; its northwestern limit is on the Kenai Peninsula of
Alaska, and its southeastern limit is in northern Tulare County, California. It differs from the
Western Hemlock in that it grows mostly at high altitudes (except in the far north), from sea level to 3000 feet in Alaska, 4800-6900 feet in the Cascades of Oregon, and 7500-9150 feet in the Sierra Nevada.
6. I identified this specimen of the Bristlecone Pine using the Seattle University tree identification sign. My ecological facts came from the Wikipedia encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuga_mertensiana.
6. Common name Giant Sequoia
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2. The Giant Sequoia is a conifer tree which can grow to an average height of 150-280 feet and
16-23 feet in diameter. The bark of the Giant Sequoia is commonly orange-red, fibrous, furrowed, and may be 2 feet thick at the base of its columnar trunk. The leaves are evergreen and the seed cones typically remain green and closed for up to 20 years.
3. This tree can be found on the campus of Seattle University on the Southwest lawn of the
Piggott building. November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
November 17, 2006, 9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Sequoiadendron giganteum from the family: Cupressaceae
5. Giant Sequoia is the world's largest tree in terms of total volume. Record trees have been reported to be 93.6 m (307 ft) in height and 8.85 m (29 ft) in diameter. The oldest known Giant
Sequoia based on ring count is 3,200 years old. There are two animals responsible for Giant
Sequoia seed release. The more significant of the two is a longhorn beetle ( Phymatodes nitidus ) that lays eggs on the cones, into which the larvae then bore holes. This cuts the vascular water supply to the cone scales, allowing the cones to dry and open for the seeds to fall. Cones damaged by the beetles during the summer will slowly open over the next several months. Some research indicates that many cones, particularly higher in the crowns, may need to be partially dried by beetle damage before fire can fully open them. The other animal is the Douglas Squirrel
( Tamiasciurus douglasi ) that gnaws on the fleshy green scales of younger cones. The squirrels are active year round, and some seeds are dislodged and dropped as the cone is eaten.
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Lindsay Blair Rice Biology 470 Natural History Project
6. I identified this specimen of the Giant Sequoia using the Seattle University tree identification sign. My ecological facts came from the Wikipedia encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_sequoia.
7. Common name Noble Fir
1. Picture 2994
2. It is a large evergreen tree typically up to 120-210 feet tall and 6 feet trunk diameter, rarely to
267 feet tall and 8 feet diameter, with a narrow conic crown. The bark on young trees is smooth, grey, and becomes red-brown and rough on old trees. The leaves are needle-like, 1.5 inches long, blue-green in color above and have a blunt to notched tip. They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but twisted slightly s-shaped to be upcurved above the shoot.
3. This tree can be found on the campus of Seattle University on the North lawn of the quad.
November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit. November 17, 2006,
9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Abies procera from the family: Pinaceae
5. The Noble Fir is very closely related to the Red Fir, which replaces it further southeast in southernmost Oregon and California, being best distinguished by the leaves having a groove along the midrib on the upper side; Red Fir does not show this. Red Fir also tends to have the leaves less closely packed, with the shoot bark visible between the leaves, whereas the shoot is largely hidden in Noble Fir. The wood is used for general structural purposes and paper manufacture. It is also a popular Christmas tree.
6. I identified this specimen of the Noble Fir using Mac’s Field Guide to Pacific Northwest
Trees. My ecological facts came from the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Fir
8. Common name Mugo Pine
1. Picture 3010
2. The Mugo Pine is a low, shrubby, often multi-stemmed plant to 9-18 feet tall with symmetrical cones. It has dark green leaves ('needles') in pairs, 1 to 4 inches long. The cones are nut-brown, 1 to 2 inches long, symmetrical, thin-scaled and matt texture.
3. This tree can be found on the Northwest part of the campus of Seattle University on the
Northeast lawn of the Administration building. This tree leans quite a bit to the right and it is only about 7 feet tall. November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
November 17, 2006, 9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Pinus mugo mugo from the family: Pinaceae
5. Mountain Pine or Mugo Pine is a high altitude European pine, found in the Pyrenees, Alps,
Erzgebirge, Carpathians, northern Apennines and Balkan Peninsula mountains from (mostly)
1,000 m to 2,200 m, occasionally as low as 200 m in the north of the range in Germany and
Poland, and as high as 2,700 m in the south of the range in Bulgaria. An old name for the species
Pinus montana is still occasionally seen, and a typographical error " mugho " (first made in a prominent 18th century encyclopedia) is still repeated surprisingly often.
6. I identified this specimen of the Mugo Pine using the Seattle University tree identification sign. My ecological facts came from the Wikipedia encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Pine.
9. Common name Japanese Maple
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Lindsay Blair Rice Biology 470 Natural History Project
1. Picture 3001
2. The Japanese Maple is typically a small tree that reaches heights of 15-36 feet. It normally grows as an understory plant in shady woodlands. The leaves are 2 to 5 inches long and wide, with five or seven acutely pointed lobes. The color of the leaves can be either green or dark red.
3. This tree can be found on the Northwest part of the campus of Seattle University on the East lawn of the Administration building near the South entrance. November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm:
Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit. November 17, 2006, 9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Acer palmatum from the family: Sapindaceae
5. The Japanese Maple is a species of maple native to Japan, Korea, and northeast China.
Japanese Maple is occasionally mistaken for Cannabis, as the leaves of some Japanese Maple cultivars can look superficially similar to Cannabis leaves. Japanese Maple differs in having the leaves arranged in opposite pairs, while Cannabis has spirally arranged leaves. Japanese Maple also has the winged samara fruit characteristic of the genus Acer . The maple also grows with a densely branched shrubby or tree-like form, while Cannabis has an erect, often single-stemmed herbaceous form.
6. I identified this specimen of the Japanese Maple using the Seattle University tree identification sign. My ecological facts came from the Wikipedia encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Maple.
10. Common name Blue Spruce
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2. The Blue Spruce is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 75-90 feet tall, exceptionally to
138 feet tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 4.5 feet. The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates 2 to 5 inches across. The leaves are needle-like, ½ to 1 inch long, stout, rhombic in cross-section, dull gray-green to bright blue; the tip is viciously sharp.
3. This tree can be found on the Northwest part of the campus of Seattle University on the South lawn of the Piggott building near the South entrance. November 16, 2006, 12:00 pm: Sunny, cold, windy, 48 degrees Fahrenheit. November 17, 2006, 9:00 am: grey sky, rainy, 50 degrees
Fahrenheit. November 18, 2006, 3:00 pm: grey sky, showers, 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Picea pungens from the family Pinaceae
5. It is native to western North America, from southeast Idaho and southwest Wyoming, south through Utah and Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico. It grows at high altitudes from 5400-
9000 feet altitude, though unlike Engelmann Spruce in the same area, it does not reach the alpine tree-line. It is most commonly found growing along streamsides in mountain valleys, where moisture levels in the soil are greater than the often low rainfall in the area would suggest.
6. I identified this specimen of the Blue Spruce and got my ecological facts from the Wikipedia encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_spruce
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