Students Investigating Burns

FIRE EFFECTS ON FLORA

Identification tools and forest fire effects on forbs, shrubs, trees and weeds found in Montana’s Rocky Mountain Region

Beth Neely Amy Cilimburg Avian Science Center University of Montana October 18, 2004 www.avainscience.org

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Primrose Family (Primulaceae)……………..…………...21 Shooting Star; Dodecatheon pulchellum Tall mountain shooting star (D. jeffreyi) Forbs (Wildflowers) & Shrubs Aster Family ()……………………………... ….5 Purslane Family (Portulaceae)…………………...………22 Arrowleaf Balsamroot; Balsamorhiza sagittata Miner’s Lettuce; Claytonia perfoliata Hawkweed; albertinum,Hieracium albiflorum Heartleaf Arnica; Arnica cordifolia Rose Family (Rosaceae)…………..………………… ...... 23 Yarrow; Achillea millefolium Birch-Leaved Spiraea; Spiraea betulifolia Ninebark (Mallow Ninebark); Physocarpus malvaceus Barberry Family (Berberidaceae)…………………...… … 9 Serviceberry; Amelanchier alnifolia -grape; Mahonia repens Strawberry; Fragaria virginiana

Buckthorn family(Rhamnaceae)………..………... … .. ..10 Saxifrage Family (Saxifragaceae)……..…………………27 Redstemmed buckbrush; Ceanothus sanguineus Starflower (Woodland Star); Lithophragma parviflorum

Evening Primrose Family(Onagraceae)…………………11 Fireweed; Epilobium angustifolium Trees Pine Family (Pinaceae)………...…………………...…… 29 Figwort Family (Scrophulariaceae)……………………...12 Douglas Fir; Pseudotsuga menziesii Blue-eyed Mary; Collinsia parviflora Lodgepole Pine; Pinus contorta Ponderosa Pine; Pinus ponderosa Geranium Family(Geraniaceae)………………….. … …13 Whitebark Pine; Pinus albicaulis Geranium; Geranium richardsonii Weeds……………………….. ………...…………………37 Honeysuckle Family (Caprifoliaceaa) … … … … .… ....14 Canada Thistle; Cirsium arvense Great Mullein, Common Mullein; Verbascum thapsus Snowberry; Symphoricarpos albus Spotted Knapweed; Centaurea biebersteinii

Lily Family (Lilaceae)………….………………... … … ..15 Grasses………………………….. ………………….……40 Death camas; Zigadenus venenosus Blue bunch Wheatgrass; Pseudoroegneria spicata Glacier Lily (Snow-Lily); Erythronium grandiflorum Fescue; Festuca idahoensis White Hyacinth (White Brodiaea); Triteleia grandiflora Pinegrass; Calamagrostis rubescens

Orchid Family (Orchidaceae)………………………..…...19 Calypso Orchid (Fairy Slipper); Calypso bulbosa Glossary… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …43

Pea Family (Fabaceae) ………………………………. …20 Bibliography………………….. …….. … … … .…… …44 Silky Lupine; Lupinus sericeus Acknowledgements………………….. … … … .…… …44

3 4 Arrowleaf Balsamroot Hawkweed Balsamorhiza sagittata Aster Family (Asteraceae) Aster Family Hieracium albertinum Hieracium albiflorum Form: Perennial forb, 20-70 cm tall, several stems branching from a long woody taproot. Leaves: Silvery-green, arrowhead-shaped, 20-30 cm long, covered with whitish felt-like hair, not toothed or lobed. : Yellow ray florets, solitary, 5-11 cm across; April- July. Fruits: 3-4 sided achenes 7-8 mm long.

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wsherb/images.htm http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/lactuceae.htm

Form: Perennial forb with milky sap. Erect stems, 3-35cm or 30- 80 cm tall, depending on , long-hairs on solitary stem. Leaves: Mainly basal, 1-8 cm or 4-15 cm (species variant), spoon or lance shaped, toothless or wavy toothed. Flowers: Yellow, dandelion like (H. albiflorum white), 1 cm across, ray florets; June-August. http://www.cwnp.org/photopgs/bdoc/basagittata.html Fruit: Veined achenes, pappus of slender, hairlike bristles.

Like many forbs that grow in fire prone areas, arrowleaf There are many species of hawkweed present in the balsamroot has an underground fire-survival strategy. intermountain west, including Hieracium vulgatum, H. Genetic information and energy is stored in the caudex, a gracile, H. cynoglossoides, H. albiflorum and H. woody underground stem that is insulated from fires searing umbellatum. Species vary in stem height and flames by a blanket of soil and can resprout in postfire years. characteristics. Hawkweed fertilization is rare. Most Once flowering occurs, countless seeds will scatter in the reproduction occurs from the development of seeds without wind, ensuring the growth of new in the post fire flowers, which are genetically identical to the parent . forest. H. albiflorum, or white hawkweed is distinct due to its white flower, a characteristic divergent from a predominantly yellow-flowered .

