Where the heavy snows of winter have recently lain, such plants as creeping Crater Lake currant (Ribes erythrocarpum) and trailing raspberry (Rubus lasiococcus) are pressed into the soil. Soon the warmth of the sun is reflected in the growing energy that enables the twigs and leaves to lift themselves from the ground to their summer position. Inconspicuous racems of small saucer-shaped bronze flowers are present almost by the time the leaves are freely exposed to the air. The white strawberry-like flowers of the trailing raspberry require more time to develop. As the weather grows steadily warmer in early June and the days of sunshine begin to out-number those of storm, the snow banks slowly dwindle in the park. In the damp, brown, bare spots that appear under the outer branches of the mountain hemlock trees and in the open spaces beyond, the pale yellow-green spears of smooth woodrush (Luzula glabrata) replace the snow. The leaves, even before they have obtained their full quota of chlorophyll, separate to expose a flat-topped cluster of tiny flower buds. Sometimes several of these grass-like plants may be found about the thinning edges of the snowbanks, each plant in a circular pit of its own making. A typical display contains all stages of development from spears appearing above the ground that is still wet from the recent snowbanks to fully developed plants with their green ribbon-like leaves and their feathery brown inflorescences. To one familiar with the forests of mountain hemlock of the Hudsonian Zone and with the succession of plants that is found there during the short growing season, the smooth woodrush is the herald of coming summer, the promise of the gorgeous display of mountain flowers that is to follow in the meadows close by.

The yellow faces of the smooth woodland violet (Viola glabella) reflect the bright light upon the mountain hemlock trees. This violet is one of the earliest flowers to bloom. In the forests along the coast and in the valleys of Oregon, the smooth woodland violet blooms in February or March, at Crater Lake in June or July.

Edging groves of hemlocks, especially on the back slopes of Applegate and Sun valley, the lamb’s tongue, or glacier lily, (Erythronium grandiflorum) var. pallidum) nod their yellow heads as snow banks dwindle beside them. Steep rocky hillsides that have south or southwestern exposures are among the earliest places to be free of snow. Here rock-loving perennial plants are waiting to take advantage of the early moisture to enable them to display their flowers and mature their fruits. The western wind flower(Anemone occidentalis) is one of these plants. While the leaves are still tightly folded along the midrib of each linear segment the translucent white sepals, purple tinged without, form a cup of delicate beauty on top of each thickened stem. Later in the summer after the stems have grown tall, heads of plumose achenes (one-seeded fruits) will have replaced the white cup-like flowers. Backlighted by the sun, each head then appears with its own hair. One of the most beautiful sights of the high mountains may be had by looking toward the sun across a hillside or meadow of western wind flowers when their pale green fluffy heads are fully matured. Near the summit of Garfield Peak, a smaller anemone with pale blue flowers, Drummond’s windflower (A. drummondii), is found. The achenes of this species are densely covered with cotton. Heads of the achenes of Drummond’s windflower are therefore much less showy than those of the western windflower.

Exposed rocky cliffs such as those of the Garfield Trail are clear of snow early. Here crevices afford footing for several species of rock-loving plants. Three species of plants that bloom among the first are usually found elsewhere in the Cascades only above timberline in the Arctic-Alpine Zone. The flowers of the mountain sorrel (Oxyria digyna)are inconspicuous, but the color scheme of red and green and the pattern of circles and straight lines formed by the kidney shaped leaves and the straight racemes of tiny flowers make this plant easy to recognize. The slender polemonium or Jacob’s ladder(Polemonium shastense) is a delicate study in pastels. The large clusters of pale blue and yellow flowers often just balance the soft green mass that is made up of long pinnately compound leaves. A lone plant of feather-leaved fleabane (Erigeron compositus), with its finely divided leaves, grows from a soil pocket in the cliff about half way up Garfield Trail. By the time the slender polemonium is in profuse bloom, the fleabane is just lengthening the strap flowers of its single flowerhead.

