Читать книгу Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

15 страница из 142

The plants most closely associated with the floor of our forests are ferns. Experts recognize numerous species but, once again, the novice only needs to know four or five common varieties. Sword fern, easily the most common type, is a hardy but strikingly beautiful evergreen fern so abundant in this area that it is often taken for granted. Sunnier areas invariably feature bracken fern, while wetter places have lots of maidenhair and lady fern. The final fern species that the average hiker will want to learn to recognize is the licorice fern. This common species is what botanists term epiphytic, which means that instead of growing out of the ground like its relatives, the licorice fern grows directly out of tree trunks and rocks.

Everybody loves flowers and many people go hiking specifically to enjoy the sight and smell of blossoms. From March through September, there are always flowers to enjoy somewhere in our region. Wildflowers, however, are difficult to categorize, because so many different kinds of plants, including many listed above, produce flowers. If we restrict this group to just the smaller, ground-level types (as most people do), then you can look like an expert by knowing just a few dozen species. When hiking in dense forests, you won’t see great displays of wildflowers, but you will find scattered blooms that help to brighten the shady forest floor. Look for yellow wood violet, the relatively rare pink calypso orchid, and several varieties of white flowers, including trillium, queen’s cup, bunchberry, twinflower, and vanilla leaf.