5 6 Heartleaf Arnica Yarrow Arnica cordifolia Achillea millefolium Aster Family Aster Family (Asteraceae)

http://www.cwnp.org/photopgs/adoc/arcordifolia.html

http://www.delawarewildflowers.org Form: Perennial forb, 10-60 cm tall. Sparsely white hairy stems solitary or multiple, loosely clustered from a visible Form: Perennial forb, aromatic, leafy, erect stems, 10-80 . Leaves: Opposite, blue-green, heart shaped, usually coarsely cm tall, from . toothed, soft hairy upper surface with veins appearing Leaves: Alternate, slender and fernlike, 3-10 cm long. embedded; 4-10 cm long, 3-9 cm wide. Flowers: White and sometimes pink, 5 mm across in flat to Flowers: Generally one per stem, yellow rays, pointed at tip round topped corymb-like clusters 2-10 cm across; around central “button,” 2.5-6 cm across; June-August. April-October. Fruit: Achenes, 6.5-8 mm long with short white hairs. Fruits: Hairless, flattened achenes (1-seeded, nut-like fruit).

Hearleaf arnica has a double-edged strategy to bounce back While most plants in fire prone areas are adapted to fire with from low and moderate severity fires. First, if the strategies of regrowth, yarrow has the additional advantage underground stem (rhizome) survives the fire, the plant is having the lowest potential ignitability of 14 species able to resprout. Then, in the first or second year after the common in boreal (northern) forests. Due to the chemical fire, a showy display of flowers is followed by massive seed characteristics of its stems and leaves, yarrow plants may be production. The wind helps disperse these seeds and new able to withstand fires better than other plants. In addition, heartleaf-arnica can pop up where the fire passed through, fires induce extensive rhizome sprouting, create favorable benefiting from all the extra sunlight that reaches the forest soil for seedlings and reduce competition from other types of floor. vegetative cover.

7 8 Oregon grape Redstemmed buckbrush (Redstem ceanothus) Mahonia repens Ceanothus sanguineus Barberry Family (Berberidaceae) Buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae)

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/LewisClark/lewis_clark_plants/LC_pho tos/shrub_white/ceansang.htm

Form: Erect loosely branched shrub, deciduous, 1-3 m tall; http://ghs.gresham.k12.or.us/science/ps/nature/gorge/3petal/bar/repens.htm slender, red branches. Bark: Slender, smooth, and purplish-red in color. Form: Low, wintergreen shrub; branches 10-30 cm long; Leaf: Simple, alternate, ovate, 3-10 cm long; thin, dark green, not often spreading by rhizomes. shiny, finely toothed and gland tipped, 3 prominent veins from leaf Leaves: Alternate, 5-7 leaflets edged with holly-like teeth, 3- base. 8 cm long, oblong to egg-shaped, green in summer, Flowers: Small white, cluster near twig ends; May-July. red or purple in winter. Fruit: Small, hard, 3-lobed, rounded capsule containing heavy Flowers: Yellow, 1 cm across, 6 petals and sepals, in seed, 4mm long; occur in clusters. elongated clusters; April-June. Fruits: Grape-like juicy berries, 7-8 mm long, purplish-blue Without fire, redstem ceanothus would have trouble finding access to the sunny, open-canopied environment in which it prospers. As with several large seeds. a pioneer species, it propagates in areas disturbed by fire, but is alternately one of the first species to decline as shade levels Dormant buds on underground rhizomes await the increase. Additionally, redstem ceanothus is dependent on fire for occurrence of fire to call them to sprout, grow and seed, regeneration. While seeds may develop during intervals between surviving all but severe duff-destroying fires. This fires, they are heat resistant, meaning they lie dormant in the soil adventitious-bud root crown is the Oregon grape’s prime fire until the heat of an intense fire instigates germination. This trait is survival strategy, making it an on-site colonizer in the initial known as seed banking. Following severe fire, redstem ceanothus post-fire community. Like many shrubs, Oregon grape germinates in large quantities, taking advantage of mineral soils appears after a fire as a result of fire-survival and does not created by fire. If seeds were not buried deep within soil and need off-site seed colonization to grow in a post-fire area. intense fire reduced duff, the top soil layer, seeds may not survive. In addition to sprouting from newly germinated seed, redstem

ceanothus will also regrow from the root crown where severe fire top killed existing plants.

