Life on the Outer Coast

Visited Totem Park this week during the dry weather to collect lichens for air quality sampling. The target species were Platismatia glauca and Alectoria sarmentosa. Not exactly rare species, but they seemed less abundant when I had limited time to collect the 25 g required.

The first session I collected Platismatia mostly from the westward side of the park. I mostly found it on fallen branches, but some came from the spruce branches overhanging the beach. The protocol allows for collecting Platismatia from branches on the ground as long as the material isn't discolored. There was abundant Usnea on the west side, but not much Alectoria at least not within reach. On one foray into the woods looking for branches, I found a few more Goodyera oblongifolia plants. The plants were in the same general area as the plant I found last year, just a bit further back in the woods. They seemed to be about the same stage of development (no sign of a flowering stalk) and size as the first plant. Goodyera has tiny wind or ground insect dispersed seeds that require fungal infection for growth in the wild. Greenhouse studies say that it takes up to a year between germination and production of the first leaves. I've also gleaned from other sources that it might take up to 3 years before a plant is mature (flowering) . Each rosette only produces one flowering stalk, after the seeds ripen, that rosette dies. Apparently production of new rosettes from the parent rhizome accompanies flowering. Interesting mixture of reproductive strategies. There was a good discussion of Goodyera biology/taxonomy and ecology at this website. It might be interesting to identify the symbionts of these orchids and compare them with what we have found in the local Platanthera species. I'm not confident that I found the first plant in its first year of leafy growth, but if I did and assuming that it needs to be at least 3 years old before flowering, 2011 might be the summer I might find a flower stalk?

I had to return to the park a second time to collect Alectoria. That lichen is more abundant on the east side of the park. Apparently this species deteriorates quickly, so the collections can't be from the ground. There wasn't much Alectoria available and off the ground. Fortunately it is bigger than Platismatia, so I have plenty to send in for analysis.

There were still fungi fruiting in the park; Pholiota alnicola (?), Clavaria (Clavariadelphus) purpurea, Craterellus infundibulformis, Hygrophorus olivaceoalbus, Lactarius alpinus, Panellus serotinus and Pleurocybella porrigens.