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An cultural overview of the Plants of the Rogue Valley The dwarf wooly meadowfoam is one of the most celebrated plants in the Rogue Valley due to its rare status. It can be found on the top of Lower Table Rock in the spring. North Mountain Park Nature Center A division of the Ashland Parks and Recreation Department Version 1: September 2009 About this booklet This booklet is one piece of the North Mountain Park Nature Center’s interpretation of regional plants. It explores local plant communities, human plant use, and the impact of use upon the local environment. The term “local” refers to the Rogue Valley of southwest Oregon, with an emphasis on the Ashland area. This booklet is not meant to be a formal work but is rather to be used by educators and others seeking an introduction to the topic of local plants. It is hoped that readers of this booklet will be inspired to use this information to help make decisions that will enhance the livability of the Rogue Valley for its people, plants and wildlife now and into the future. We invite any and all comments to this document, which will be updated periodically in an effort to reflect the most accurate information available. Consultants: Donn Todt, horticulturalist, City of Ashland, Parks & Recreation Frank Lang, botanist, professor emeritus, Southern Oregon University Tom Sensenig, Patricia Martinez, ecologists, US Forest Service Michael Donovan, managing director, Roxy Ann Winery Darren Borgias, ecologist, Nature Conservancy Len Eisenberg, geologist Artists Interpretive gardens at North Mountain Park 2 Table of Contents Introduction to Plants of the Rogue Valley ................................................................... 4 Plant Function ............................................................................................................ 5 Plant Reproduction ..................................................................................................... 6 Plant Taxonomy ......................................................................................................... 7 Plants Through Time .................................................................................................. 8 Plants Evolve as Mountains Rise .................................................................................. 9 Native American Use of Local Plants ........................................................................ 10 Native Plant Communities.................................................................................... 12-15 Plant Communities of the Rogue Valley ............................................................... 16-17 Native Plants Become Domesticated ......................................................................... 18 Domesticated Plants Arrive in the Rogue Valley ....................................................... 19 Growth & Agriculture: Highlights & Impacts ............................................................. 20 A New Plant Mosaic.................................................................................................. 24 Who Cares for These Communities? ......................................................................... 26 Current Sustainability Issues ..................................................................................... 29 Plant Index ............................................................................................................... 31 Local Places to Visit .................................................................................................. 32 3 Introduction to Plants of the Rogue Valley All living things have evolved to utilize and support each other, and nowhere is this more evident than with the relationship of humans to plants. At the most basic level, the very act of taking a breath is only possible because of the process whereby green plants magically convert sunlight to energy and, in the process, leave a bi-product called oxygen. In the Rogue Valley of southwestern Oregon, people have been interacting with, using, and supporting native plants for as long as 10,000 years. In so doing, the people and plants of this region evolved an interdependency which allowed both the plant and human communities to remain healthy and diversified. These ancient ecological and cultural relationships were drastically altered with the rapid European migrations Above: Green plants convert of the last 200 years and the sunlight to energy and produce resulting shift to a reliance on oxygen. domesticated plants. Below: Baldhip rose hips provide a good source of The Rogue Valley of today is vitamin C. They were likely a very different place, both in used by both native Americans terms of its plants and its and early pioneer settlers. people, than it was two centuries ago. Today, this valley Right: Pear orchards stand supports a complex mixture of plants, some of which in contrast to the native plant evolved with the local geography and climate and others communities of Table Rocks. that originated in very distant parts of the world. The look of this land will continue to change as the combined effects of people and nature continue to influence the plants of the Rogue Valley. 4 Plant Function Plants everywhere are united by one extraordinary quality: The ability to harness the sun’s energy. Plants use the sun, water, and atmospheric carbon dioxide to create their own energy and to grow and to maintain their life processes. In order to live and grow, plants must obtain sunlight, water, and nutrients. Most plants are vascular, having leaves, stems, and roots to obtain and transport these vital substances. Above: The Leaves are sunlight collectors, and it is here distinctly veined that photosynthesis occurs. In the leaves, leaves of the green chlorophyll absorbs and transforms Cascara plant light energy into energy that can be used by Right: The fiber- the plant. Pores, or stomata, on the surface of rich stems of the the leaves allow for the exchange of water, Dogbane plant oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Plant stems are a conduit between the energy-producing leaves and the nutrient-absorbing roots. Through this vascular system, plants are able to obtain everything they need to live and grow while staying in one fixed location, Cattail roots grow unlike most animals, which require mobility downward into the for their existence. Through its root tissues, a soil, while the rhizomes, which produce new plant will absorb water, shoots, grow laterally. nitrogen, and the minerals necessary for growth. Along with vascular plants, the world is populated with a number of non-vascular plants including mosses, liverworts, and Above: green algae. These small plants usually Cattail grow in damp places, because without plants vascular tissues, they must absorb and Left: Mosses transport water by diffusion. must grow in damp places. 5 Plant Reproduction The primary subdivisions of the vascular plants are related to their different reproductive strategies, including the use of spores, cones and flowers. Spore producing plants, or Pteridophyta, were among the earliest evolutionary forms. Their complex life cycle centers on the creation of spores, which become free-living organisms before creating male and female gametes. Scouring rush (horsetail) and all fern species belong to this division. Growing throughout the Bear Creek Watershed is another division of plants called gymnosperms. These are cone- bearing plants, including sugar pine incense cedar, white fir. Above: angiosperms, make up the majority of Ponderosa familiar plants and have become the pine cone most successful in terms of their variety. Right: Bee on Angiosperms produce flowers that must Echinacea be fertilized by pollen to produce seeds. Some flowering plants are wind pollinated, but in many cases plants have evolved a symbiotic relationship with insects and other pollinators that transfer pollen from one flower to another. If pol- linators are needed for reproduction, the flowers may be showy and colorful to help lure insects, hummingbirds, bats and other beneficial animals. Although these types of plants reproduce differently, their offspring share a similar challenge: In order to complete its lifecycle, a plant’s seed or spore must germinate in a suitable environment. If all seeds fell adjacent to the parent plant, they would soon be competing for light, water, and nutrients. As a result, seeds have evolved dispersal strategies that carry them far and wide. These strategies include: utilizing the natural currents of wind or by water; hitching a ride with animals in their fur or in their stomachs; and being buried by animals, such as jays and squirrels, that store food for later use. 6 Various seed strategies. Plant Taxonomy What’s In a Name? Abies concolor Pseudotsuga menziesii 7 Douglas fir Plants Through Time ancestor of flowering plants and ferns lived roughly 350 million years ago, and all plants share a common ancestor that lived perhaps 1.3 billion years ago. Over time, each branch on the plant family tree has weathered mass extinctions, shifting continents and changing climate to reach its current diversity. 8 Fern Plants Evolve as Mountains Rise It is important to remember that plants evolved and diversified while the landmass of southern Oregon itself was growing and changing. The Klamath mountain chain formed 160 million years ago, meaning that the first land plants to arrive in this region would have dispersed from the existing North American land mass to the east. During this time, the climate was warm and tropical.