9 10 Fireweed Blue-eyed Mary Epilobium angustifolium Collinsia parviflora Evening Primrose Family (Onagraceae) Figwort Family (Scrophulariaceae)

http://www.toyen.uio.no/botanisk/nbf/plantefoto/Epilobium_angustifolium.htm

Form: Perennial herb; erect-leafy step, 30-300 cm tall, from spreading rhizomes. Leaves: Lance-shaped, alternate, 2-20 cm long, green in summer, red in autumn. Flowers: Pink to purple, saucer-shaped, 2-4 cm across with 4

petals, four-pronged projection from center in crowded, showy clusters, lower flowers bloom first; June-Sept. Fruit: 4-8 cm long erect pods, splitting lengthwise to release hundreds of white tufted seeds (coma). Form: Annual forb5-30 cm tall. Weak, slender stems, often Fireweed gets its name not from its color and shape, but branched with tiny hairs. from the vibrancy with which it flourishes in postfire areas. Leaves: Opposite, tapered base to tip, 1-4 cm long. Lower leaves broader, upper leaves sometimes in whorls of 3-5. Often, it’s not present in an area before a fire, but moves in Flowers: Pale blue to white and blue, 4-10 cm across. 2-lipped and brightens things up with showy purple flowers growing violet like, middle lob of lower lip rolled inward, 1-6 in in patches across the landscape. One of fireweed’s great upper stalk. adaptations is its rhizomes, which can survive even relatively Fruits: Elliptical capsule, 3-5 mm long, 2-4 flattened seeds with intense fire. From these underground units, fireweed thick edges. regrows, flowers in a magnificent display and scatters seeds on the wind for even more species establishment. Its Blue-eyed marys generate from seed, flower and fruit in especially likely to grow in severely burned areas, taking spring and early summer. advantage of the mineral soil as a supreme seed bed, and even recycling those nutrients so other plant species can utilize them in future years. The coolest (or should we say hottest?) thing about this plant: It’s considered inflammable!

11 12 Geranium (Richardson’s Geranium) Snowberry Geranium richardsonii Symphoricarpos albus Geranium family (Geraniaceae) Honeysuckle Family (Caprifoliaceae)

http://plants.montara.com

Form: Deciduous shrub, branches opposite, slender, Form: Perennial forb, 40-90 cm tall, with long often sticky hairs, smooth, 50-75 cm tall. growing from a persistent woody base. Leaves: 5-7 toothed and deeply lobed sections, lower surface hairy Leaves: Opposite, 2-4 cm long, elliptical to oval, pale green, on veins, 3-12 cm wide. smooth to slightly wavy edges. Flowers: Pinkish to magenta, distinct purple veins, saucer-shaped Flowers: Pink to white, funnel shaped, 4-7 mm long, hairy with 5 roundish petals, 1.5-2 cm long, hairy on lower inside; in small clusters at or near branch tips; June- half, several flowers in branching clusters (cymes) above Aug. most leaves; May-September. Fruits: White, waxy, berry like, 6-10 mm across, growing in Fruits: Long, linear, glandular-hairy capsules, 25-35 cm long. small clusters, persist through winter.

Note: A very similar species is white geranium (G. richardsonii), which has white to pale pink flowers with pink or purple veins with flower tips Most forest fires burn off the above- having many purple-tipped grandular hairs. ground parts of forbs and shrubs, such a snowberry. Plants affected in this way by If Richardson’s geranium is present in an area prior to a fire fire are considered top-killed. Their only chances are that it will, like other rhizomatous herbs, chance survive top-killing is to resprout produce new stems from surviving rhizomes. On the other from rhizomes. Even this strategy is a hand, if not present pre-fire, this forb may take advantage of tough one for snowberry: often rhizomes, post-fire conditions, pioneering an area from off-site seed the plant’s underground energy storage establishment, making it a secondary colonizer. unit, are destroyed if a fire burns through the humus layer of soil, thus killing the entire plant.

13 14 Death camas survives and manages to flower and produces seed in the second Zigadenus venenosus or third post-fire year, the resulting seedlings have an enhanced Lily Family chance of survival due to decreased competition. While the bulb may seem like an advantage for fire survival, the road is not so easy for the death camas. Because so much energy from the bulb is used up in the early spring to produce new leaves, repeated burning destroys the surface responsible for carbohydrate production. This is especially dangerous if the fire occurs mid-spring to mid-summer, before the plant has a chance to store energy during the growing season. If the bulb does not have sufficient stores of carbohydrate for next year’s growth, chances are that the plant will not survive a fire.

http://www.em.ca/garden/nat_zigadenus_venenosus1.html

Form: Perennial forb, 15-70 cm tall, grey-green stem often with whitish waxy coating, oval bulbs with blackish scales. Leaves: Basal, grasslike and slender, usually shorter than flower stalk, keeled. 8-30 cm. Flowers: Greenish to yellowish-white, 1-1.5 cm across, 6 dark green heart-shaped glands near center, foul smelling; June-August. Fruit: Erect, 3-lobed egg-shaped to oblong capsules, 15-20 mm long.

