Diario de gayleenjacobs

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/186318096

Today, I bring you the Red-berried Elder (Sambucus racemose). The name for them in Tlingit is yéil', according to the Alaska Guide (Adventures). I went for my usual walk, and the weather was becoming more nippy. The leaves of many deciduous trees hang on a thread, waiting for the first October wind to blow in, prune the trees, and begin getting ready for winter. To talk about Red Elders, we need to talk about Black Elders (Sambucus nigra). Black Elderberries are more edible, and I have made some of the best wine I have ever made with the Black Elderberries. It tasted like a Merlot and was so good that people came to my house asking for more.
Some physical facts about the Red-berried Elder: it is found in four of the five biomes in Alaska, along with all but a few southern states in the lower 48. These Elders are found in woodlands, forest edges, ridges or ledges, talus and rock slopes. They love the wetlands (Native Plant Trust).
Although I call it a tree, it is considered a shrub (Native Plant Trust). They have compound leaves made up of leaflets, and the edge of the leaf has teeth. These leaves then drop for the winter. The seeds can sit for years before germinating. They often can be found on "nursery logs" and will sprout after a fire. The berries feed birds and mammals, and the wood is food for porcupines and snowshoe hares (Native Plant Trust). I have used its umbrella bloom in the spring with loads of tiny white flowers that smell heavenly and can be used to make nectar to drink in the summer. But the caution is to remove all the green stems.
On the other hand, our Red Elder has a terrible taste and will upset the stomach if eaten raw because it contains a chemical called cyanogenic glycoside. They must be cooked thoroughly, and although some Pacific Northwest Natives have been known to use this berry, they have a long process to make the berry more palatable and less toxic. Other methods include "combining it with other fruits to improve their flavor, while others submerged cooked red elderberries in running streams for weeks to make them taste better and reduce their toxicity" (Shmurak). Recently, the red elderberry was "in an [scientific] experiment, looking at [the] plant extracts' ability to inhibit HIV, red elderberry was among the most potent" a real possible breakthrough (Shmurak). This bush is a sign of spring with its large umbrella cluster of white flowers and a symbol of summer with its bright red berries.

Adventures, Wilderness. "Red Elderberry of Alaska." Alaska Guide, © Alaska Guide Co., Jan. 2023, alaska.guide/Plant/Sambucus-racemosa/Red-Elderberry. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

“Sambucus Racemosa - Red Elderberry.” Native Plant Trust: Go Botany, National Science Foundation, Jan. 2023, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/sambucus/racemosa/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

Shmurak, Susannah. "What to Know about Red Elderberry (Sambucus Racemosa)." Is Red Elderberry (Red Berry Elder, Sambucus Racemosa) Safe to Eat?, HealthyGreenSavvy, 16 May 2023, www.healthygreensavvy.com/red-elderberry-sambucus-racemosa/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/187280957

Today's walk was a bit more brisk than last week. There was some sunshine peeking through the clouds here and there, but a little breeze made wearing my hoodie with a vest on top take the chill off. The vegetation is definitely in the throws of autumn. The smell of the Indian River assails your nostrils with all of the dead fish, but I continued. I went for this walk anticipating exploring new plant life, but instead, I mostly saw mushrooms. I ran into several different kinds of fungi but decided to go with the one mushroom I had forged in the past. The Chanterelle is also known as a Girolle. This is the one mushroom I will collect this time of year, and you can look for them clear into early winter. The scientific name is Cantharellus cibarius. However, according to several articles, scientists are debating this name, as there are possibly "20+ different species" in North America. (Mushroom et al.) Interestingly, these mushrooms grow in three color's throughout the Northwest United States. Most often, they are the golden yellow that most of us know, but they also come in white and bright red. All three colors are edible.
Before I go on, I would like to add a disclaimer here. Do not pick any mushroom, even if you have found it on the internet, YouTube or a book. Please always find a professional who has harvested fungi and can teach you properly. Otherwise, there is the possibility you will end up with a nasty intestinal problem that will place you in the hospital if you pick a "false chanterelle," which there is, and it is easy to mix the two of them up. (Mushroom et al.)

These delicate golden yellow fungi, "chanterelle mushrooms, are a popular delicacy found in Alaska, and foragers worldwide come to Alaska to hunt for these golden treasures (K. Brian)". They are also Oregon's state mushroom (K. Brian). They can grow in clusters in conifer forests like hemlock, cedar, and spruce. Also, they grow near damp, wet areas and love the temperate forest. You can recognize them by their bright yellow tops that are wavy and become more like a vase the older they get; instead of the proper gills, they have veins underneath. (The picture with the mushroom on the tree shows the gills). If you harvest them, be careful not to trample the area and leave small ones behind because the ecosystem is delicate in those areas.

Chanterelles have a "fruity, apricot-like aroma and a delicate, nutty flavor that pairs well with various dishes." (K. Brian)These mushrooms are one of the most expensive fungi for sale for two reasons: they are some of the best-tasting mushrooms in the world, and the farmers have yet to figure out how to grow them commercially. (Mushroom et al.) When looking at their health benefits, they are a good source of fibre, vitamins, and minerals, especially copper, vitamin D, and B. Chanterelles are also antioxidants. They can support bone health and beef up immune systems. Again, I will warn you that lichen, mushrooms and fungi take heavy metals out of the soil, so be sure to watch the area you are hunting for these tasty Chanterelles because they absorb these metals and will make you sick. (Ajmera et al.)

