Sitka Nature

St. John’s-wort is introduced in Southeast Alaska. While it is an invasive plant in many regions, to this point it does not seem to have made in-roads around Sitka, as I have only noticed it growing at the edge of the long term parking at the Sitka airport. It will be interesting to see what happens with it over the next couple of years, as it may have only recently been introduced here (though it’s been reported at other locations in Southeast for many years).

St. John’s-wort (Hypericum perforatum) at Natural History of Southeast Alaska wiki

Its large size, scaled cap, pores, and a few other features make Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) fairly distinctive. Mushroom Expert describes this species as “widespread east of the Rocky Mountains”, and the Northwest Key Council indicates it is found occasionally in the Pacific Northwest.

I found this mushroom growing on a standing dead Cottonwood near the Mendenhall River while wandering around during a layover in Juneau. Though Sitka and Juneau are not far apart and share similar climates, it seems likely there are many species which are not found in both locations. To my knowledge this species has not been found around Sitka, though if it favors cottonwood trees, there are not so many of those in well traveled places near Sitka. I do hope to spend some time in areas with a fair amount of Cottonwood this summer, and will be keeping my eyes open for this mushroom.

Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) is a fairly common species that I associate mostly with disturbed or gravelly areas near stream. I’m most familiar with it from near Indian River, and to this point my experience with this species is only at low elevation.

Ranunculus is one of the more diverse genera in Southeast Alaska, with 15 or more species reported, though at least two of those are introduced and considered invasive. The small inconspicuous flowers are fairly distinctive, though the overall growth form of this species also sets it apart from the rest of its buttercup relatives.

Hairy Butterwort (Pinguicula villosa) is a small plant found on relatively dry hummocks in muskegs. Easy to overlook because of its size, this plant, with its delicate purple flower, is worth the effort to find and take a closer look at. Like its larger and more common relative Common Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris), this species is carnivorous. Its leaves are sticky and secrete enzymes which allow it to digest and the nutrients from any insects or pollen that become trapped on the surface. (As a carnivorous plant, it has attracted the attention of people who enjoy growing carnivorous plants, and any seaches for this species on-line will turn up pages about this species and how to grow it.) In order to survive the winter, it forms a hibernaculum (a type of bud) that offers greater protection from the cold.

Despite the fact that this species grows in an easily accessible location close to home, last weekend was the first time I had ever observed it, and I almost missed it this time as well. When my brother spent a year here in the 2003-2004, he mentioned finding what he said was a flower that looked like Common Butterwort, but was much smaller. At the time I figured it was probably P. villosa, but I did not get over to the muskeg to see it. In the following year or so I visited the muskeg where he had seen it, but never noticed it myself. Eventually it slipped off my radar, and I didn’t think about it anymore. Last weekend I got a call about a Sandhill Crane that showed up near that muskeg, and since Rowan had not seen one before, she, Connor and I walked over. The crane was gone by the time we got there, but we walked around the muskeg for a little while. On the way home, Connor wast telling me about the flowers he saw (we recently started playing a game where we try to see how many different kinds of wildflowers we can find on a walk), and mentioned seeing a small purple flower. After questioning him about its details, I thought it was likely P. villosa, so when I had time the next day, I walked back over and took the pictures seen with this post.

Even after I found the first one and knew what to look for, it was surprisingly easy to overlook additional plants. I took several photos of the second one I found, but only realized after I was done that 3 or 4 more were blooming within a foot of the one I photographed.

Some of the information I learned about this species came from the following sites:
Profile of P. villosa at pinguicula.org.
Article on the genus Pinguicula at Wikipedia.

(click on image for a large version)