Once the flower stalk is formed, the death camas produces no new leaves. Consequently, if a fire passes through after early spring, burning off the above ground plant, this forb will not regenerate that same year. What might survive is the underground bulb, something common in the lily family. This short, thick underground stems stores genetic information, allowing the plant to regenerate even after the above ground part of the plant has died, such as after a frost or fire. If the bulb

15 16 Glacier Lily (Snow-Lily) White Hyacinth (White Brodiaea) Erythronium grandiflorum Triteleia grandiflora Lily Family (Liliaceae) Lily Family

http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges/LFSC/life_sciences/.plant_biology.html http://www.mnstate.edu/kienholz/montana_flowers.htm Form: Perennial forb, 20-60 cm tall, growing from deep, bulbous corm about 2 cm thick. Leaves: 1-2 growing from base, linear, flat but keeled beneath, Form: Deciduous perennial forb, 10-40 cm tall, leafless unbranched 25-50 cm long. stem, from deep bulb-like corms, often found in large patches. Flowers: Deep to light blue, 2 cm long and wide, bell-shaped Leaves: Basal pair, 10-20 cm long, uniformly green, wither after with 6 petals, 3 inner tepals with ruffled edges, visible flowering. blue anthers 2-3 cm long, flower in clusters Flowers: Bright yellow, usually solitary, nodding, 3-6 cm across, stamens exposed (white, red or (umbels);April-July. By the time flowers are blooming, yellow); March – Aug. leaves have dried and withered. Fruits: 3-sided erect, club-shaped seed Fruit: 6-10 mm long rounded capsules. capsules, 3-4 cm long. It may take a white hyacinth plant three to four years after Because the glacier lily’s corm, a germination to mature and bloom for the first time. Bulbs are an vertical underground stem that serves important food source for rodents, such as gophers. as a storage organ, generally sits 5 to 7 inches underground, individual plants are resistant to being eradicated by fire. However, a fire would most likely eliminate that year’s seed crop and prevent new establishment of the glacier lily in the first postfire year, but plants sprouting from surviving corms are likely to appear.

17 18 Calypso Orchid (Venus’ Slipper, Fairy Slipper) Lupine Calypso bulbosa Lupinus sericeus Orchid Family (Orchidaceae) Pea Family (Fabacea)

http://www.ibiblio.org/SWSBM/Images/C/Calypso_bulbosa-3.jpg

Form: Perennial forb, 5-20 cm tall, stems delicate, slightly pink http://www.cwnp.org/photopgs/ldoc/lusericeus.html or purple, sprouts from marble-sized bulbous corm with thick, fleshy roots. Form: Perennial forb, slivery, silky-hairy, 20-70 cm tall; from Leaves: Basal, single green egg-shaped (elliptical) 1 leaf per branched root crowns. plant, 2-5 cm long, produced in fall, persists Leaves: Alternate, palmately divided into 7-9 leaflets, 3-6 cm through winter and withers in summer. long, silvery with long, flat hairs. Flowers: Usually solitary, pink or purplish orchid, < 1 inch, Flowers: Purplish or dark blue, about 1 cm long; in imperfect long scoop shaped lip bearded with yellow hairs and whorls forming loose racemes (long clusters), 10-15 cm streaked with purple; May-June. long; May-August. Fruit: Erect, elliptical capsules containing 10,000 to 20,000 Fruits: Silky pods, 2-3 cm long, 3-6 seeds. miniscule seeds. Deep roots and buried seeds are what allow silky lupine to regrow after a fire. Soil insulates silky lupine roots even during Like numerous other native orchid species, calypso requires the severe fires. Long-stored seeds germinate and sprout in both full presence of a certain mycorrhizal fungus in the soil. The fungus sun and partial shade, making silky lupine present in initial post- helps to provide sugars and other nutrients that the orchid seed fire plant succession communities. needs to successfully sprout.

19 20 Shooting Star Miner’s Lettuce Dodecatheon pulchellum (D. pauciflorum, D. Radicatum) Claytonia perfoliata Tall mountain shooting star (D. jeffreyi) Purslane Family (Portulacaceae) Primerose Family (Primulaceae) Form: Annual forb regenerating from seed, branched stem, up http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwate to 35 cm tall, fibrous roots. r/LewisClark/lewis_clark_plants/ LC_photos/forb_pink/dodepulc.h Leaves: Mostly basal, simple, 6-20 cm long, two stem leaves tm fuse just below flower stalk, displaying distinctive green disk, 1-4 cm across. Flowers: Elongated stalk bears several small flowers. Fruits: Miniscule, three-valved capsules with one-three seeds.

Most miner’s lettuce that is found in the first or second post fire year managed to survive the Form: Perennial forb. Hairless, leafless stem, 5-40 cm tall, often intense heat and searing grows in large clumps from short rhizomes with pale flames of the fire roots. because genetic Leaves: Simple, basal, oblong to spoon shaped, 3-20 cm long. information may have Flowers: Magenta to lavender, 3-12 flowers in terminal umbel been stored somewhere on naked stalk, 15-25 mm across, 1-2cm long, short, protected from the fires tubular, reflexed petals, yellow to reddish anthers; May- killing reach, such as in Aug. the bulb, rhizome or root crown. Plants that can regrow for Fruits: Erect capsules, 5-15 mm long, opening lengthwise from several years from the same herbaceous root or bulb are called tip into sharp teeth. perennials. While many plants rely on this fire survival strategy, miner’s lettuce does not have this capacity. Because miner’s lettuce is an annual, there is no underground unit storing carbohydrates and genetic information. Each individual organism can survive for only one year or growing season. If a fire decimates the surface growth of this plant it will not be able to grow back. How then, does this species survive a fire? The answer is in the seeds. New plants grow from long-lived seeds that have been inactive in the soil until germinated by fire. This is followed by mass flowering and prolific seeding. Miner’s lettuce is rather well adapted to growing in the post-fire situation, rapidly colonizing on exposed soil and in full sun. http://www.timetotrack.com/jay/minersl.htm