Work Cited:
Ajmera, Rachael, and Fernando Imashi MS, RDN, CDCES. "Chanterelle Mushrooms: Nutrients, Benefits, and Recipe." Chanterelle Mushrooms: Nutrients, Benefits, and Recipe, Healthline Media, 11 Apr. 2022, www.healthline.com/nutrition/chanterelle-mushroom Accessed 11, October 2023
K., Brian. "Chanterelle Mushrooms in Alaska: A Forager's Delight." Star Mushroom Farms, Star Mushroom Farms, 12 Sept. 2023, starmushroomfarms.com/chanterelle-mushrooms-alaska/?expand_article=1. Accessed 11, October 2023
Mushroom, Mrs., et al. "Chanterelle Mushrooms: Identification, Foraging, and Look-Alikes." Mushroom Appreciation, Mushroom Appreciation, 31 Aug. 2023, www.mushroom-appreciation.com/chanterelle-mushrooms.html. Accessed 11, October 2023

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/188178391
Pacific Small Reedgrass
Calamagrostis nutkaënsis
So, today, I went for an utterly wet walk to find something interesting to write about. I found clumps of grass growing along the edge of the muskeg near the Indian River, but the muskeg or wetlands were off the beaten track up behind it. I also know this grass grows next to my house, and I have seen it growing near the beach at Totem Park. This grass is known by several names: Nootka Reedgrass, Pacific Reedrass, or Small-reedgrass; its scientific name is Calamagrostis nutkaënsis. I recognized that this grass dies over the winter but will return in the spring because I have watched the clumps near my house for the last three years. In the picture, the grass is starting to die out and has lost its lustre that it had in the middle of the summer. It is considered a perennial, meaning it has a life span of more than two years.
Nootka Reedgrass grows from Alaska down the coast to San Luis Obispo, California. Unlike a lawn, these grasses grow in clumps and can stretch a meter high (three ft.) (Hunt and Wright). “Its purplish-brown flower spike can reach 10 inches in length” (Hunt and Wright). Their leaves are quite broad and have a razor-like edge that occasionally cuts a person walking by unawares. The Nootka Reedgrass grows in areas that other plants cannot, like next to beaches, where a little salt does not bother them, dunes, marshland, bogs, and openings in conifer forests and cliffs. However, wherever they grow, they require wet soil in regions that have been disturbed. Nootka Reedgrass can be used in revegetation, “able to survive in very wet conditions. Its shallow rhizomes are known for controlling soil erosion” (Hunt and Wright).
There is one project that has been done “by the Alaska Plant Materials Center (PMC) in coastal regions of Southcentral and Southeast Alaska” (Hunt and Wright). where lands had been disturbed and found that Nootka Reedgrass “continues to exhibit excellent performance.” Because its seedlings are vigorous and can survive in very wet conditions” (Hunt and Wright). I also looked to see what animals might eat this grass, and it seems not to have anything that uses it for food. I think they would make nice beds for some animals, but in my research, I could not find anything that did.
Gayleen

Hunt, Peggy, and Stoney Wright. “Pioneer Peak Germplasm Nootka Reedgrass - Dnr.Alaska.Gov.” Pioneer Peak Germplasm Nootka Reedgrass Calamagrostis Nutkaënsis Selected Class Release “Natural,” State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Agriculture Plant Materials Center, 17 July 2007, dnr.alaska.gov/ag/akpmc/pdf/plant-flyers/PioneerPeakCalamagrostis.pdf. Accessed 18 October 2023

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/189040005

Observations Due Oct 27, 2023
Today was a beautiful, cold, brisk, sunshiny day to go for my walk. I did have in mind the plant I was particularly looking for. I looked for the Western Hemlock, an easy tree to spot in the Sitka rainforest. Although I admitted when I went looking for an old pinecone from the tree, all I saw everywhere was the Sitka spruce pinecone. Finally, after almost 45 minutes and using my identification app, I found one to go with the other pictures.
The Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)grows in "Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California at 0-1830 m elevation in coastal to mid montane forests"; unlike its cousin that lives in higher elevations, the Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) (Earle). The western hemlock loves a wet climate and can grow to 45-55 meters. It is an evergreen, as most conifers are. Its bark is grey-brown, cracked and broken, and it often grows from fallen trees that have fallen during windstorms; these fallen trees are called nursery trees. I have a picture of three or four trees growing from the ground, originally a fallen hemlock. Their needles grow flat on the twig and are "shiny green", unlike the Sitka Spruce, where the needles encircle the twig (Earle). The pinecone is small and oval-shaped and "goes to a point, " as shown in my picture (Earle).
Recently there has been a problem with "Rhizoctonia butinii or "web rot", which has been said that it is affecting Western Hemlocks in its natural environment because of the "increasingly stressed by summer drought and high temperatures, both of which are associated with […] climate change in the Pacific Northwest (Earle).
The Native folks use it for several functions, and western hemlock has a high amount of tannin, so they will use it for "a tanning agent, pigment and cleansing solution" (Earle). They used hemlock to make "red dye for mountain goat wool, basket materials, facial cosmetics and hair remover." The Haida made large feast bowls from the wood of bent hemlock trunks" (Earle). And most of us here in Sitka have seen how hemlock is used to collect herring roe in the spring. Also, the Native Alaskan has been used to make spoons, combs and wedges, and "the pitch and the outer and inner bark were widely used medicinally" (Earle). They are suitable for timber and have been cut for years by people who came from the lower 48s, and sadly, they were clear-cut. Most of this kind of practice has stopped here in the Southeast.
Western hemlock has been in the lives of people who have lived in Southeast Alaska for as long as there have been people living here. Here is an ancient tree that deserves much recognition.

Earle, Christopher J. Tsuga Heterophylla (Western Hemlock) Description, The Gymnosperm Database, 2023, conifers.org/pi/Tsuga_heterophylla.php.