Wild Plant Nursery

Young hemlocks and blueberry bushes grow on the rotting wood left from a tree whose top has fallen to the forest floor. Trees have an advantage when they get a start on stumps or fallen logs. It is my understanding that this is due to a number of factors, one of which is getting more light by starting out above the competition. The plants growing here have a large advantage in that regard, though it seems likely to me that the stump will collapse before any of the trees grow large enough to have their roots reach the ground (as they sometimes do when starting on stumps that are shorter).

Location: Indian River Valley, Sitka, Alaska

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