21 22 Birch-Leaved Spiraea Ninebark (Mallow Ninebark) Spiraea betulifolia Physocarpus malvaceus Rose Family (Rosaceae) Rose Family (Rosaceae)

http://www.wildflowers-and- weeds.com/Plant_Families/Rosacea e.htm

http://ghs.gresham.k12.or.us/science/ps/nature/gorge/5petal/rose/betulifolia.htm Form: Deciduous shrub, 50-200 cm tall, star-shaped hairs, Form: Deciduous shrub spreading from rhizomes, 40-70 cm tall. arching branches. Leaves: Alternate, oval, 2-7 cm long, irregularly coarse toothed Bark: Brown, shredding. toward tip, usually widest above middle. Leaves: Alternate, maple-like, 2-5 cm long and wide, 3-5 lobes, Flowers: White, often with a tinge of pinkish purple, saucer distinctly veined and shiny dark green above with paler shaped, 5 mm across, 5 petals and 25-50 long stamens, green below. in flat-topped clusters, 3-8 cm across; May-July. Flowers: In rounded clusters (corymbs) at branch tips, white, 1 Fruits: Beaked pod-like capsules, 3 mm long, in clusters of 5 per cm wide with 5 rounded petals. flower. Fruit: In pairs, reddish, fuzzy, 5 mm long, egg-shaped, flattened, keeled follicles (pods). Even though the above-ground part of the plant is usually killed by fire, this plant follows the regeneration strategy of sprouting Ninebark is one of the most likely plant candidates to survive a from surviving rhizomes. Not only does this species have a high fire. Like many fire adapted plants, ninebark regrows from likelihood of surviving fire, it can, unlike most other underground rhizomes, much of which is buried deep in mineral rhizomatous forbs and shrubs, flower and produce seeds in the soil. In some studies, ninebark has even been found to be more first post-fire year. In fact, you might see more of this plant in abundant in burned sites than unburned sites! Why? When a the first year after a fire than immediately before. fire moves in and removes shrub canopy, more sun is able to reach these shrubby plants, giving regrowing sprouts and new seedlings something to soak up and help them grow.

23 24 (Saskatoon) Serviceberry Strawberry Amelanchier alnifolia Fragaria virginiana Rose Family Rose Family (Rosaceae)

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/LewisClark/lewis_clark_plants/LC_photos/shrub_othe r/amelalni.htm

Form: Deciduious shrub or small tree, 1-5 m tall. Bark: Smooth, reddish-brown, aging to grey. Buds: Conical, alternate, reddish brown, scale edges hairy, 3-6 http://www.em.ca/garden/nat_fragaria_virginiana.html mm long. Form: Deciduous, perennial forb with a creeping, sparsely hairy Leaves: Alternate, thin, oblong to oval, coarsely toothed above stem, 3-15 cm tall, from short, scaly rhizomes and middle, rounded at tip, 2-5 cm long. trailing reddish stolons. Flowers: White, star-shaped. 2 cm across, with 5 slender petals, Leaves: Basal, trifoliate (in threes) leaflets, 5-10 cm across, 3-20 in a cluster; April-July. bluish-green, serrated edges. Fruit: 10-14mm, dark purple pome (a fleshy fruit with a central Flowers: 5 petals, white or pinkish around a small yellow cluster core containing seeds). of anthers and stigmas; May-August

Fruit: Edible red strawberry, about 1cm across. Without occasional fire to open up the canopy and allow more sunlight to reach Wild strawberry have moderate to low resistance to fire. the understory, serviceberry will Regeneration from stolons (creeping, viney stems) occurs within eventually die out of an area. Big game, 3-7 years. such as elk and deer are happy to see post fire resprouting of serviceberry: it reduces the height of the shrubs so they can reach them for browsing. Following a fire, serviceberry predominately sprouts from its root crown or rhizomes instead of reestablishing from seeds.

25 26 Starflower (Woodland Star) Lithophragma parviflorum Saxifrage Family (Saxifragaceae)

http://home.comcast.net/~robertanisbet/spring02/flowers.htm

Form: Perennial forb, glandular-hairy stems, 10-30 cm tall, from thin rhizomes. Leaves: Long-stalked, mainly basal, 1-3 cm long, divided into 5 wedge-shaped sections, lobed or toothed with deeply lobed petals. Stem leaves smaller and stalkless. Flowers: White, pinkish or purplish. 5 deeply lobed petals appearing as if many slender petals, 12-15 mm wide, 3-11 in clusters (racemes); April to July Fruits: Capsules that split open along three defined lines.

http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges /LFSC/life_sciences/.plant_biology/.WWW/ flowers.html

