Climate Change
Some trees in Clark Park have characteristics that make them particularly vulnerable to climate change. Western redcedar and Western hemlock have shallow root systems which help them grow in wetter areas. Unfortunately this means they are vulnerable to drought. Many of the trees in Clark Park have been weakened by too many consecutive hot dry springs and summers when they most need water to grow. This means they also have less energy to fight off insects and diseases.
Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
c̓sey̓əɬp or le:y̓əɬp in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (Musqueam)
Ch’shay̓ in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish)
Cone
Douglas-fir cones are 6-9cm long and hang down from branches far up the tree. Look for the bracts peeking out from the cone scales. The bracts look like the hind legs and tails of little mice who are hiding in the cones!
Bark
Douglas-fir bark is reddish brown and very thick and furrowed which helps protect the tree from fires. It can also be a good place for insects or small animals, like bats, to hide!
Foliage
Douglas-fir needles are bright green above with white dots on the underside. They grow all the way around the twigs. The needles smell very nice if you crush one. Some people describe the smell as similar to apples or citrus. The buds are pointy and red.
Form
Douglas-fir are large trees with thick, columnar trunks. Their branches are somewhat drooping but the oldest have large branches which spread straight out from the trunk, giving the tree a flat-topped appearance.
Name Origin
The genus name “Pseudotsuga” means false hemlock. Pseudo means “false” and tsuga is the Japanese word for hemlock. The species name, “menziessii”, is for the Author Menzies, the surgeon aboard George Vancouver’s expedition, who was the first European to report the species on Vancouver Island. The common name Douglas-fir commemorates David Douglas, a botanist who described plants in Oregon in the 1800’s.Douglas-fir is not a true fir, i.e. a member of the genus Abies.
Western Red Cedar Thuja plicata
Χpey̓əɬp in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (Musqueam)
X̱pay̓ in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish)
Cone
Western red cedar have the smallest cones of the conifers in Clark Park. The cones are 1.2-1.8cm long and have just 8 to 10 scales with a sharp point near the tip. Look for the cones on the ground after a winter windstorm.
Bark
Western red cedar has reddish-brown bark in long strips running up and down the trunk. The bark can appear grey on older trees but the reddish colour is easily seen on the underside of any strip peeled off. Not sure we should put in the above without consultation
Foliage
Western red cedar has flat, scale-like leaves with a strong smell when crushed which discourages insects and animals like deer from eating them.
Form
Western Red cedar has a flared base which is often fluted and buttressed. The branches tend to grow down and then bend up at the ends, a bit like a ski-jump.
Name Origin
Western redcedar is not a true cedar, i.e. a member of the Eurasian genus Cedrus. The genus name Thuja was given by an ancient Greek scholar to a tree with fragrant wood. This tree is still valued for its fragrant wood which is resistant to water and rot. Most of this genus lives in Asia but there are two species in North America including Thuja plicata. The species name plicata means plaited and refers to the braided look of the tree’s needles. Western redcedar is British Columbia’s official tree.
Giant Sequoia
Sierra Redwood/Giant Sequoia
Sequoiadendron giganteum
Cone
Sequoia cones are 4-7cm long and are roughly oval in shape with 20-30 scales arranged in a spiral pattern. Each scale looks a bit like lips.
Bark
Sequoia bark grows in reddish-brown, fibrous, vertical strips and is deeply furrowed on older trees. This bark can be nearly a metre thick near the base of old trees; this is an adaptation to fire in their native ecosystem.
Foliage
Sequoia has bluish-green needles that look like they are made of small scales.. The needle scales have short and sharp points. You can differentiate them from redcedar by noting the round growth pattern vs the flat needles of redcedar.
Form
Sequoia grow in a cone shape when they are young, i.e. less than a century old. As they mature, their crown may take on a more rounded form.
Name Origin
Giant Sequoia take their name from Cherokee scholar Sequoyah, (1767–1843), who invented the Cherokee syllabary system. Dendron is the Greek word for tree and giganteum references the immense size this species can grow to. There has been much debate about whether this tree deserves its own genus, Sequoiadendron, or whether it belongs in the genus Sequoia instead. Nowadays most scientists agree that it belongs in its own genus. Sequoias aren’t native to Canada which is why there is no hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name for them.
Is it a Maple Tree or Something Else?
Deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter. One of the most recognizable deciduous trees is the Maple tree. There are a few trees in the park that might be confused for Maple trees. There are some Maple trees by the lower playground, but also London Plane trees, which are in fact more numerous in the park.
The big trees you can see with bumps on the trunk are London Planes (Plantus occidentalis x Plantus orientalis). Their leaves look like maple, but Maple trees (Acer spp.) have leaves that are opposite, directly across from each other on the branch. London Plane tree leaves are similar but their leaves are alternate and never directly across from each other. Arrow to image
Maples and London Planes have very different fruits! The maple fruit is called a samara, and has seeds in pairs with a wing. They twirl down, travelling away from the tree with the wind . London Plane fruit comes in conglomerates of achenes that look like spiky little balls. There are usually 2-3 of these balls on a single stalk. They start out as green in the summer and turn a beautiful red in the autumn. In the winter, you can identify a London Plane-tree by its smooth, brownish bar which flakes off in large pieces giving the trunk a mottled look.
Another similar tree is American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), above the cul-de-sac on Woodland and below the orchard. The leaves are star shaped and more deeply lobed than the London Plane leaves. Like, London Plane, the leaves are arranged alternately on the stem, The leaf stalk is almost as long as the leaf. Sweetgum leaves turn brilliant orange in the fall. The fruit is also a spiky ball made up of individual seeds called an aggregate. Each individual seed in the ball has two curved, woody spikes on it. If you compare it to the fruit of the London Plane you will see that it has fewer but harder spikes. In the winter you can identify a Sweetgum tree by its deeply furrowed and scaly grey bark.
Red Maple
London Plane
Sweetgum
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