Two crucifers bloom early along the trail. Members of the Cruciferae or mustard family are marked by having four petals and six stamens, two of them shorter than the other four. The dagger-pod (Parrya cheiranthoidea) is recognized by its long narrow gray basal leaves and its deep purple flowers. The pods of this species indicate clearly the reason for the name, dagger-pod. A small species of rockcress (Arabis holboellii var.secunda) is found scattered among the rocks. Each flower and later each elongating pod is turned to one side of the extended flower stalk.

Before its leaves have unfolded, bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa) is in bloom. The flowers are typical of the species but the leaves are coarser and less finely divided than is usual for this species of lower elevations.

Bright patches of yellow and green among the rocks are apt to be fringed-leaved cinquefoil (Potentilla flabellifolia). The flowers that resemble buttercups and the leaves that look like fringed “three-leaved clovers” signify this species.

A number of shrubs bloom in the Garfield rock gardens while snow is yet deep on the slopes below. Two species of bushy currants are found side by side in some places. Both develop racemes of creamy-white tubular flowers at about the same time. The waxy currant (Ribes cereum) has small smooth leaves. The gummy currant (Ribes viscosissimum) has larger sticky leaves. Although the service berry (Amelanchier florida) is dwarfed along the Garfield Trail its blossoms of white strap-shaped petals almost cover the bushes. The leaves of the service berry are easy to recognize because they are oval to almost round and notched about half the margin that is away from the twig.

Large areas of the open rocky slopes are carpeted by two creeping shrubs that produce their flowers while snowbanks remain closeby. The rigid, brick-red branches, conspicuous among the glossy, leathery evergreen leaves and the racemes of dainty bell-like pale pink flowers make the pinemat manzanita (Arctostaphylos nevadensis) an attractive ground cover. The lovely pattern produced by the small, holly-like, deep green, shiny leaves and the puffs of tiny lavender flowers of the squaw carpet(Ceanothus prostratus) is equally attractive.

The damp soil of the mountain meadows at first appears almost destitute of life. Here and there the clumps of brilliant red growing tips of Newberry’s knotweed (Polygonium newberryi) push above the uniformly brown surface of the ground. This plant is least attractive during its flowering season. The tiny, papery white flowers that cluster in the axils of the leaves are so inconspicuous that a person looking directly at the plant in full bloom often asks what the flowers are like. Nevertheless, each delicate flower proves to be a delightful surprise to one who chances to examine one with the aid of a hand lens. Following the blooming period, glory returns to the knotweed as its dying leaves turn scarlet. If one chances to view these leaves against the sun they appear translucent like stained glass windows. But this is a picture of late August, not early June.

Among the patches of red tips of growing Newberry’s knotweed, steer’s head, (Dicentra uniflora) is an attractive surprise to anyone who discovers it. The single rose-colored flower, held at an angle barely clearing the ground, suggests a tiny steer’s head even to many who do not know its name. Each flower is surrounded by two or three finely divided gray-green triangular leaves that lie flat on the ground.

Spring beauties (Claytonia lanceolata) are the most abundant flowers on the open slopes. As they push through the earth, the two lance-shaped leaves are held tightly together, like hands over their heads. Soon they separate and are lowered to their characteristic position opposite buds. As the buds open one at a time, the peduncle straightens and holds up the flower that looks like a deep saucer of delicate pink-striped china.

The rosettes formed by the deep-green spatulate leaves of pussypaws (Spragus umbellata) are at first small and tight against the ground. The first dense cluster of tiny flowers are greenish. As the season progresses, the clusters become more fluffy and the flowers turn white, then red, all the while the rosettes of leaves are increasing in size.

A small yellow violet (Viola venosa) with gray-green leaves is so inconspicuous that it is easily overlooked. Close examination, however shows it to be an unusual violet that often makes the most of complementary colors, since the back of the upper petals may be purple and the other petals are purple-violet.

The rainbow colors of the spider-web paintbrush (Castilleja arachnoides) blend perfectly into the pumice slopes. The paintbrush tips enlarge as the flowers bloom farther and farther down the stem. This plant is covered by a fine cobwebby pubescence that adds a delightfully soft texture to its delicate coloring.

