June 14th, 2007  Federation Forest State Park

  [Lupine]

This park is nicely set up for learning about native plants.  They have many plants labeled, they have a wide variety of natives, and the interpretive center tells all about different ecosystems and the interaction between geology and ecosystems.  Before I drove out there with the dogs, I downloaded a list of native plants from the Washington Native Plant Society.  It contained about a hundred native species, eighty of which I was able to spot.  I also about ten species that weren't on the WNPS list. 

 

[Queens Cup]

The parking area and facilities were very clean, and the trails had been maintained.  Many parts of the trail were rooty, rocky, muddy, and mucky, which was fine with me and my dogs.  You do have to watch your step.  I stumbled several times while looking at the amazing plants and minding my dogs.  Although this park is 600 acres, it is all stretched out between the White River and Highway 410.  This makes it impossible to get lost, but the constant whoosh of cars and trucks also makes it difficult to pretend you are in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization.  I got used to the highway noise after a bit.  Where the trail runs close to the river, the rush of the snowmelt drowns out the noise of the autos.

 

[unknown (sweet gale?)]

These woods were fairly dark, requiring the flash for photography except for where a beam of sunlight managed to snake through the canopy.  Many tall, thick conifers formed the main structure of the woods--mostly Douglasfir with hemlock, cedar, spruce and the occasional yew.  Vine maple filled in the mid-story, with the occasional alder struggling along.

[Waterleaf, either Hydrophyllum fendleri or tenuipes.]

Many of the most interesting plants appeared right at my feet, and I had to remind myself to look up and out into the woods instead of always walking along with my head down.  One thing that did make me look up was the abundance of Corydalis growing in large thickets.  It was taller, thicker, and more widespread than any other place I had seen it.  Just driving along highway 410 to the park, I noticed mile after mile of a mid-size shrub, and when I pulled over to see what it was, I was astonished to see Corydalis growing so lush and large.  On the trail, I decided to see if I could salvage a few seeds to propagate Corydalis at home.  To my pleasant sruprise, the seed pods exploded when I touched them.  I had to cup my hands around the seed heads in order to catch a few to take home.  Most of the seed shot away.  I ended up with many in my hair, and probably would have been shot in the eye if I hadn't been wearing glasses.  The seeds are about the size of pepper corns, smooth and black. 

 

[Corydalis scoulerii]

 

[False lily of the valley]

 

[Moneses uniflora sometimes called "Single Delight" a.k.a. "One flowered Pyrola" / "One-flowered Wintergreen"
a.k.a. Pyrola uniflora - in the Pyrola family. (Thanks, Stewart Wechsler, for the identification.)]

 

[Western coralroot, Corallorhiza maculata mertensiana]

I saw several native plants I hadn't seen before, including a strange little member of the orchid family, the Western Coralroot.  Its tiny leaves lack chlorophyll, and the plants have no green to them.  They are saprophytic, meaning they draw the energy they need to live from the decaying organic matter of the forest, much like a mushroom, instead of relying on sunlight. 

 

 

 

 

We found Mr. Stump sitting beside the trail, waiting for someone to talk to.  He whispered something in Tessie's ear, but she just ignored him.

 

 

Last winter's storms blew down many trees, which parks workers had mostly cleared from the trail.  This one had 330 rings, meaning this douglasfir had been growing here long before any one had ever heard of George Vancouver or Lewis & Clark.  Its rings for the first forty years were relatively thick, and after it had reached about 200 years of age, the rings became very thin and tightly packed.  After its 300-plus years of life, it will now enjoy an "afterlife" of sorts as it slowly decomposes over the next 200 years, providing a home and food to billions of little critters. 

 

The White River flowed fast, the water cloudy with minerals.  The dogs got their feet wet, but I kept them in the shallow and calmer section.  Kelsy seemed cautious around the river, perhaps remembering her brief adventure in the Duckabush River. 

 

Overall, this is an excellent park, and it would be great for someone starting to learn about native plants and ecosystems.  I wouldn't rate it as high as the Duckabush River Trail because of the  constant hum of 410, but on the other hand it is easy to get to.  If I come here again, I would like to come when the Corydalis is blooming, perhaps late April or early May.  I'll bet that would be a spectacular sight.