It was actually a welcome foil against the intrusive blocks of clearcuts that are too abundant in this area. Even though I had traveled this road many times before, each turn revealed a new and unfamiliar vista. The open hills were covered as far as my limited vision would allow with bear grass flowers that at times seemed to float above the misty, moist ground. It had a very unreal, diffuse quality about it. It was all I could do not to drive my Trooper off the side of the road. The air was cool and moist and felt good on my skin. (A ghost of a cloud sits on the road before me. Confidently I plunge ahead. It touches my cheek with a cool caress as I enter, and lets me pass.) Patches of ragged clouds were coming and going, along with great banks of almost imperceptibly moving mist. I would look away for a minute and the scene would change, mysteriously. It was a sight and a feeling that will stay with me for a long time. It is the reason that I have never, for an instant, been sorry to have made the move to the Pacific NW from my native Chicago 16 years ago, and will never take for granted the gift of living here.
The point of this article, sentimental digressions aside, is the amazing amount of
plant variation around us. I spent a good deal of time looking at the details of
Bear Grass on my foray that misty day. Just as no two humans are alike, so it is
with plants. (with exceptions, horticulturally speaking -
There was Bear Grass with stems of green, of light brown, of deep reddish brown,
to almost black. The shape of the flower head varied considerably, some narrow and
upright, some wide and opulent. The head of Bear Grass is made up of hundred of individual
flowers, and on most of them, the pedicels (stems of the individual flowers) were
short and upright, giving the entire inflorescence a club-
There is variation to be observed everywhere, and at every season. Close inspection of Iris tenax, for example, reveals a large array of shapes, sizes, intensity of color, and spotting of the individual petals. Both Disporum smithii and D. hookeri var. oregana can be quite diverse. I have observed them with dark brown stems, with wavy leaves, with extra wide leaves, and very narrow leaves, and even found a variegated form with a clean white edge. Leaf shape can vary considerably in Vine Maples, as does the fall color, from yellow, to orange, to bright red. The ubiquitous Douglas Fir varies in growth habit. The branches may be upright, laying out flat, or somewhat pendulous. The form of the tree may be sparse and narrow, or quite wide and full. The density and color of the needles can differ from tree to tree, giving an overall effect of deep rich green, dull green, or occasionally a glaucous tone.
Plants develop a particular form or flower as an adaptation to the environment, to attract a pollinator, or to survive the elements. One very basic law of nature is that the strong survive. It is those with a genetic structure that allows them to adapt to a changing environment that will live on during times of stress or change. Much of this adaptation has to do with things we don’t see, such as hardiness or disease resisance, and that quality may make the difference between survival or death of a species. As a nurseryperson, I tend to look at plants with an eye for their ornamental qualities. Many of the plant varieties that we grow in our gardens are the result of wild selected forms with some perceived superior quality of flower, form, hardiness or disease resistance. However, in my other guise of amateur botanist, I am fascinated by the logic and the intricacies of the plant world.
Both environment and genetics contribute to plant form, as they do to human development.
A few years ago, in the Siskiyou Mountains, we were looking for unusual forms of
Asarum hartwegii. This beautiful species of Wild Ginger normally has various silver
markings on the leaves, usually along the veins. Most populations we find are in
shady areas along spring flowing creeks which dry by summer. Occasionally we come
across an exceptionally marked form. This day, growing in full sun directly in the
loose rock on the side of the road, we found a patch with pure silver leaves.
Heavy silvering of leaves is often an adaptation to living in sunlight. Perhaps this
one with a tendency to having silver leaves was better able to survive in this sunny
situation, where its seedling siblings were not able get a roothold -
Much of what may seem like genetic variation is actually an adaptation to the particular
environment. An example of this are the many dwarf and prostrate trees and shrubs
at high altitudes that are merely physical responses to the harsh winds or snow pack.
When planted at our elevations they quickly revert to the normal form. But there
are so many examples of true genetic variation -
Variation is everywhere. Observation of these small differences is a fascinating study, and can add another dimension to a walk in the woods or on a mountain trail, or even an afternoon drive.
DETAILS
It was an overcast day in June and I was on my way to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. As I left, the clouds hung low, hiding the hills to the northeast that were my destination. I trustingly took to heart the weather forecast of ‘clearing by noon’. Barely an hour later I was traveling at about 2500’ and climbing, in and out of clouds which were never as thick as they seemed from below, but certainly not about to clear.
1995 was the year of the Bear Grass (Xerophyllum tenax). Some combination of environmental and internal mechanisms had set them to blooming with wild abandon. Almost every clump of silvery foliage sported masses of 3’ stems of creamy white flower heads. It was an amazing sight. The clouds never did dissipate, but the scene coming and going in the shifting mist was beautiful.
Collector's Nursery,16804 NE102nd Ave, Battle Ground, WA 98604, 360-