Dense, cottony plots of alpine antennaria (Antennaria media) look like irregular sections of a patchwork quilt on these mountain meadows. Tiny stems with reduced leaves and clusters of papery white flower heads rise a few inches from each basal clump of leaves. Other plants that may be found in bloom in the mountain meadows during the early summer are: varied-leaved phacelia (Phacelia heterphylla), alpine agoseris(Agoseris alpestris), blue stickseed (Hackelia jessicae), and several species of sedges(Carex sp.).

Three shrubs that are common about the springs or along streams begin to flower while patches of snow still remain; the catkins appear on the Eastwood willow (Salix eastwoodae), the deep rose of the flower buds make spots of color on the mountain spiraea (Spiraea densiflora), and the yellow twin-flowers blend with the yellow-green leaves of the black twinberry (Lonicera involucrata). In soggy reaches along the streams and about the springs, the ground is often covered with the tiny Gormon’s buttercup (Ranunculus gormandii). Taller plants soon extend their flowering racemes above the mat of mosses and buttercups. The elephant’s heads, (Pedicularis groenlandicum) make conspicuous patches of rose color, as do the alpine shooting stars(Dodecatheon alpinum). The slender stalks of the green and white bog orchids (Habernaria stricta and H. dilatata) with their sweet-scented exquisite flowers add much to the beauty of the scene. At this time a few white flowers are peeking out of the flat terminal flower clusters of the northern valerian (Valeriana sitchensis), and the white flowers in the dense, slender heads of the bistort (Polygonum bistortoides) are also in evidence.

By the time the snows are gone, most of these flowers have already produced their first fruits. Many of them have a system of flowering that enables them to keep producing flowers farther up the stem as long as the moisture and temperature conditions are favorable, thus a long season results in abundance of seed, yet a short season permits maturity of a few fruits at least. The early spring scene shifts rapidly, so a markedly different one greets the visitors during July and August. Some year come early, see the early spring flowers!

“Ranger, is that sulphur on those rocks over there?”

“No, sir, the bright yellow color which you see is a lichen.”

“A lichen? What in the world is that?”

“A lichen is a form of plant life which results from a combination of a fungus and an alga. Any one of a number of fungi may combine with a single alga or any one of these fungi may combine with several different algae. Each one of these combinations results in a separate species of lichen having a distinct color and form. Both of these factors are a result of the interaction of the two members of this relationship and rarely, if ever, do they resemble either the alga or the fungus as it grows alone. The color seems to be connected with special chemical compounds, each produced only by a single pair.”

“Does just any old fungus and alga, as you call it, get together in this way?”

“So far only one group of fungi have been found in lichen associations of the temperate region. These are the cup fungi or Ascomycetes. In the tropics, fungi closely related to the toadstools also combine in this way. Three kinds of algae are found in lichens; brown, blue-green, and more commonly green algae. Ordinarily only the single-celled algae combine, but occasionally a filamentous form has succeeded in doing so. Scientists have been able to break them down into their two components and grow them separately in the laboratory, they have never been able to recombine the two under artificial conditions.”

“Why should the two combine anyway? Wouldn’t’ they compete with each other?”

“On the contrary, in nature they help each other out. You see, the fungus is an excellent water absorber and it also can get a grip almost anywhere, but it lacks the ability to make its own organic food. The alga, having green color just like the grass or trees, can use the energy from the sun in the manufacture of sugar. Some of this sugar goes to the fungus which in turn gives the alga a good environment in which to live. In this way the two of them together are able to live in very difficult places such as the surface of bare rock, where neither of them could singly. In fact they are the first form of life to invade any new rock formation and to the all important first work in the breaking down of rock to soil.”

“Hmm, right out on bare rock, eh? Do they grow anywhere else?”

