UBNA Tour Plant Guide

Plants (Pink)

While Union Bay Natural Area is full of diverse plants, and each can find their own favorite spot, favorite plant, or favorite tree for a bit of shade, I have chosen to share the South Pond as the quintessential area for observing the most diverse plant-life. Where there is water, there is life.

This is a site which has not only plants but many animals as well, all whom enjoy the lively habitat created by the pond. While you have been walking through quite a few of these plants all along, here is a list of the plants surrounding the South Pond:
1) Cotton Wood, Populus balsamifera, member of the Willow family. This tree will produce a catkin flower, and sticky, yellow buds which are quite fragrant. The leaves of the Cotton Wood are arrow shaped, ovate, entire, shinny above, and dull gray below. The bark is gray and the trees retain much water which makes them unsuitable for wood burning (they are wetland indicators). The Cotton Woods here are also very tall, and grow alongside the pond in the shallow water.


2) The Rush, Juncus effusus, is the second species I would like to identify, which explains why I had thought I had seen Idaho Fescue (but clearly, did not). It has a single round, long stem and at this point most of the Rush is from last year, but in the center of the Rush, located in the pond, there is new, green color from this season.

3) The Pacific Willow, Salix lucida, also borders the pond. It is pretty tall, but not as tall as the Cotton Woods here, in general. It has oval/elongate, fine toothed, lanceolate, leaves with small hairs, yellowish twigs, and produces catkins. The bark is grayish and furrowed, and it grows in the same shallow water as the Cotton Wood. Interesting fact: the Pacific Willow is prone to hybridization with others.

4) Red Osier Dogwood, Cornus sericea, is a thick looking shrub which is just as abundant in the area. The first thing to noticed about Red Osier Dogwood is the red hue of the twigs, then when we examined the leaves closely; the longitudinal veins of the leaves were noticeable, as well as an opposite leaf pattern, and an elliptical, entire shape. The Red Osier Dogwood grows in the dry and wet areas here. 

5) Oregon Ash, Fraxinus latifolia, is a member of the Olive family. It has opposite, pinnately compound leaves that count 5 to 7 on a stem, which are elliptical in shape, entire, and have a hairy underside. The bark is gray, and furrowed in forking ridges. It is growing in the drier area alongside the walking path.

For an extra challenge, see how many of these species you can spot throughout the tour:

6) Sitka Spruce, Picea sitchensis, is a member of the Pine family. The needles surround the twig and are stiff, and the cones hang down and are cylindrical with thin, papery scales. The bark is gray and thin, and there are very bright green buds on the ends of the tree branches here. The tree is growing in the drier grassy areas.

7) Ponderosa Pine, Pin ponderosa, is also a member of the Pine family, naturally. The needles are bundled in groups of three, and the cones are egg-shaped and reddish. The trees' bark is thick and brown-colored, and the tree also grows in the drier grassy areas here.

8) Pacific Madrone, Arbutus menziesii, is a member of the Heath family. The flowers on the Pacific Madrones here are very small, white, and bell-shaped, and bark is smooth and red with dense cold wood ("refrigerator tree"). The leaves are waxy and elliptical/oblong with small tooths, and a simple pattern. The tree is also growing alongside the drier walking path area.


Also keep an eye out for:

• Paper Birch
• Quaking Aspen
• Lodgepole Pine
• Garry Oak
• Nootka Rose
• Snowberry Shrub
• Baldhip Rose

Invasive plant species:

• Yellow Flag Iris
• Blackberry
• Scotch Broom

The plants here (excluding the three noted invasive species) are all naturally occurring species in in the region, and when Union Bay Natural Area was restored there was an effort to bring back and cultivate many of these species in order to return the area to her natural beauty.

Lichens / Fungi (Blue)

Seattle is a city in which the air is of better quality than other major US cities and because of this, fungi and lichens litter the trees within the city's limits (dryness is not a factor, but waste can be in densely polluted areas). Fungi include moss, yeasts, lichens, and molds. At Union Bay Natural Area there are lichens at eye level on a few of the tall trees along the trails. Located around the blue star on the map are tall coniferous trees (perfect for spotting lichens). Here is an example of a lichen you may be able to see while keeping your eyes glued to the trees.

Oakmoss:

 (c) Richard Droker, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND)

A lichen is a fungus which has formed a relationship (which is not wholly understood to be symbiotic or parasitic) with a colony of microscopic algae or cynobacteria, and attaches itself to a substrate. The fungus surrounds the algae and provides surface area in order to collect moisture and nutrients from the tree,  or soil, etc., and the algae provides carbohydrates from the process of photosynthesis. Humans have used lichens for food, dye, medicine and fiber, but are not the only ones who benefit from lichens. The nutrients that they possess become a nutritious addition to the diet of many animals who reach into the trees, or soil, perhaps just grazing across the earth floor. 
Lichens have three main forms 1. Crustose, 2. Foliose, 3. Fruticose.
There are other types of fungus to be seen at UBNA as well. Here are a few examples:

Artist's Bracket (Artist's Fungus), (Artist's Conk):

(c) Gregory H, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

Common Ink Cap (Japanese Parasol):

(c) Ripton Scott, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

Mushrooms, unlike lichens, are ephemeral. The only part of the mushroom that we can see is the fruiting body (the cap and stem), which produces spores. There are two major clades of mushrooms; most mushrooms are Ascomycota (75% of described fungi, cup fungi, most lichens), and the second is Basidiomycota (gilled mushrooms, some lichens).

(Photos with Copyright information gathered from iNaturalist.org)