#landscape language

[mountrainiernps]

Landscape Language

Zygomorphic (adj) – flower that divides along an axis into mirror-like parts

Also known as bilateral symmetry, zygomorphic flowers have an irregular flower structure that can be divided into mirrored halves. Classic examples are members of the orchid family, such as the Calypso orchids found in Mount Rainier National Park. Calypso orchids have a crown of five petals and a slipper-shaped lower lip that forms a mirror image if you imagine a vertical axis splitting the flower in half. In addition to the 15 orchid species found in the park, other examples of zygomorphic wildflowers include monkeyflowers and penstemons.

NPS Photo of Calypso orchids in the Longmire area, April 2016. ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

Landscape Language

Skirting effect (noun) – trees with denser branches towards the ground

It may be summer, but signs of Mount Rainier’s long winters are still visible in the landscape. Look for the "skirting" effect on trees with stunted upper branches and longer, denser branches near the ground. Harsh winds stunt the higher branches, while snow protects the lower growth. At this location, the changes in the branch growth reveals that the typical snowpack is about 5-6 feet (5’9” person for scale). What other signs of winter are you still finding in the park?

NPS Photo of skirting effect on a subalpine fir along the Crystal Lakes Trail, 7/4/23. ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

Landscape Language

Andesite (noun) – a type of volcanic rock containing 54 to 62 percent silica and moderate amounts of iron and magnesium.  

Many of Mount Rainier’s lava flows are andesite. This type of lava tends to be moderately viscous and slow moving. The amount of silica in the lava differentiates it from other types of lava like basalt, which has 45 to 53 percent silica. The less silica a lava contains, the more fluid it is and less viscous, or “sticky”. As it cools, the andesite lava turns into grey rock that can fracture into columns, called columnar jointing. These formations are visible in several locations in the park, particularly along the Sunrise Road. (The Sunrise area typically opens for the season in July).

NPS Photo of columnar jointing along the Sunrise Road. ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

Landscape Language

Volcanic vent (noun) – A location where lava flows, tephra, and rocks are erupted.

Mount Rainier’s summit forming through volcanic vents, but so did prominent features like Little Tahoma. Little Tahoma formed 160 to 40 thousand years ago during a period of waning eruptions and erosion for ancestral Mount Rainier. Volcanic vents opened on the upper east side of the volcano, feeding new lava flows that formed Little Tahoma Peak. While “little” compared to Mount Rainier (which made up its height in later eruptions), Little Tahoma is 11,138 feet high and the third largest peak in Washington.

NPS Photo of Little Tahoma from Sunrise.  ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

Landscape Language

Punchbowl (adj) – a type of waterfall with a narrow stream channeled into a plunge pool

Also known as “plunge” waterfalls, a punchbowl waterfall drops into a pool shaped like a punchbowl. At Mount Rainier, an impressive two-tiered example of this is Ohanapecosh Falls, which drops nearly 70 feet in total. This waterfall can be viewed during the summer by following the Eastside Trail north of the Grove of the Patriarchs. Have you visited this waterfall in the past or have examples of other punchbowl waterfalls found in the park?

NPS/C. Roundtree Photo of Ohanapecosh Falls, 2012. ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

Landscape Language

Epiphyte (noun) – a plant that grows on another plant

Many trees in the temperate rain forests in the park are draped with layers of mosses and lichens in every shade of green. These are epiphytes - "air plants" that grow on other plants. Epiphytes rely on host trees for support but not nutrients. They get their nourishment from air, falling rain, and the compost that lies on tree branches. What examples of epiphytes have you found while in the park?

NPS Photos of the temperate rain forest at Carbon River. ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

Landscape Language

Cinder cone (noun) – a steep hill formed by accumulation of solidified fragments of lava around a volcanic vent.

Mount Rainier is not the only volcano in the park but has several satellite volcanoes surrounding it. About 105,000 years ago new vents opened on the lower northwest flank of Mount Rainier and lava flows of basaltic andesite (hotter, more fluid magmas than typical for Mount Rainier) spread across the Spray Park and Mist Park areas from cinder cones preserved as Echo and Observation Rocks. The vents were probably fed from a great depth rather than laterally from the same system that fueled Mount Rainier’s eruptions.

NPS/S. Redman Photo of Observation and Echo Rocks viewed from the Sunrise area. ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

Landscape Language

Cyme (noun) – inflorescence with flowers on the ends of branching stems

A more complicated type of inflorescence, or flower structure, is a cyme. Cymes have a flower at the end of each growing point. New flowers grow from side shoots with the oldest flowers at the top or center of the inflorescence. Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosais) a tall shrub with cyme flowers that turn into clusters of bright red berries. This plant does well in the shadowy forests found at lower elevations in Mount Rainier National Park.

NPS Photo of red elderberry blooming in the Carbon River area, May 2016. ~kl