“Yes, the forms which grown on trees, you would call mosses. The yellow moss on the trunk of that hemlock there is one called the stag horn lichen. Although it grows on the trees, it is in no sense a parasite. It may get some mineral material from the dead outside bark to which it is attached, but it does not penetrate into the living tissue of the old tree and derives no organic foodstuff from the tree. It grows equally well on living and dead trees or branches. You will notice that it doesn’t grow down to the ground in very many places. This is because it doesn’t do well when it is buried underneath lasting winter snows. Thus the bottom of the lichen growth indicates the level of the normal persistent snow. At lower elevations there is another lichen, the goat’s beard, which grows in the same manner on the same trees. It looks somewhat the same but the color is lighter and it usually is somewhat longer. At around 5,200 feet there is a sharp line where the goat’s beard suddenly gives way to the stag horn which we see up here.”

“The black moss which hangs so thickly on the lower limbs of the alpine fir there to your right is known as the squaw’s hair lichen. I have been told that it was used as a famine food by the Indians. Deer eat it in wintertime, but in summer it is a hazard, since it burns readily and a tree will literally explode if humidity is low and a match or other flame is touched to it. Another edible form, called rock tripe, grows on the rocks up the trail. Other forms grow on down logs and some flat on the ground.”

“Golly are there many of these things?”

“Yes, although many of them have not been identified as yet, there are probably from seventy to a hundred of them in the park and the known forms throughout the world number in the thousands. Some of them are exquisitely delicate and others are brilliantly colored, such as the one which splashes the northeast side of the Phantom Ship with gaudy orange. If you are interested in them, go up the Garfield trail where you will see the rocks covered with veritable gardens of them. They are particularly showy right after a rain. The moisture seems to bring out their colors as they blossom out into renewed growth.”

(Much of the information contained in this article was obtained by private communication from Dr. F. P. Sipe, Associate Professor of Botany, University of Oregon.)

The purpose of a National Park is to protect and preserve in a primitive, a natural state, the most significant examples of floral and faunal types; as well as of scenery, so that scientist, nature lover, and the general public may see, enjoy, learn and benefit.

Some years ago a corn breeder in the Middle West was surprised to find plants which did not have the normal green color, but were pure white. This strain of albino corn suddenly appeared in his otherwise normal seed stocks. Since they lacked green color, they could not use the energy of the sun to manufacture their organic food from water and carbon dioxide. Since no special provisions were made for their feeding, these albino plants died as soon as the food which had been stored in the seed was exhausted. This lack of color and therefore synthetic power was deadly to them. The strain could survive only when the mutation was covered by the dominant gene for color.

In the forests of Crater Lake are several plants which have solved the problem of survival without green color in a different manner. There exist in the duff of forests certain fungi which have the ability to digest cellulose and convert it to sugar. Since the sugars, as made, are outside the body of the fungus, they are available to any plant or animal in a position to absorb them. Since they are water-soluble, the roots of certain seed plants able to absorb and utilize them as a substitute source of organic material.

These plants are true seed plants which have secondarily lost their synthetic powers. Many of them have no close relatives among the green plants of the region and therefore must either have been derived from green plants at some distance from their present habitat or have survived less successful relatives. In the case of Pyrola aphylla,however, we can see the process of conversion to the non-green habit taking place. Several green species of Pyrola are found in the same range of Pyrola aphylla. There is indication of how recently the switch to non-green habit has occurred. The leafless stem of the flower-bearing shoot is green as it breaks thru the ground, and in some cases its color persists until the flowers are fully formed. It has the small amount occurring on the portion of the plant exposed to light, and thus capable of synthetic action, could not possibly support the extensive underground stem system that is two or four feet long.

Here is a step in the story of the seed plants. Similar plants show that some such process has occurred several times before. Thus it is not accidental occurrence, but a definite trend in development. It is possible that it is a process similar to that by which the fungi were derived from a precursor of our modern green algae millions of years ago.

