Redwood Sorrel

Now I am going to show you some typical plants that grow in the redwood forest. We live fairly close to several of these forests, including the famous Avenue of the Giant - the oldest redwood grove on the planet. Lots of trees have been logged of a long time ago but fortunately what we have left is a National Park so it's protected from further logging.

 A path through the redwood forest

Redwood forest is a peculiar environment. They like cool (but not cold) damp climate with high moisture in the air. They like fog. They don't like any other trees: seldom you see some other tree species besides redwoods. As a result, there are not that many plant species that are found in the redwood forest. We shall make an attempt to identify as many as we can.

So we'll start with redwood sorrel (oxalis oregana), the most abundant plant on the forest floor. The leaves look very similar to oxalis or yellow wood sorrel that grows both in Southern California and in the north. Here is the picture of redwood sorrel meadow:

Redwood sorrel (oxalis oregana)

The leaves close when exposed to sunlight and open again when in the shade. The movement only takes a few minutes.

 Closed leaves of redwood sorrel. Notice the bright sunlight.

And here is the picture of redwood sorrel close-up with a flower:

Blooming redwood sorrel

And here is an extreme close-up for sorrel flower. I managed to get a pretty good shot .

Redwood sorrel flower close-up

It has small flower, white in colour but covered with purple veins so it looks pinkish. The leaves grow in triplets and fold down in the sun to preserve moisture. The plant really loves shade and moist areas as I don't remember seeing it in sunny patches though it can tolerate some sunshine.

Here is the picture of oxalis or yellow wood sorrel. As you can see, the leaves are quite similar.

 Oxalis stricta or yellow wood sorrel 

Update. I found another oxalis plant right in town on somebody's lawn. The leaves and flowers are definitely that of oxalis, only this time the flowers are pink. They seem to be oddly out of place.

 Pink sorrel (oxalis articulata)

There is another plant that grows in redwood forest with a flower that looks stunningly similar to redwood sorrel. Just the flower, the leaves look quite different. Stay tuned for the next post to find out what it is.