What kind of fish is always looking up? A Halibut.
Photo courtesy of ODFW
The first time you see a halibut could be a surprise. Halibut are flatfish with eyes on one side of their bodies and some are giant!
Things are looking up
Halibut don’t start out as a one-sided. As a larva, halibut have eyes on both sides of their head. As they begin to mature, their left eye migrates over their snout to the right side of their head. They begin swimming one-sided which facilitates living on or near the ocean floor. They are always looking up. Hunting.
But wait, there’s two
There are two varieties of halibut off the southern Oregon coast: California (Paralichthys californicus) sometimes known as California Flounder and Pacific (Hippoglossus stenolepis). The two are very different. If you pull in one that is over 30 lbs. there is a good chance that it is a Pacific.
What if they are smaller?
It gets harder to identify them when they are smaller. The easiest way to identify them is to compare the lateral line shape. Pacific halibuts have a straight lateral line; California have an arched that goes above the pectoral fin.
Halibut Comparison:
Let’s dive a little deeper for more comparisons.
REFERENCES: –Oregon Dept. Fish and Wildlife, MyODFW (https://myodfw.com/articles/2019-halibut-newsletter#pacific) –US Fish and Wildlife Service (https://myodfw.com/fishing/species/pacific-halibut and /species/California-halibut) –Wikipedia, Pacific Halibut (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_halibut) –Fish Watcher (https://www.fishbase.in/summary/514) –National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Studying bottom-dwelling fishes and crabs of the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf,” BobLauth(https://archive.fisheries.noaa.gov/afsc/Science_blog/EBS_6.htm)
I remember the first time I saw a carnivorous California Pitcher Plant (at the Darlingtonia Wayside near Florence). The grove of odd-shaped plants looked like something from outer space.
Darlingtonia californica (Oregon State Parks)
Looking at this tall (up to about 40-inches), upright, tube-shaped plant, one might think it wasalien. Researcher Dr. Dawn Cardace has been investigating ancient subduction areas of the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains. She is looking for potential applications for life on other planets (see https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/serpentines/conservation/microbes.shtml).
A link to the unknown is easy to imagine when a bug flies in and never comes out.
Plants that grow in bogs have adapted different survival strategies and the California Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia Californica) is no exception. For starters, the plant is fairly rare and grows in wetland areas where the pH is around 8 (most of our Pacific Northwest soils are on the acid side closer to 4-5). This pH level is common around serpentine soils.
The seeps of cold, running water helps moderate the plant’s root temperature. The roots are very sensitive to temperature changes, more so than the leaves.
Even so, it is the roots that give the plant the ability to quickly resprout even after a major fire. This ability has not gone unnoticed or researched. For more information see “Vegetation Recovery in the Biscuit Fire, Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon” at https://www.frames.gov/catalog/41316. The 2002 Biscuit Fire burned nearly 500,000 acres and is considered to be the largest fire in Oregon in the past century.
Trapped Inside
Most North American pitcher plants have slippery walls and downward-pointing hairs in their tubular leaves that help prevent prey from escaping. The Darlingtonia californica has an ingenious tiny, hidden exit and multiple translucent false exits making it even better at capturing and retaining its prey. The cells inside the tube can absorb nutrients like roots do which helps supplement the plant’s nitrogen requirements.
Foreground is a wild orchid (Cypripedium californicum) with grove of Darlingtonia in background (royalty free image Unsplash Moore)
But there is more to this story. A few fun facts about carnivorous plants: –They grow predominantly in wetlands on every continent except for Antarctica. –The U.S. has the largest variety of the over 700 species. –Many wild carnivorous plants have gone extinct since the arrivals of Europeans. It is estimated that only five percent of the wild carnivorous plants remain. –Charles Darwin, one of the first carnivorous plant enthusiasts, spent 20 years researching and writing his book “Insectivorous Plants.”
See to believe
There are several locations where you can see the California Pitcher Plant including the: —Darlingtonia Preserve located just off Highway 101, north of Florence, Oregon. This 18-acre preserve/State Park is centered on a peat bog. It is the only Oregon State Park dedicated to the protection of a single plant species (https://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=81) —Darlingtonia Trail, Smith River National Recreation Area (north and east of Crescent City near the Oregon/California border) see https://www.pickatrail.com/trails/national-recreation-areas/smith-river/darlingtonia-trail.html —Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area, Wild and Scenic Illinois River Corridor managed by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and the Medford District Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Eight Dollar Mountain is one of the most significant botanical sites in Oregon. Many large Darlingtonia swamps exist at the base of the conical-shaped mountain. See https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/Pacific_Northwest/EightDollar/index.shtml
Cattails can be found just about anywhere there is a bit of damp muddy soil. The Common Cattail, Typha latifolia, can be found across the entire temperate northern hemisphere in a variety of wetland habitats.
A legendary resource
Is the Common Cattail a friend of mankind? What makes this tall marshy plant, with graceful dark green lance-shaped leaves, and a weird fruiting stalk (that looks like a hotdog skewered length-wise) a hero?
Yes! The lowly cattail has repeatedly earned legendary status in history as a:
Food source (from rhizomes to seed). Records show cattails being used as a food source in Europe over 30,000 years ago.
Medicines (for cuts, burns, stings, and bruises plus internal issues) and medical supplies (like bandages) and bug repellant
Building and thermal insulation materials (for furniture, rafts, and houses)
Water cleaner (known to remove arsenic, lead, and pesticides from water)
Household needs (like mats, blankets, paper, diapers, bedding, fire wicks, water resistant bags and clothing)
Cattails came to the rescue in World War II. Cattail seed fluff replaced the buoyant filler material used in life vests and aviation jackets called Kapok. Tests confirmed that buoyancy was effective after 100 hours of submersion.
Uses Today
Decorative paper fibers
Clothing textiles
Biofuel and in the production of ethanol
Floral design and creative arts
Pickles
Pickles? Cattail pickles, sound fun. Get a recipe from the Northwest Forager at https://thenorthwestforager.com/2015/04/27/cattail-pickles/
The brown bloom stock disintegrates into a loose fluffy blob of seeds that are disbursed by the wind.
Note: Cattail rhizomes can form thick underwater mats and control may be difficult. Do not confuse Cattails with the lookalike plant Iris pseudacorus, or Yellow Flag Iris. Iris rhizomes are an aquatic invasive plant in many areas. They form a very thick mat, interfere with water systems, and have a pretty yellow bloom.
