Prarie Creek Redwoods State Park

I went camping over the weekend at Prarie Creek Redwoods State Park and I saw many species I have seen many times and also species I have never seen before, which is always a pleasant surprise.

The thalloid liverwort Conocephalum conicum

This is an old decaying fruiting body of Phaeolus schweinitzii that I found at the base of a Douglas Fir (Psuedotsuga menziesii). This fungus is a root/butt rotter and this tree will most likely fall over in the next few years depending on how extensive the rot is.

I was ecstatic when I found this rare species! This saprotrophic, achlorophyllous flower is called Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)because it looks somewhat like a pipe. There were 3 patches of them along the trail I was hiking.

The beautiful California Rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum)

Cladonia bellidiflora

A wild hazelnut fruit

Some gorgeous orange slash rotters with a poroid hymneophore that I saw in Fern Canyon

My old friend Fomitopsis pinicola. I was very ashamed of myself because I couldn't remember the name of this VERY common slash rotter for the longest time.

Peltigera neopolydactyla

Lobaria pulmonaria

Another saprotrophic, achlorophyllous flower I have never seen before called False Pink Asparagus (Hermitomes congestum)

I decided that this is the Coast Lily (Lilium maritimum)even though there are many other species of Lilium that look quite similar

I also finally noticed for the first time that there are tons of Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) growing in the park. I had only noticed them before as scrubby little sunlight deprived trees in the Arcata Community Forest.