27 28 Douglas Fir resistant buds like the ponderosa pine. While bark damage is Pseudotsuga menziesii rarely a cause of mortality, it is characterized by obvious resin Pine Family (Pinaceae) deposits. Even after such injury, the douglas fir can survive for several centuries, becoming a living display of the history of understory fire. Mature Rocky Mountain Douglas fir is one of the most fire resistant species of western conifers, though less resistant than ponderosa pine and western larch. Consequently it is less dominant than these more fire resistant species, especially since Douglas firs younger than about 40 years are not yet very fire resistant. While fire resistance is one mechanism of http://oregonstate.edu/trees/con/spp/dg survival, seed propagation is another. Douglas fir colonizes fspp.html http://www.nazflora.org/Pseudotsuga severely burned areas with wind dispersed seeds that proliferate %20menziesii%20v%20glauca.htm in mineral soil that is exposed by burning. It takes just a few years for seedlings to establish within a few hundred yards of the Form: Coniferous, evergreen tree, 25-40 m tall, trunk straight, seed trees adjacent to or undamaged by recent fire. up to 1.5 m in diameter, branches irregular or drooping, tipped with pointed, reddish-brown buds, compact, pyramidical crown. Bark: Grayish-brown, thin and smooth with resin blisters when young, mature bark, 8-20 cm thick with corky ridges and vertical fissures. Leaves: Flat, evergreen needles, spirally arranged, often appearing in two flattened rows; dark yellow to blue- green, 2-3 cm long, not sharp to touch; live 7-10 years. Cones: Monecious (male and female cones on same tree); Pollen cones 6-8 mm long, seed cones narrowly egg-shaped, 5- 10 cm long, hanging; stiff scales exceeded by prominent 3-toothed bracts; April-May, mature in one season.

Like many trees found in the rocky mountains, the Douglas fir has some pretty serious strategies to survive the fires that the species has become accustomed to in the northern Rockies. It takes about 40 years for douglas fir to develop fire resistant bark: a corky bark layer with a thickness of 12-13% of bole diameter that protects the cambium from heat damage. Severe crown damage tends to kill off douglas fir, which does not have fire

29 30 Lodgepole pine Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine is so well adapted to fire that Pinus contorta the species actually prospers more in areas affected by surface Pine Family (Pinaceae) fires than areas without fire. Lodgepole pine’s most obvious adaptation to fire is the production of serotinous cones, which are produced late in the season and remain on the tree, unopened until high temperatures melt the scales and dropping seeds soon after a fire occurs (so long as cones are not consumed by fire). Because seeds are always on the tree, waiting to be released, lodgepole pine has an advantage over other species whose seeds might not be produced until the following season. This factor, in addition to high seed viability, high seedling survival and rapid seedling growth contribute to lodgepole pines post fire success. Species which are the first to generate in an area following any kind of disturbance, including fire, are considered to be pioneer http://oregonstate.edu/trees/con/spp/pinespp.h tml species.

In addition to the evolution of a regeneration strategy, fire also affects the vitality of existing lodgepole pine stands. Mature lodgepole pine individuals have a good chance of surviving low- severity fires, though the species is more vulnerable to higher intensity fires as thin bark allows cambium heating and damage. Form: Tall, slender coniferous trees with loose crown, up Crown scorch and basal scorch are the greatest causes of tree to 50 m tall. mortality following fire. Individuals that survive a fire may Bark: Thin, grayish-brown, sometimes very dark with exhibit post-fire ring growth as a result of increased nutrients and many small, close scales. sunlight following a fire. Leaves: Two needles per fascicle, 2-8 cm long, twisted, yellow-green to green. Cones: Separate pollen cones (ellipsoid to cylindrical, 5-15 mm long, orange-red) and seed cones (3-6 cm long, tan to pale red-brown, lustrous).

31 32 Ponderosa pine Even the seedlings are fire adapted, growing best in fire-created Pinus ponderosa mineral soil. Pine Family (Pinaceae) The effects of fire on ponderosa pine depend on the structure of the stand and severity of fire. Well-spaced trees are more likely to survive low-severity fire than trees that are closer together. More severe fires usually kill pole sized and smaller trees, while mature trees are more likely to survive. With these trees, the major killer is not damage to the roots (as with forbs and even shrubs), rather the most severe damage is crown scorching. Severe damage to the uppermost needles (necessary for the synthesis of energy) is likely to cause tree mortality. Also, any damage to living tissue, such as the area below the bark (the cambium) or the roots, might cause stress. Although not an immediate cause of death, such stress might lead to other problems. Thus, direct effects of fire are not the only dangers that the ponderosa pine must endure. Season, forest condition, tree age and health, moisture, and insect and disease attacks all http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/warp/plants-English-Photolist.html play a role in whether an individual tree will survive.

