betulaceae – Park Canvass

BBY013 :: tree

This is an unknown tree with bright green leaves and light bark. It might be an aspen or a relative; I was unable to find an exact match from several sources I looked in. I still have a great chance of learning many of these unknown species, since I now know where the specimens areContinue reading “BBY013 :: tree”

BBY008 :: Fagus grandifolia or sylvatica

American or European beech. I need to see the flowers and the fruit to know for sure which species this is. Being a relatively small tree, it might be too young to show fruit. It may not be a beech since there are no native beeches on the West coast. Another species whose leaves theseContinue reading “BBY008 :: Fagus grandifolia or sylvatica”

BBY004 :: Alnus rubra

Called red alder, Oregon alder, or western alder, A. rubra is part of the Betulaceae family (the birches). The tree grows female cones and male catkins on the same branch. The bark is often marked by small to large white patches of lichen that thrive on certain trees. Specimen recorded July 24, 2020, 18:04 atContinue reading “BBY004 :: Alnus rubra”

BBY003 :: Betula papyrifera var. commutata

Paper birch, western white birch. As we will see in next week’s post and still more to come, the first day’s expedition to track the species at Burnaby Lake was a bit naïve and ambitious. I correctly distinguished that entries 003 and 004 were different trees while out in the field; however, after reviewing myContinue reading “BBY003 :: Betula papyrifera var. commutata”