Download Winter Catkins Seeds Fruit

Winter in the Habitat Garden
Catkins, Seeds & Fruits
Hazelnut catkins Corylus cornutus
Red alder catkins
Alnus rubra
Pine siskin feeding
on alder catkins
Vine maple seeds Acer circinatum
Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus
Kinnikinick berries
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Oceanspray seedheads
Holodiscus discolor
Rose hips
Rosa species
Winter in the Habitat Garden
Catkins, Seeds & Fruits
Hazelnut catkins– Corylus cornutus
Red alder catkins
Alnus rubra
Pine siskin feeding on
alder catkins
Vine maple seeds– Acer circinatum
Snowberry- Symphoricarpos albus
Kinnikinick berriesArctostaphylos uva-ursi
Oceanspray seedheads–
Holodiscus discolor
Rose hipsRosa species
Winter in the Forest
Barks, Branches and Buds
Big leaf maple bark
Acer macrophyllum
Western red cedar bark
Thuja plicata
Bitter cherry bark
Prunus emarginata
Black cottonwood bark
Populus balsamifera
Red alder bark
Alnus rubra
Indian plum branches and buds
Oemlaria cerasiformis
Cottonwood branch and buds
Populus balsamifera
Black hawthorn branches
Crataegus douglasii
Red osier branch and form
Cornus stolonifera
Winter in the Forest
Evergreen Ferns & Shrubs
Deer fern Blechnum spicant with
Coast strawberry Fragaria chiloensis
Sword fern
Polystichum munitum
Licorice Fern
Polypodium glycyrriza
Evergreen huckleberry
Vaccinium ovatum
Salal
Gaultheria shallon
Dull Oregon Grape
Mahonia nervosa
New growth
Winter in the Forest
Signs of Spring
Swamp lantern, also called skunk
cabbage (Lysichiton americanum), makes
an early show in our wetlands.
Osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis), also called Indian plum, is
the first native shrub to flower in the Westside lowland forest.
Pacific chorus frog heralds in
the new year with its song.
Native violets (viola species) begin their
sweet scented bloom in late winter.
Trillium (Trillium ovatum) and Siberian
miners lettuce (Claytonia sibirica) bloom
together in a habitat garden.
Salmonberry (Rubus
spectabilis) has a bright pink
blossom which attracts
hummingbirds home from
their southern winter
migrations.
Wood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) carpets the
forest floor and provides a nearly year
round bloom in habitat gardens.
Western coltsfoot (Petasites palmatus) first shows as
thick buds that transform into tall stalks of white
flowers which are then followed by large leaves.
Each One Teach One - Wildlife Habitat
Snag
! Snags are tree trunks that are still standing after the tree has died.
! Snags can stand for as many years a
s the tree was living.
! Woodpeckers make holes in snags, which helps insects to begin living in the snag.
! Woodpeckers and other birds use the holes in snags to make nests.
The top of the snag will become hollow which makes good homes for bats and sometimes
black bears.
!
even
The inside of a snag can warm up through decomposition to 80
degrees.
!
Each One Teach One - Wildlife Habitat
Snag
! Snags are tree trunks that are still standing after the tree has died.
! Snags can stand for as many years a
s the tree was living.
! Woodpeckers make holes in snags, which helps insects to begin living in the snag.
! Woodpeckers and other birds use the holes in snags to make nests.
The top of the snag will become hollow which makes good homes for bats and sometimes
black bears.
!
The inside of a snag can warm up through decomposition to 80
degrees.
!
even
Each One Teach One
Beaked Hazelnut
The Senses- shapes, textures and smells
• The leaves are oval shaped with small teeth along the edges.
• The leaves of hazelnut are usually very soft and fuzzy.
• The leaves turn yellow in fall before falling off.
• The young branches are very flexible.
• The nuts are very hard to find and are covered with a leafy skin.
• Beaked hazelnuts have catkins that hang from the branches in the winter. They are green in fall
and turn bright gold in late winter.