Form: Coniferous, evergreen tree. 10-40 (up to 60) m tall, What is necessary for post fire survival of ponderosa pine? Even straight trunk, 1-1.5 m in diameter; numerous stout if the needles are entirely scorched, the buds may tolerate fire branches, lower ones often drooping; open crown, due to their protective outer scales. Trees may be able to endure irregularly cylindrical, often flat-topped. a fire if their buds survive, Bark: Orange-brown to cinnamon with deep black fissures; even if the crown is destroyed. flat, flaky, jigsaw-like plates, up to 10 cm thick. This is especially important Leaves: Evergreen needles usually in bundles of 3 (sometimes 2, for regeneration. Fires create 4, or 5), yellow green and slender, 10-25 cm long. soils rich in available Cones: Male and female cones on same tree; Pollen (male) cones minerals, such as inorganic 2-3 cm long, seed (female) cones 8-14 cm long in groups nitrogen, that promote tree of 1-3; scales thick with a stiff prickle near tip, take 2 growth, so the potential for years to mature. regeneration following a fire is very favorable for this tree Ponderosa pine is a species that has evolved with the presence of species. fire, and this has shaped many of its physical and ecological characteristics. Thick bark, an open crown structure, deep roots, high needle moisture, and insulated bud scales are just some of http://oregonstate.edu/trees/con/spp/pines the ways in which ponderosa pine displays its fire adaptations. pp.html

33 34 Whitebark Pine however, limit the abundance of this species because younger Pinus albicaulis trees and seedlings are more susceptible to tree mortality due to Pine Family (Pinaceae) their relatively thin bark and high flammability of whitebark pine wood. Alternately, however, whitebark pine depend on occasional stand replacing fire because of the rapid rate of succession. This means that if a stand goes for too long without fire as a component of local forest ecology, whitebark pine will be eventually be outcompeted by other species, especially on moist, north-facing slopes of subalpine forest. The determined effect of fire on whitebark pine is highly complicated, depending on a wide array of interplaying variables, including fire frequency and severity (fire regime), stand elevation and moisture and human effects.

Both large and small fires create regeneration opportunities for a variety of plant species through the recycling of nutrients and biomass. http://oregonstate.edu/trees/con/spp/pinespp.html

Form: Coniferous, evergreen tree, 5-15 m tall, broadly branched crown. Bark: White-gray, thin and scaly; Inner bark red-brown. Leaves: Dark green needles in bundles of 5, clustered at branch ends; 3-8 cm long. Cones: Monoecious, thick scales with pointed tip, 5-10 cm long; Cones fall to ground intact.

Like other tree species adapted to northern Rocky Mountain fire regimes, whitebark pine persists through the survival of mature trees and seedling establishment. Survival of individual trees is largely determined by tree maturity (older trees are less susceptible) and fire severity.

Postfire seedling establishment of the whitebark pine is facilitated by Clark’s nutcrackers, which transport seeds greater distances from parent trees than wind dispersal. The presence of this species is largely dependent on intervals between fires. Whitebark pine seedlings are highly competitive with other conifer species in postfire environments. Frequent fires,

35 36 Canada thistle Great Mullein, Common Mullein Cirsium arvense Verbascum thapsus Aster Family (Asteraceae) Figwort Family (Scrophulariaceae)

Form: Perennial forb, leafy, prickly stems, 30-150 cm tall, often forms colonies from deep, spreading roots. Leaves: Alternate, lance-shaped, 5-15 cm long, spiny-toothed and deeply lobed to wavy. Flowerheads: Pinkish-purple, 12-25 cm across, disc florets, usually many flowerheads on spineless stalks in spreading clusters; July-August. Fruits: Flat, ribbed achenes, 4 mm long; feathery brownish to white pappus.

The fire surviving capacity of this weed gives it quite an advantage over native plant species. Not only can Canada thistle resprout from surviving rhizomes that are part of an extensive underground root system, stem fragments not entirely burned can form roots and sprout. Even more, the wind will carry seeds from off-site plants for new colonization. Canada thistles presence may even increase after a fire, which leads to a changing fire ecology of the site: more thistle equals more Form: Biennial forb, grayish felted stalk and leaves, 40-200 cm flammable biomass, leading to increased fire frequency and even tall, single stems from taproot. greater fire severity, which may possibly lead to even more Leaves: Basal rosettes and broadly lance-shaped, 10-40 cm long, Canada thistle clasping to upper stem. establishment. Flowers: Bright yellow, saucer shaped with 5 spreading lobes, 1- http://www.hawriverprogram.org/N 2 cm wide, many flowers in dense, spiked clusters, 10- CPlants/Cirsium_arvense_page.htm 50 cm long; June-August. l Fruits: Round, wooly capsules, 7-10 mm long.

The rich mineral soils left in the wake of a pine stand fire is ideal habitat for the invasion of common mullein. Like other invasive plants, mullein is likely to thrive in an area disturbed by fire, whether it regrows from surviving taproots, colonizes from off- site seed dispersal, or both.

