03-20-13 Plant Field Note

03-20-13 Plant Field Note

March 21, 2013

Rebecca Durham's Field Note shows which plants rise from the soil first. Plant phenology data provides insight into the relationship between vegetation events, climatic patterns, and patterns within the plant community.

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Which plants first rise from the soil and when? Plant phenology data provide insight into the relationship between vegetation events, climatic patterns, and patterns within the plant community.

Annual polemonium (Polemonium micranthum) blooms on a southern aspect hillside (Crested Land).One of the first native grasses to green up, rough fescue (Festuca campestris) flourishes and nourishes hungry ungulates (Native).

Shooting star (Dodecatheon conjugens) rosettes unfurl while many plants remain dormant (Corral).Low pussytoes (Antennaria dimorpha) develop flowers and vernal foliage simultaneously (Native).

Yellowbells (Fritillaria pudica) rise to trumpet spring’s arrival (Corral).Crimson dicotyledon leaves of redstem storksbill (Erodium cicutarium) return color to the soil (Crested Land).

Aptly named, spring speedwell (Veronica verna) emerges vigorously in early spring (North Ridge).From the grassland to the forest, every site visited with a native plant community displays copious woodland star seedlings (Lithophragma spp.) (Whaley).

Dull and flattened umber slopes mask spring’s awakening. Sagebrush buttercup (Ranunculus glaberrimus) nears efflourescence across newly bared ground (North Ridge).

(Ranunculus glaberrimus) Unlike vascular plants, lichneenasr sa nedff mloousres sdcoe nncoet. exhibit inactive winter phenology patterns. When moisture is scarce, moss and lichens are dormant. Adequate moisture resumes photosynthetic activity, returning lichens and moss to their vivid green state (North Ridge).

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