Pictures of the week 5.4.13

Somewhere in North Cascades National Park, summer 2004. It took me about a day and a half to reach this spot about half of which was off-trail.  I took the hard way. At one point on the trip one sweat soaked hour got me less than a quarter of a mile through giant rocks overgrown with vine maple. I was also stung by yellowjackets several times, once over my left eye near the eyelid.

Somewhere in North Cascades National Park, summer 2005. It took about 9 hours of walking, mostly off-trail to reach this spot.

Serviceberry or Saskatoon. Amelanchier alnifolia. I have noticed recently that these are blooming. The berries of this bush are sweet though the seeds are a little big. These berries were an important food source for Native Americans. These bushes will survive in the forest understory but they do best and produce the most berries in open areas. 

Serviceberry close up. I have read from a somewhat dubious source how serviceberries were named. In the old days in the north where the ground was too frozen in the winter to dig graves, the bodies of people who died during the winter were saved until spring when graves could be dug. Serviceberries were one of the flowers that were available at that time for funeral services. 

Serviceberry very close up. These bushes are a member of the rose family or Rosaceae. The main distinguishing characteristic of this family is flowers with 20 or more stamens (stamens are the male part of a flower).

Pacific flowering dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) is another plant currently flowering.

The large white "petals" are actually bracts which are specialized leaves that are below the petals. The real petals are on the small flowers in the ball in the center. 

Close up of Pacific flowering dogwood flower showing the very small flowers.  These will mature into red fruits similar to berries with one large seed per fruit. I have seen the crops of ruffed grouse stuffed with dogwood fruits.

Highly manipulated photo. I took a dogwood flower with almost perfectly symmetrical bracts and put it in a snowbank for this effect.  

Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). These are blooming now. They do best in open areas like roadsides, pastures and bluffs. I almost never see them in the woods. 

Woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is often encountered in open areas at the edge of the woods.  Note the veins are deeper on the leaves of this species and the flower petals are toothed rather than smooth as in the wild strawberry. 

Close up of woodland strawberry. I have never found these strawberries to be as flavorful as the wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). Strawberries are also in the rose family.                                               

Slide alder, Sitka alder or "tag" alder as my dad used to call it (Alnus sinuata). These are probably best known in this area for growing in avalanche tracks but I have recently noticed them growing in areas at lower elevations. This one is on the edge of a powerline right of way at about 400 feet elevation. I have also noticed them along stream beds at these lower elevations.

                                                                  

Close up of slide alder catkins. I think my dad got the name "tag" alder for these springy shrubs because when you try to walk through a thick patch of them they are constantly springing back and "tagging" you.