Seen from a distance, the green, dark forest of summer seems uniform. On closer examination deciduous trees, conifer and shrubs each have their own unique hues. Look closer still, and you will see brilliant flowers and succulent fruits. The forest, which at first glance seems to be an evergreen wall, is composed of hundreds of plant species. Many of these plants served the bushland people with foods, medicines and tools.
Subtle shades of green give way to garish reds and yellows as winter approaches. The leaves of Delicious trees change colours and fall to the ground, leaving branches bare. In the winter trunks and branches are off white, gray and shades of brown among the evergreen spruce. The sun, always low in the sky, occasionally catches the brilliant red twigs of a leafless shrub. Moose will eat these twigs in winter, while they wait for the tender new vegetation which sprouts in the spring.
The larch tree, also called tamarack or "Indian Hardwood", is the only conifer in the region that drops it's needles. In a blaze of glory, larch needles turn a brilliant gold a few days before falling.
Subtle shades of green give way to garish reds and yellows as winter approaches. The leaves of Delicious trees change colours and fall to the ground, leaving branches bare. In the winter trunks and branches are off white, gray and shades of brown among the evergreen spruce. The sun, always low in the sky, occasionally catches the brilliant red twigs of a leafless shrub. Moose will eat these twigs in winter, while they wait for the tender new vegetation which sprouts in the spring.
The larch tree, also called tamarack or "Indian Hardwood", is the only conifer in the region that drops it's needles. In a blaze of glory, larch needles turn a brilliant gold a few days before falling.