Springcreek Botany Trip F00

Spring Creek - F2000

The fall 2000 botany class trip to Spring Creek near Wilson Lake, KS began under a few raindrops, a little thunder, and cool temperatures (for a change). We were able to see representatives of several separate divisions, as well as a remarkable assortment of lichens. Examine the following photographs of some of the organisms and recall the identifying traits of each.

The cliff-brake fern is characterized by compound fronds (middle) that have the spore bearing structures located along the margins on the lower side (right). This fern is often located under ledges on east or west facing Dakota sandstone outcrops (left, near center). Why? Ferns belong to the division Pterophyta.

Another common fern we saw was slender lip fern. This fern seems to be more drought tolerant and is often found on south facing slopes, although in somewhat protected sites (left, in long horizontal crack near bottom, and middle). Spore bearing structures are again located on the bottom of the frond, which is also densely hairy, or tomentose (right). What is the advantage to this plant of tomentose fronds?

A spectacular lichen community can be found on the sandstone outcrops (left). Lichens are a mutualistic symbiotic relationship between a fungus (usually a sac or cup fungus called an ascomycete - division Ascomycota) that produces acids to release minerals from the rock and an alga (usually a green alga - division Chlorophyta) that produces carbohydrates. As a result of the benefits provided to each, this combination of organisms is able to flourish on these outcrops in what appears to be a hot, dry habitat. Included among lichens we we saw were crust (crustose), leaf (foliose), and club types. A neat form that was especially abundant this year was a club type called a brown pixie cup (middle and right), a form related to the pixie cup I showed you in the laboratory from eastern Alaska and the Yukon.

Organisms from two other divisions that we observed were mosses (left and middle) and fungi (right). The mosses were growing in much the same environment as many of the lichens; in fact, in the photograph on the left a grayish leaf lichen can be seen growing amongst the darker green, hair cap moss. Like ferns mosses reproduce by spores, but in the mosses the spores are produced in a brownish, flask shaped structure called a capsule (middle). Capsules are small - note the small yellowish white grains of sand in the moss "leaves" to the right of the capsule (middle). As we crossed the bridge over Spring Creek we briefly observed a fungus on the side of a green ash tree (right). Of course most of this fungus (division Basidiomycota) grows inside of the tree in the form of a filamentous mycelium which we usually do not see, rather we see the spore producing structure (in this case called a conk) when environmental conditions are appropriate. The particular type of fungus on this tree is often referred to as a conk or shelf fungus.