Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, Bellevue, Washington: April 19, 2012

Location: Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, Bellevue, Washington, USA

Date: April 19, 2012

Time: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Weather Conditions: significant rainfall, 100% cloud cover, muddy trail, flowing creeks and streams, mid-high 40s (°F)

Summary of Observations: Hiked through temperate rainforest of primarily Douglas Firs, Red Alders, Black Cottonwoods, Western Red Cedars and Western Hemlocks. Fewer Big Leaf Maples and very few (~2) Sitka Spruces. Many of the alders and maples had long moss hanging over their branches. Understory comprised of very abundant, flowering Salmonberry. Spotted multiple butterflies pollinating the Salmonberry. Also abundant in the understory was Oregon Grape (both tall and creeping) and Sword Fern. Less abundant, though still prevalent, was Huckleberry (mostly in fallen nurse logs), Red Flowering Currant, Indian Plum, Deer Fern and Salal. Spotted minimal invasive Blackberry and European Holly (though we did see one very large holly tree). Saw one patch of Devil’s Club, also saw a few Horsetails. Groundcover primarily flowering Pacific Bleeding Heart, Pink Purslane, and Maianthemum dilatatum. Also saw some invasive, weedy grasses as groundcover. Near the streams and riverbeds, saw large, flowering Skunk Cabbage. Also saw a lot of flowering Trillium, and some Sweet Coltsfoot near one of the trailheads off the old mining road (near the clay pit). Spotted some Stinging Nettle along the trail.

Species List:

1. Populus balsamifera (Black Cottonwood)
2. Acer macrophyllum (Big Leaf Maple)
3. Alnus rubra (Red Alder)
4. Thuja plicata (Western Red Cedar)
5. Picea sitchensis (Sitka Spruce)
6. Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir)
7. Tsuga heterophylla (Western Hemlock)
8. Blechnum spicant (Deer Fern)
9. Polystichum munitum (Sword Fern)
10. Mahonia nervosa (Dull/Creeping Oregon Grape)
11. Mahonia aquifolium (Tall Oregon Grape)
12. Acer circinatum (Vine Maple)
13. Rubus spectabilis (Salmonberry)
14. Oemleria cerasiformis (Indian Plum)
15. Vaccinium parvifolium (Red Huckleberry)
16. Gaultheria shallon (Salal)
17. Dicentra formosa (Pacific Bleeding Heart)
18. Oplopanax horridus (Devil’s Club)
19. Lysichiton americanum (Skunk Cabbage)
20. Urtica dioica (Stinging Nettle)
21. Petasites frigidus (Sweet Coltsfoot)
22. Trillium ovatum (Pacific Trillium)
23. Claytonia sibirica (Pink Purslane)
    
24. Maianthemum dilatatum
25. Genus Equisetum (Horsetails)

Posted on Απρίλιος 20, 2012 1025 ΜΜ by sophiejhart