Western Columbine

 Western Columbine—Aquilegia Formosa is a distinguished 2 to 3 feet tall herb. The Latin word “columbina” means “dove like.” It lives in wooded mountain slopes and meadows in Southeastern and costal Southcentral Alaska. The base of leaves is twice divided into three parts, and the stem leaves are divided once. The leaves are dark green above and grayish-green below. It blooms in mid-June through July. The flower is unique shape; it has five red 10 to 25 mm long sepals, red 10 to 20 mm long and straight spurs, and yellow 2 to 6 mm long tube-shaped petals that stick out. The flower strongly attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. It’s called “red rain-flowers” in Haida; their tradition says if the flower was picked, it would be rain.   

Reference:
http://rainyside.com/plant_gallery/natives/Aquilegia_formosa.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/columbines/aquilegia_formosa.shtml

West Kennicott Glacier Trail

Date: July 12, 2012
Time: 12:30-1:00 p.m.
Weather: Shower & Fog


Dwarf Dogwood—Cornus Canadensis

Stiff Club Moss—Lycopodium annotinum

Alpine Azalea—Loiseleuria procumbens

Western Columbine—Aquilegia formosa

Northern Red Currant—Ribes triste

Monkshood—Aconitum delphinifolium

Black Spruce—Picea mariana

White Spruce—Picea glauca

Paper Birch—Betula papyrifera

Alaskan Moose—Alces alces gigas

Indistinguishable Bugs!!

 The final day, we walked in woods for just 30 minutes before leaving McCarthy. It was a damp wood covered spongy mosses, Dwarf Dogwood, and dead Spruce. Mosses, Dwarf Dogwood, or moist environment were common in the top of Dock Point Trail though kinds of trees and shrubs there were different. There were lots of ferns and willows at the top of Dock Point, but we didn’t see them in McCarthy. Dock point has Sitka Spruce, but this area doesn’t; it has Black and White Spruce because of Taiga and Boreal Forest.
 We couldn’t concentrate on observation because of a mass of huge bugs… They are of course an important part of nature though they were crazy! The overnight field trip was so informative and interesting; I’m a lucky one to have such a good opportunity of spending in the largest National Park in the States and had a really great time!

Yellow Spotted Saxifrage

 Yellow Spotted Saxifrage—Saxifrage bronchialis is about 20cm high and a tiny flower that is a family of saxifrage. The word “Saxifrage” means stone-breaker. It is often confused with Prickly Saxifrage that has cream-colored petals and blooms earlier (late May to mid-June). It lives in rocky alpine ridges though most of Alaska except Southeast and the Yukon River drainage. It blooms in July. The spoon-shaped leaves are very small and hairy, and closely crowded together, so it looks like a moss. The flower is about 1 cm across, has 5 white to light yellow petals with obvious red or purple dots above the middle and yellow-orange spots near the base. It is recorded that the Siberian Natives used it for respiratory problems.

Reference:
http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2010/08/saxifraga_bronchialis.php
http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/gorge/5petal/saxi/saxifraga/bronchialisvesper.htm

Kennicott

Date: July 11, 2012
Time: 10:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Weather: Beautiful sunny day with a bit strong sunshine

Siberian Aster—Aster sibiricus

Yellow Spotted Saxifrage—Saxifrage bronchialis

Large-Flowered Wintergreen—Pyrola grandiflora

Kamchatka Rockcress—Arabis lyrata

Twin Flower—Linnaea borealis

Eskimo Potato—Hedysarum alpinum

Dwarf Fireweed (River Beauty)—Epilobium latifolium

Labrador Tea—Ledum palustris groenlandicum

Monkshood—Aconitum delphinifoloum

Mistletoe

Common Juniper—Juniperus Communis

Wild Red Currant—Ribes triste

Black Spruce—Picea mariana

White Spruce—Picea glauca

Paper Birch—Betula papyrifera

Alaskan Moose—Alces alces gigas

 The second day was a perfect weather to hike! We could clearly see the glaciers and mountains. We took a shuttle bus to Kennicott where is about 4.5 miles from McCarthy. After learning about its history of mine, we walked on a trail. It was a nice and mild course, and the views of the Chugach Mountains and glacier, especially a layer of glacial moraines were amazing! The trail was along the rocky slope ridge; there were several different plants and flowers we couldn’t find in the McCarthy.   

Single Delight

 Single Delight—Moneses uniflora is also known as one-flowered wintergreen. Without its flower, it’s often mixed up with One-Sided Wintergreen which has larger leaves. Greek word “Moneses” means solitary delight. Single Delight is a fragrant and slender evergreen wildflower that is about 4 to 6 cm high. It lives in moist coniferous forests with moss ground or humus woods; it can be seen through most of Alaska except the North Slope, the Aleutian Chain, and western coastal areas. 1 to 3 cm long leaves are at the base and round with shallow teeth. It blooms in June and July; the flower is a waxy white or pinkish white on a leafless stem and has 5 pointed petals. The blight green ovary sticks out and the face of the flower looks down like making a bow to the ground. According to the US Forest Service, Native Americans used it as a cold remedy for skin problems, and scientists have discovered that stem and leaf extracts from the plant can use for antibiotics against several mycobacteria, including the organism that causes tuberculosis.

Reference:             

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/moneses_uniflora.shtml

http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/basin/5petal/heath/moneses/uniflora.htm

McCarthy

Date: July 10, 2012
Time: 5:00-6:00 p.m.

Weather: Continuous rain, chilly, and snow on the top of mountains!

Yellow Dryas—Dryas Drummondii

Single Delight (Shy Maiden)—Moneses uniflora

Soapberry—Sapindus drummondii

Prickly Rose—Rosa acicularis

Pink Pyrola (Wintergreen)—Pyrola asarifolia

Northern Yarrow—Achillea borealis

Coastal Paintbrush (Yellow Paintbrush)—Castilleja unalaschensis

Grass Of Parnassus (Bog Star)—Parnassia palustris

Shelf Fungus—Ganoderma applanatum

Common Horsetail—Equisetum arvense

Orange Cup Fungus

Alpine Bearberry—Arctostaphylos alpine

Arctic Daisy—Chrysanthemum arcticum

Black Spruce—Picea mariana

White Spruce—Picea glauca

Quaking Aspen—Populus tremuloides

Alaskan Moose—Alces alces gigas

McCarthy is a small cozy town where is an end of the road to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. After passing through Thompson Pass, we could soon see Boreal Forest and Muskeg around there. It was a great view and drive even though it was rain. We walked around the lodge we stayed to observe species in Taiga. The soil in the area we walked was glacial till, and there were covered numbers of rocks. We could find lots of lichens, mosses, fungi, flowers, and moose’s dung.