37 38 Spotted Knapweed Bluebunch Wheatgrass Centaurea biebersteinii Pseudoroegneria spicata Aster Family (Asteraceae) Grass Family (Poaceae)

Form: Biennial or short-lived perennial forb, 20-150 cm tall, stems rough, freely branched. Leaves: Alternate, linear segments, gray with thin hairs when young. Flowerheads: Pinkish-purple, about 2.5 cm across, disc florets spreading in clusters above urn-shaped bracts; many flowerheads on long stalks in branching clusters; June-October.

Fruits: Achenes; pappus of white, http://missoulacd.org/bluebunchwheatgrass.jpg hair-like bristles. Form: Perennial grass with densely tufted culms, 30-100 cm tall, usually erect. Fires are ecological disturbances that create areas of bare soil and an increase in sunlight reaching the ground surface. Spotted While fires usually kill off most of the aboveground parts of the knapweed, in invasive weed introduced from Eurasia takes plant, bluebunch wheatgrass usually survives fire because its advantage of post fire soil conditions, colonizing from off-site buds are protected by either soil or plant material. The plant seed sources as well as sprouting from a surviving taproot or itself shields its own buds from fires searing reaches. seeds already present in the soil. In this way, it is able to Underground buds are also protected from fire. Typically, colonize and take over areas disturbed by fire. It is even thought burning stimulates flowering and seeding. However, fires that that the presence of knapweed can increase the frequency of fire occur earlier in the growing season are more likely to kill by changing the fuel characteristics; an infestation of this plant bluebunch wheatgrass buds, thus preventing significant postfire becomes a source of fuel for future fires. Although not a species growth, than are fires later in the native to the season. Rocky Mountains and local fire regimes, this plant is unfortunately well adapted to propagation by such disturbances. http://www.life.umd.edu

39 40 Idaho Fescue Pinegrass Festuca idahoensis Calamagrostis rubescens Grass Family (Poaceae) Grass Family (Poaceae)

http://www.forestryimages.org

Form: Perennial grass with hollow culms, generally 30-50 cm tall (can http://www.viarural.com.ar/viarural.com grow up to 110 cm tall). Dense panicles, 7-15 cm long, may grow in moderate-sized clumps rather than single stems. Seed Form: producing plants tufted and erect, usually in open areas. Long-lived perennial bunchgrass with fine, dense and mostly basal leaves with firm sheaths. Densely tufted culms in large bunches, erect, .3-1 m tall. Tufts 15-25 cm high. Spikelets 5 to If pinegrass was present in or near an area prior to a fire, it is 6 flowered with large awned seeds. very likely to be found afterwards. In fact, repeated fire usually promotes an increase in or even dominance of pinegrass cover. After sprouting from rhizomes or off-site seeding, this fire- The effects of fire on Idaho fescue are largely dependent on tolerant species undergoes mass flowering, leading often times fire severity and season of the fire. More severe fires are a to dominance of an area and even perpetuating surface fires that more obvious threat to the plant, specifically because fires have will maintain open stands of ponderosa pine. a tendency to burn at the base of the plant, killing off root crown with high temperatures or prolonged burning. Idaho fescue may sprout from seed if the post-fire soil temperatures are low enough to allow for seed survival. Overall, this plant is fairly sensitive to severe fire, especially compared to bluebunch wheatgrass.

41 42 FIRE ECOLOGY GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Achene: a small, dry, nut-like fruit containing one seed. Kershaw, Linda, Andy MacKinnon and Jim Pojar. Alternate: leaves opposite; situated singly at each node. Plants of the Rocky Mountains. Lone Pine Annual: living for only one year. Publishing, Canada. 1998. Bulb: a short, thickened, vertical underground step with Mountain Nature website: thickened leaves or leaf base. http://www.mountainnature.com/Plants Cambium: thin layer of generative tissue lying between the Patrician Patterson, Kenneth Neiman and Jonalea bark and the wood of a stem, most active in woody plants. Tonn. “Field Guide to Forest Plants of Caudex: a short vertical, usually woody stem at or just below Northern Idaho.” US Department of the ground surface. Agriculture, Forest Service. Ogden, UT. Corm: a short, thickened underground stem without thickened 1985. leaves. US Bureau of Land Management Website: Cymes: a flat or round-topped flower cluster where inner http://www- flowers bloom first. a.blm.gov/weeds/sympos98/sieg.html Forb: broad-leaved herbaceous plant that dies back to the US Forest Service website: “Fire Effects ground every year. Invasive Plant: plants that displace native species and have the Information System.” ability to dominate. http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/index.htm Opposite: leaves not situated directly across from one another or l whorled. Pappus: the hairs or bristles at the tip of an achene. Perennial: growing for three or more years, usually flowering and fruiting each year. Pome: a fruit with a core (i.e. apple or pear). Rhizomes: an underground stem distinguished from root by the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS presence of nodes and buds or scales. Seral: related to or constituted by an ecological sere (fire). This guide was made possible through a grant from Serotinous: describing a seed that remains closed on a tree with the Bullitt Foundation to the Montana Natural seed dissemination delayed or occurring gradually. History Center. Stolon: a hortizontally spreading step or runner on the ground, usually rooting at nodes. Tepal: a sepal or petal that can not be distinguished as one or the other

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