Life & Growth
• Hazelnuts like to grow along edges of forests and along trails.
• Hazelnuts are small trees that do not get much taller than 12 foot tall.
• Hazelnuts grow in drier areas near water or in dry upland forests.
• Hazelnuts grow fast and usually grow in groups with other shrubs and small trees.
• Hazelnuts grow from the nuts that fall to the ground and also from suckers that spread from the
clump.
Each One Teach One
Dull
Beaked
Oregon
Hazelnut
Grape
Ethnobotany- native plant uses
• The
Berries
nutsare
from
harvested
hazelnut
in trees
late summer
were a favorite
and usedfood
for of
dried
the berries,
Native Americans,
drinks and jams.
and were
Theyharvested
are tart
sweet
in
late sour
summer
tasting.
and stored carefully for winter.
• Hazelnut
The bark is
species
important
are grown
medicine
commercially
for eye infections,
today and
stomach
the nutsinfections
are usually
andcalled
cuts. filberts.
• Hazelnut
The bark also
branches
makes
area split
very into
strong
fineyellow
fiber to
dyebeand
used
was
forused
basketry.
by Native
TheyAmericans
make veryto
strong
dye wool
blankets and robes, and for basketry decoration.
baskets.
• The long
very branches
young leaves
can also
and the
be twisted
flowersinto
are edible
rope. in small quantities for salads and snacks.
• The crushed leaves are also good medicine for small cuts.
Wildlife and Habitat
andareHabitat
•Wildlife
Hazelnuts
a favorite food of many species of wildlife especially squirrels, stellars jays,
•raccoons,
The berries
crowsare
and
important
ravens. food for mammals such as bear, coyote, red fox and raccoon.
• Crows
Many birds
and ravens
eat thesometimes
berries such
crack
as junco,
the nut
sparrow,
by dropping
towhee,
them
finch,
fromgrouse,
the skyand
onto
robins.
a hard surface.
• Squirrels
Deer and will
elk eat
gather
the young
many nuts
leaves.
and store them for winter.
• Other
Butterflies
smalland
animals
bees feed
such on
as the
mice
pollen
and chipmunks
from the flowers.
eat the nuts that have fallen to the ground.
• Rabbits and beavers eat the bark and new shoots.
Each One Teach One
Black Cottonwood
The Senses- shapes, textures and smells
•
•
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Leaves are shaped like a heart or spade.
Leaves are shiny and light green on the top, and whitish underneath.
Leaves turn yellow in fall, and turn can turn a deep black when they fall on the ground.
Buds on branches in fall through spring are very sticky and have a fragrant smell.
The seeds of cottonwood float through the air and look and feel like cotton.
The bark of older cottonwoods is dark gray and is deeply furrowed (like hills and valleys).
Life & Growth
• Black cottonwood grows very fast but usually lives less than 100 years.
• They can grow as tall as 150 feet.
• They often grow in groups, but may grow alone.
• Black cottonwood likes to grow in areas near water.
• Black cottonwood prefers to grow in sun or part shade but doesn’t like deep shade.
• When the leaves fall to the ground they turn a deep black, which helps to keep the soil warm in
winter from solar heat.
Each One Teach One
Black Cottonwood
Ethnobotany- native plant uses
• The sticky buds are important medicine for cuts, burns and colds.
• The sticky buds can be used as a sealant or as glue for attaching arrowheads and feathers to
arrows. They were also used to make baskets waterproof.
• The cottony seeds can be used to mix with wool for spinning, or gathered to make pillows.
• The large trunks can be used to make dugout canoes. This was the tree the Lewis & Clark
expedition most often used to make their dugouts.
• Cottonwood roots and branches were used to make the hearth and drill for friction fires.
• Many Native American people ate the sweet inner bark in spring.
Wildlife and Habitat
• Ducks eat the cottony seeds when they land in the water.
• Great blue herons, bald eagles and other large birds often make their nesting platforms in black
cottonwood trees.
• Crows gather in huge flocks and nest in cottonwood trees in winter.
