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Page: of 12
_tree attractive and easy to identify. The cool
The decaying trees and stumps you probably
have noticed along the journey are in many ways
as important to the community of Rock Creek as
are the living trees. Standing, they provide homes
for raccoons, and especially for woodpeckers and
other insect eating birds. Downed, they become a
major source of the organic component of the
soil. Bacteria, ants, termites, and many other living creatures, as well as the action of weather,
help to break down the once living tree and return
its elements again to the forest to begin a new
cycle of life.
10. The two large trees in front of this marker
are madrones. The beautiful reddish-brown or
orange bark of the madrone contrasts strikingly
with its large, glossy green leaves and makes this
moist environment of Rock Creek has given these
madrones perfect conditions for growth and
allowing them to reach their present size.
11. Two plants that live on trees and rocks that often go unnoticed are lichens and mosses. The thinner, gray, light green and
gold patches are lichens; the thick, dark green mats are mosses.
Lichens and mosses may be called Adam and Eve of the plant
kingdom, since they are often the first living things to grow on a
rock or similar base surface where nothing has grown before. Lichens create an acid which begins the breakdown of rocks to the
soil, thus preparing the surface for mosses and higher plants.
Lichens are composed of two different plants,
green algae and fungi, which live together in a
mutually beneficial relationship. In the presence
of light, water and carbon dioxide, the green algae produces food for itself and the fungus. In
turn, the fungus provides support and water to
the algae. Lichens are the slowest growing of all
plants, some gaining only one inch in diameter
in ten years. Lichens can survive in very dry or
cold environments. However, since they tend to
store chemicals from the atmosphere, lichens cannot survive in areas with heavily polluted air.