It is not yet known whether these new seed plants are completely dependent on the action of fungi in rotting the duff or whether they are capable of carrying out this process for themselves. Strong presumptive evidence for the necessity of a fungal association comes from the observation that they are never found except where fungi are actively carrying on the process of decay. If, in the course of time, they do evolve the necessary mechanism to carry out the digestion of wood, they might supplant the fungi as decomposition agents of wood. In much the same way, in many habitats, the seed plants have replaced the dominant green vegetation such as ferns, which reproduce by spores.

The Watchman-Hillman talus slopes form the largest single slide area within the caldera walls. The slide is constantly in action, though no mass slumps have occurred in the last few years. The coarse, flat, detrital beach at the base grows rapidly outward in Skell Channel. It has been built up as follows: Perennial snow patches remain at the base of the talus. Most of the detritus slides over the snow and is deposited farther out on to the beach or into the water. In the early summer when the snow is deepest, the rocks are carried into the water. Already the beach extends 300 feet into Skell Channel. The Channel is now approximately 1,600 feet wide and less than 100 feet deep.

The earliest pictures of Crater Lake, about 50 years old, do not show any such wide beach. Wizard’s status as an island is endangered; if the present rate of erosion continues and the lake level does not rise, our great grandchildren will view Wizard Peninsula.

The all-time record for travel in Crater Lake National Park set in the travel year 1941 was broken on the 20th of August. At the end of the travel day on the 20th, 83,319 cars and 274,592 people had visited the park. The previous record was 82,466 cars and 273,564 people.

At 11:10 A.M., July 15, a tremendous blast, followed by a rumbling noise, resounded around the caldera walls. It sounded much like a series of thunder claps, and evidently, everyone thought it to be thunder from a lingering dark cumulus cloud overhead. Actually this “thunder” was the collapse and slide of a section of Redcloud Cliff. A study of the slide is significant because of its being typical of the larger rock slides and mass erosion within the caldera.

A slab, estimated to be 250 x 200 x 8 feet, of the older dacite flow under and immediately to the south of the V-shaped mass of Redcloud Cliff spawled off and slid 9/10 of the way down to the lake shore. One third of the largest blocks were carried farthest by their momentum, but none of them reached the lake. Slight sorting of the debris is evident on the lower portion, the heavier blocks being followed by increasingly smaller fragments. The original, underlying talus was pushed to the shore, extending the fan to the water’s edge. Therefore, the total rock slide continued 1,000 feet from the base of Redcloud Cliff to the water’s edge. Most of the larger fragments came to rest approximately half way down, and a smaller portion were stopped by the bottle-necking effect of big and little Castle Rock formations. In these higher portions there is little or no evidence of sorting.

The slide fragments came to an unstable rest at the maximum angle of repose, in this case of angular blocks, 43 degrees. It is believed that this angle is reached only in the upper third, and that the slide curves, as the lower portion grades down to approximately 38 degrees. This upward curving is characteristic of new, unstable, and active slides. The lower slide area is semi-safe to climb over due to frictional stabilization of detritus, but the larger rocks in the upper portion are delicately balanced. Prior to this recent slide the Redcloud talus slope was not at the maximum angle of repose, otherwise more than the total additional weight of new slide material would be carried into the lake.

Distortion and dilation transformed the dacite slab into fragments ranging from 1,000 cubic feet down to rock dust. On top of the larger blocks there was loose, fresh rock powder, a characteristic of very recent, large rock slides. Many hand-sized fragments appeared integrated and competent, but crumbled easily under fist pressure. A slickenside appearance is quite obvious on the adjacent andesite spurs, however none of this resistant rock broke loose. Amazingly enough, little Castle Rocks remain none the worse for wear, in spite of much rock battering over them. Small amounts of pumice slide with the main block, but the remains of this were crushed into dust.

The causes of the larger rock slides inside the rim are a number of interesting natural processes. Redcloud Cliff faulted downward on a nearly vertical plane which affords maximum gravitational pull. Water, directly and indirectly, has helped disintegration and decomposition within a series of cracks, mostly from the top downward. Water seeped from Cloudcap dome into tension cracks near the rim and froze. Seasonal and diurnal temperature changes, alternate freezing and thawing, greatly accentuated frost wedging, which can be an effective cause of spawling. Most likely by the middle of July the ice within the cliff melted sufficiently to hold the rock together no longer. The rock collapsed after the cementing ice had melted away.