• Bees collect the bud resin for their hives to help seal out infection and decay.
• Birds and mammals collect the cottony seeds to add to their nests.
Each One Teach One
Big Leaf Maple
The Senses- shapes, textures and smells
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Leaves are shaped like a hand with five fingers (called lobes).
Leaves are often very large, sometimes over almost 1 foot wide.
Leaves turn shades of yellow, brown and green in autumn before falling off.
Big leaf maple seeds are paired and shaped like a V. (Careful touching them, the young seeds have tiny stickers.)
Big leaf maple seeds have wings that are beautiful to look at closely.
Flowers in spring hang in clusters and are light green to white in color. They have a nice smell.
Bark is grey brown with ridges and valleys and often has soft moss growing on it.
Life & Growth
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•
•
•
•
Big leaf maple grows fast and can live for several hundred years.
Big leaf maple grows almost 100 feet tall and very wide.
Big leaf maple grows near water or in dry forests.
Maple seeds fly through the air like helicopters and can travel a long distance before landing.
Big leaf maple trees are often has many kinds of moss and licorice fern growing on them.
Big leaf maple trees
Each One Teach One
Big Leaf Maple
Ethnobotany- native plant uses
• Leaves are so large they can be used to prepare food on, as containers for food, or as emergency
picnic plates.
• Wood is very strong and dense. It is used to make very strong paddles for canoes and other
important tools.
• The sprouted seeds in spring can be used in salads or as a trail snack.
• The sap can be used to make maple syrup, though it is not the same as the sugar maple tree.
• The flowers are edible and can be used in salads, and other wild food recipes.
Wildlife and habitat
• Big leaf maple often has cavities in its trunk, which make important homes for many animals
such as raccoon, squirrel, woodpeckers and owls.
• Big leaf maple seeds are important food for many birds such as finches, grosbeaks and
nuthatches, and mammals such as squirrels and chipmunks.
• The flowers are important to butterflies and bees.
• Many birds make their nests on the large protective branches of big leaf maple.
• Young seedlings are eaten by many animals such as voles, rabbits and birds.
Each One Teach One
Red Cedar
The Senses- shapes, textures and smells
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The leaves are triangular in shape.
Leaves are flat and look like scales on a snake. Look closely and they also look like flat braids.
Bark is reddish brown, rough and stringy. Some people say it looks like beef jerky.
Crushed leaves have a nice cedar smell.
Branches of cedar trees are very flexible and strong.
The wood of cedar tree is light, splits easily and has a nice cedar smell.
Life & Growth
• Red cedar can live to be over 1000 years old and is an important tree in an old growth forest.
• Red Cedar can live in wetlands or dry upland forests.
• Red cedar can grow in shade, part shade or full sun.
• Red cedar cones are small and look like green rose buds when young.
• Older red cedar cones are brown and face up on the branches.
• Cedar seeds are inside the scales of the cone and when the cone opens the seeds have ‘wings’
which help them fly to a new place to grow.
Each One Teach One
Red Cedar
Ethnobotany- native plant uses
• The inner bark of cedar can be prepared into soft material that Native Americans used for
blankets, robes, skirts and even baby diapers.
• The wood of cedar tree is easy to split and carve. It is used for making houses, canoes, and
carved art such as masks, house posts and totem poles.
• Branches and roots of cedar are very flexible and make strong rope and baskets.
• Native Americans sometimes called Red Cedar the ‘Tree of Life’ because it provided shelter,
transportation and clothing.
Wildlife and Habitat
• Cedar seeds are important food for many small birds such as pine siskin, thrush and nuthatch,
and small mammals such as Douglas squirrel.
• The soft shreddy bark is used to line nests to make them warm and soft by ravens, crows and
Douglas squirrel.
• Many animals nest in the boughs of cedar trees such as raccoon, owls, squirrel, and many birds.
• Black bear will climb up cedar trees to hide when scared.
• Beaver, bear, rabbit and porcupine like to eat the sweet inner bark from young trees.
• Deer and elk will eat the young leaves.