Summary of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Date: July 10-12, 2012
Location: McCarthy, Kennicott, West Kennicott Glacier Trail
Region & Soil: Boreal Forest, Muskeg,  Glacier till
Weather: 1^st & 3^rd Day—rain, chilly / 2^nd Day—sunny with a clear sky


McCarthy

Orange Cup Fungus

Shelf Fungus—Ganoderma applanatum

Common Horsetail—Equisetum arvense

Grass Of Parnassus (Bog Star)—Parnassia palustris

Yellow Dryas—Dryas Drummondii

Single Delight (Shy Maiden)—Moneses uniflora

Prickly Rose—Rosa acicularis

Pink Pyrola (Wintergreen)—Pyrola asarifolia

Northern Yarrow—Achillea borealis

Coastal Paintbrush (Yellow Paintbrush)—Castilleja unalaschensis

Arctic Daisy—Chrysanthemum arcticum

Yellow Oxytrope- Astragalus umbellatus

Trembling Aspen-Populus tremuloides

Common Scouring-Rush- Equisetum hyemale

Soapberry—Sapindus drummondii

Alpine Bearberry—Arctostaphylos alpine

Black Spruce—Picea mariana

White Spruce—Picea glauca

Quaking Aspen—Populus tremuloides

Alaskan Moose—Alces alces gigas

Kennicott

Blue Bells- Mertensia paniculata

Crowberry- Empetrum nigrum

Common Blueberry- Vaccinium myrtilloides

Wild Red Currant- Ribes triste

Wild Sweet Pea- Hedysarum Mackenzii

Large-Flowered Wintergreen- Pyrola grandiflora

Northern Goldenrod- Solidago lepida

Monkshood- Aconitum delphinifolium, ssp. delphinifolium

Common Juniper- Juniperus communis

Siberian Aster—Aster sibiricus

Yellow Spotted Saxifrage—Saxifrage bronchialis

Kamchatka Rockcress—Arabis lyrata

Twin Flower—Linnaea borealis

Eskimo Potato—Hedysarum alpinum

Dwarf Fireweed (River Beauty)—Epilobium latifolium

Labrador Tea—Ledum palustris groenlandicum

Mistletoe

Paper Birch- Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera

Black Spruce—Picea mariana

White Spruce—Picea glauca

Alaskan Moose—Alces alces gigas

West Kennicott Glacier Trail

Northern Red Currant- Ribes triste

Bluebells- Mertensia paniculata

Wild Red Currant- Ribes triste

Stiff Club Moss—Lycopodium annotinum

Dwarf Dogwood—Cornus Canadensis


Alpine Azalea—Loiseleuria procumbens

Western Columbine—Aquilegia formosa

Prickly Rose-Rosa acicularis

Lapland Rosebay- Rhododendron lapponicum

Monks hood- Aconitum delphinifolium, ssp. delphinifolium

Beautiful Jacobs Ladder- Polemonium pulcherrimum

Black Spruce—Picea mariana

White Spruce—Picea glauca

Paper Birch—Betula papyrifera

Alaskan Moose—Alces alces gigas

 We learned differences between Temperate rain forest and Boreal forest, and habitats each region. I think the class was great to learn about nature through actual observations; we could relate the lectures to our filed trips and understand relationships between each species and species and environments. Everything is connected and lives together. This simple fact is just amazing to me, and I really enjoyed the class. I’ve come to love nature of Alaska more than ever!