jhorthoss dagbok
Observations with notes made on various features of growth sites:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127153647
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129564694
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127153647
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/120394923
.
.
.
.
Highest altitude (Washington): 1950 m, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/128254588
and 1970 m, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/134421823 and mostly on Rainier. May be absent or rare above 1,800 m further north based on Fourth of July trail (but also could be from recent fire).
Lowest altitude (Washington): 100 m, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107856027
and many others on lower Columbia river basin on the edge of maritime influence.
High local density: Myriopteris Rock, Horsethief Butte, Little Si, Icicle Creek near Fourth of July Creek TH.
My hikes with NO plants found: Bowl and Pitcher Riverside State Park (Spokane), Dirty Harry's Balcony via Birdhouse (didn't check climbing walls much), Echo Mountain bald, Goose Rock summit (Deception Pass), Iron Horse Trail to Ragnar, Iron Peak west approach (except for Teanaway Peak), Lake Lillian (Rampart Lakes backdoor), Mount Si (main peak), Nahahum Spring Creek Canyon, Peshastin Pinnacles, Rocks of Sharon (near Spokane), Sharpe Park (Sares Head balds), Sugarloaf Mountain (Anacortes), Whiskey Dick/Chinaman's Hat Mountain (not sure I looked well).
In our northern areas spring growth starts in April to May (or even June for high sites) and is pale green to whitish green (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/123966618). Leaf curling/dessication may not occur at all or may occur from July through September, depending on site and summer precipitation.
At Icicle Creek sites, plants usually occur away from full sun when on south-facing rocks suggesting that the habitat is marginally wet enough. Should get better notes on this as it is not uniform and it doesn't appear to grow higher on Icicle Ridge (Fourth of July Creek, maybe partly fire recovery?). Probably a bit drier at Icicle Creek than Myriopteris Rock based on map gazing, but I really need to find good databases for precipitation and temperature.
"Myriopteris Rock" (my name) is a modest sized (approx 30m x 30m) bedrock protrusion just west of Salmon la Sac Road near the north end of Cle Elum Lake. It appears to be basalt, but it is not correctly labeled on https://geologyportal.dnr.wa.gov (probably an extension of nearby "Tertiary intrusive igneous rock"). It supports a large population (hundreds) of Myriopteris gracillima both in vertical and horizontal rock cracks with no obvious soil and on sloping surfaces that appear to have a thin soil cover over rock. The site will be covered in snow for at least a few months in winter, probably quite deep (will document later). All parts of the rock are easily accessible with a short walk on foot but appear to have only minor human disturbance except for a small flat area at the top. It is adjacent to a paved road with multiple houses nearby and with a convenient parking space for access. I anticipate that it is likely to be accessible nearly year round. There are some similar outcrops nearby, mostly on cliffs and slopes just east and southeast of Myriopteris Rock, but none are as accessible. They also support some Myriopteris but I haven't tried to survey them (most parts are extremely steep). Hikes nearby that are worth doing for local context include Hex Mountain and Sasse Mountain. The closest large ultramafic outcrop on the official map (https://geologyportal.dnr.wa.gov/) is about 8 miles to the NNE near Hawkins Mountain, but that map seems to exclude many smaller ultramafic sites.
Other plants on Myriopteris Rock are mostly mosses, grasses, Selaginella, and mat manzanitas (presumably A. nevadensis), some Cryptogramma, a few Penstemon fruticosis, Triteleia grandiflora, Rumex acetosella (Sheep's Sorrel not native, should be fine to pull it up), and probably scattered other Angiosperms that I have not yet recorded. There are Douglas Firs and Ponderosa Pines, mostly around the edges of the outcrop, but shade is generally minimal to none, except on the north side of steep rock. Cryptogramma acrostichoides is also fairly common, though the dominant fern is Myriopteris. I am fairly sure there are several Woodsia scopulina among talus on the NW side of the outcrop. There is Aspidotis densa nearby but none that I noticed on this outcrop. Most of the exposed rock appears weathered and is heavily populated with lichens, mosses, and Selaginella, consistent with long-term stable exposure. One north-facing cliffy section is heavily shaded and seems to have no Myriopteris, consistent with reduced sunlight (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130389674). Cryptogramma seems to replace Myriopteris in less sunny spots and my impression is that Myriopteris growing with even modest shade are smaller and have sparser fronds. Certainly all the big fat happy Myriopteris are in full sun, mostly on south facing slopes.
The Myriopteris Rock index observation is by cmaraist at location 47.330588, -121.106811 (+/- 3m)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/117790263
Myriopteris Rock:
August/September 2022:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130261551 (annotated rehydration tests)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130395104
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130186566
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130186159
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130185931 (annotated)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130389674 (Myriopteris absent)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/132152539 (longitudinal study plant 1)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/132152798 (longitudinal study plant 2)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/132153735 (longitudinal study plant 3)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/132154592 (longitudinal study plant 4)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/132154827 (longitudinal study field 1)
Little Si:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/119941573 (longitudinal study plant 1)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/135673227 (longitudinal study plant 2)
Apparent absence on Mount Si https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/117939338 - Mesozoic intrusive rocks
Other sites:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/119941188 (annotated, Little Si) Mesozoic metavolcanic rocks
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/119941869 (annotated, Little Si) Mesozoic metavolcanic rocks
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/125872850 (annotated, Iron/Teanaway Peak)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/126426676 (annotated, Bean Peak, one of three observations)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/126495488 (annotated, Horsethief Butte)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127127313 (annotated, Koppen Mt)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127698205 (annotated, Lake Ingalls)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129143121 (annotated, PCT near Kendall Katwalk)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130646332 (annotated, Sunrise Mt. Rainier)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136161791 (annotated, Sunrise Mt. Rainier)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/132655473 (annotated, Icicle Creek site)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/132601963 (annotated, Fourth of July Creek)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/133211009 (annotated, Iron Bear Creek)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/134420303 (annotated, Goat Peak over Chinook Pass)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/134812468 (annotated, Naches Loop Trail, Chinook Pass)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155086975 (annotated road cut, Icicle Creek)
.