A clayey surface was seen on some of the larger rock fragments. This suggests the slow decomposition and decay of the rock itself, or the washing in of volcanic dust, either one being a function of water and ice. The rock face fractured quite evenly along semi-columnar joints. No oxidation of iron or water seepages can be seen. The uniformly light tan of the cliff face indicates hydration as a mode of decomposition. This process produces a swelling of rock parts, allowing moisture to penetrate until some decay is effected. In conclusion, the primary cause was the increasingly powerful action of frost wedging, and secondarily, the expansion and decay due to hydration.

The newly exposed cliff remains very unstable, as well as the talus slope beneath. Fragmental bits are still constantly falling off. It will be interesting to watch — from a distance.

Ranger naturalists are scientists carefully selected not only for their intimate knowledge of nature and its ways, but also for their enthusiasm and ability in aiding others to know it as well. Curtailed and finally abolished during the war, naturalist services were resumed in a modest measure in the park last year, upon the return of the park naturalist after four years of service in the Navy. Every important naturalist service which was offered before Pearl Harbor, was restored to the program this year. The uniformed men on the staff number eight.

Dr. R. R. Huestis, dean of naturalists in the park, returned to tell in his inimitable fashion about private ways and doings of mantled ground squirrels and a host of lesser folk. He is professor of biology at the University of Oregon during its regular season. Mrs. Huestis is the obliging pianist for naturalist pow-wows in the Community House each night.

Coming to the park last year from the foxholes of Okinawa, ex-Marine Orthello L. Wallis of Oregon State College is conducting a park survey of stream fish and fishing, as well as having his share of talks, conducted trips, and contact duties. While his fellows were fighting off boredom between annoyances by the enemy, Mr. Wallis made a collection of trap door spiders on Okinawa, and has published a scientific paper on them. To his efforts, also, is due the assembly of this issue of Nature Notes. His wife, Nancy, has prepared the originals of illustrations used.

It took considerable persuasion to bring Walter S. Vincent, Jr., from his laboratory at Oregon State College, since he boasts a brand new pair of twins, whom he hesitated exposing to the wilds and hardships of Crater Lake forests. With his choice of field in zoology, a good background in botany, and a prying interest in what goes on in ponds, pools, and puddles, Mr. Vincent has an appealing and authoritative fund of information for park visitors. When it is his night at the “Comhouse”, Mrs. Vincent helps with the entertainment. Mr. Vincent was with the Army Medical contingent in the Pacific Theatre of war.

Fresh from Osborne Botanical Laboratory at Yale, ex-Marine Gordon P. Walker specializes in cellular botany, but while in the park has interested himself in plant parasites and saprophytes. Mr. Walker shared the brunt of the ordeal of landing operations at Iwo Jima, being attached to the Fourth Division.

Lucius T. Grose is a geologist from the University of Arizona, at which institution he was associated with Eddie McKee, popular and efficient park naturalist of Grand Canyon National Park in the thirties. A navy man, ex-aerographer’s mate Grose served on fighting flattops, including the Essex, Hornet, and Hancock. He was with task force 39 during the bombardment of Japan.

Norman Doyle is an aeronautical major at San Jose State College in California and a student of ex-ranger naturalist-geologist Wayne Kartchner. He spent three years with the air arm of the Navy, being pilot of a PBM on patrol bombing duty of the Philippines, Okinawa, China, and Japan.

Two junior ranger-naturalists complete the uniformed staff, and are giving valued help in information rangers and leaders of occasional trips. Thomas C. Matthews of Portland is a forestry student at Oregon State College. He has had previous outdoor experience in the Wallowas and in Alaska. Donald G. Findlay of Eugene, Oregon, is a student of ex-ranger naturalist Dr. Warren G. Smith, head of the department of geology and geography at the University of Oregon. He served as any army air cadet during the war.

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