Our Site at The Longhouse Ethnobotanical Garden

Forest Understory A

Our site is divided almost in half by a woodchip trail, most of our site lies on flat land, which slopes up slightly on the side of the trail farthest from the longhouse. On the farther side grow a few maples, as well as many fir trees. The understory is almost entirely covered by ivy, which is beginning to climb up a couple of the trees. On the inner side of the trail, closest to the footpath and longhouse, the predominant plant that grows is the fern. From the start of the footpath to just past where it begins to curve is relatively barren aside from some labeled plants. After the curve in the path, the inner corner of our site (closest to the longhouse) is lush with multiple types of small, low-growing plants, some of which resemble moss. In the back corner of our site (farthest from the start of the footpath), grows a cluster of trees so close together that the roots intertwine. Underneath, the ground slopes steeply down to meet the yardwaste piles. The understory includes many low-growing bushes of sharp-leaved plants which produce purple berries.

In late fall, many types of mushrooms and fungi appear due to the moist and dark conditions. Some of these grow directly from the ground, while others are growing from decaying logs.