.
.
S. nutalli: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127673470
S. rubella: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129545588
leaves 3-10 mm, 3-veined - rubella
leaves 5-20 mm, 1-veined - nutallii
(veins very hard to see in photos)
rubella sepals are smaller and come to a point but not tapered point
sepals 2.5-3.5 mm, acute (not spinescent) - rubella
sepals 3.5-6 mm (nearly as long as petals), acuminate to spinescent - nutallii
alpine - more likely rubella
sagebrush hills, nutallii
both may be subalpine
both extensively glandular to hairy
Apparently lowland Aspidotis in WA can regrow short sterile fronds in the fall. e.g. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10028347
Note - most of my observations about soil are out there somewhere in the literature but in very difficult to synthesize manners or places...
Aspidotis densa (Serpentine Fern) is usually described as unusually tolerant of serpentinite/ultramafic/peridotite derived soils (hereafter called "serpentine") but also appearing in other locations. No doubt this is to some extent true, but I suspect that a lot of the "non-serpentine" Aspidotis are on smaller serpentine exposures or other rocks/soils with unusual composition. There is a striking general correlation of observation number on iNaturalist and known outcrops of serpentine rock (including small ones that are not always easy to find in web searches) throughout WA, OR, and CA (and the Frontenac outcrop in Quebec).
For example, the dense population in Washington Park WA, the high density of sitings in parts of Marin County CA, some (but not all) patches through the Sierra Nevada, and the Sumas Mountain cluster in northwest WA, and a disjunct cluster in Quebec, all correspond to serpentine outcrops (in addition to obvious correlations in the Wenatchee and Klamath/Siskayou mountains). In California there are many known serpentine outcrops in the southern part of the state that appear to have no Aspidotis but I assume this is from other factors, especially general climate (warmer and drier). These include outcrops in Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey Counties.
In several places where I have made observations, there are local correlations as well, where well developed soils (probably ultimately serpentine derived but well weathered and enriched with organic material and perhaps partially leached of free heavy metals?) support few or no Aspidotis whereas nearby "barrens" support lots of Aspidotis. I am provisionally assuming that the failure of Aspidotis to grow in well developed soils is due to competition rather than direct failure to grow.
I need to locate better maps of serpentine outcrops, but there are good ones for Washington (https://geologyportal.dnr.wa.gov/2d-view), Oregon (https://gis.dogami.oregon.gov/maps/geologicmap/), and California (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-California-showing-counties-and-outcrop-areas-of-serpentinized-peridotite-after_fig1_228475957 and https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/gmc/). Actually I suspect these maps are not that helpful, since the WA state map around the Teanaway Wenatchees is clearly missing ultramafic sections. I suppose it is mostly failure to map small outcrops. I have made much progress in assigning serpentine regions, which will be presented as part of the project "Serpentine Plants of the Western United States".
I also wonder where there is some other soil syndrome unrelated to documented serpentine outcrops, on the basis of a very restricted zone (approximately 500 meters) along the north shore of Lake Cushman with very large Aspidotis densa populations but no documented serpentine that I could find:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/118201996
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/118201108
The edges of this Aspidotis zone appear to be well defined, with Aspidotis abrupty no longer present on adjacent rocks despite all other obvious conditions and flora patterns being the same. I hypothesize (guess) that heavy metal concentration is responsible (likely nickel, iron, or cobalt). An alternative is very low concentrations of calcium or potassium or a high magnesium/calcium ratio, also characteristic of ultramafic rocks, or some combination of these. The eastern edge of the zone may not be as well defined, as the open rock habitat drops off close by. The western edge seems quite clear (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/118199458).
Any geology expert or person with access to soil chemistry testing would be welcome to comment or help. :-)
[resolved mostly I don't understand the CA Sierra serpentine - some maps show lots of small outcrops in the Sierras but the main official CA map shows almost none east of the divide (e.g. near Lake Tahoe). It does show a NNW to SSE strip on the west side of the Sierra Ridge, running from about (-121.240, 40.100) to about (-120.760, 39.100), which probably accounts for some Aspidotis but there aren't obvious clusters.]
I am currently writing software to analyze observation "density" for taxa (research grade observation number normalized to total observations in some form of surface grid). If anyone knows of similar efforts that would be good too. Downloading and working with iNaturalist data is quite straightforward but I need better databases for things like temperature, precipitation, rock types, and non-U.S. elevation (the U.S. I can already handle).
Observations to do:
Oyster Dome Trail, south Chuckanut
Scatter Creek Trail to first ridgeline
Lake Ann Van-Epps approach
Tucquala Peak
Cashmere Mountain, lower
Miller Peak
Ingalls Creek again (lower)
trails around Johnny Creek Campground (Johnny Creek, Mac Creek)
