Category: Willamette Valley

Stop and Smell an Evergreen: A Guide to Identification of Conifers by Scent 

‘Tis the season for fragrant evergreens. Fresh, woody, crisp, sharp or earthy–evergreen trees and boughs bring olfactory bliss to anyone who dares take a sniff. Each conifer has its own unique smell derived from chemical compounds in their needles and bark. Collectively these chemicals are called terpenes (based on 5-carbon units known as isoprenes) and are usually produced as part of the tree’s defense mechanism–warding off potential pests and disease–among a range of other functions. For humans, however, there is mounting evidence that forest scents may also have many potential therapeutic benefits; making a walk in the forest (a.k.a. forest bathing), just that much more appealing 

As for me, the health benefits of terpenes is– like the frost on a cold winter morning– a welcome bonus! Thus, this winter I have set out to not only visually observe the many different species of conifer in my local forests, but smell them–crushing needles all the way. Today, I give you my findings thus far: 

Douglas-fir

Douglas-fir can be identified by its soft, flat, 1-1.5 inch needles that spiral around each branch with two white bloom lines on the underside. When pinched or crushed, Douglas-fir needles have a mild sweet lemon and woody scent. Look for their distinct cones pointing downward with three-pronged bracts that stick out from beneath each scale or their dark pointed buds to help confirm identification. 

Western redcedar 

Tiny, flat-scale like leaves, often with a butterfly shaped bloom on the underside, arrange onto droopy sprays of foliage that fall opposite each other on each branch. This moisture-loving conifer’s leaves are delightfully sugary-sweet smelling with perhaps a hint of pineapple or pear. If you are lucky, you may find some of its rose-bud shaped cones hanging in clusters from the branches. 

Western hemlock 

Short, flat soft needles of variable length (no longer than ¾ an inch), arrange themselves irregularly around each branch, creating what I like to call the “bedhead” effect. This shade-tolerant conifer’s needles smell faintly like grapefruit when crushed. On a nice day, watch the sunrays scatter through the hemlock canopy; look up and find its drooping leader–a telltale hemlock trait. 

Ponderosa pine 

Very long, fairly stiff needles (5-10 inches) grow from the ponderosa in bundles of three. When crushed these needles smell woody and sharp, like turpentine (unsurprisingly). Notice the thick puzzle-piece shaped bark of the ponderosa pine–a helpful adaptation to low-intensity fire. If you find a mature tree, take a whiff of the bark, as well, as it is known to give off a sweet vanilla or caramel scent, especially when warmed by the sun.  

Grand fir

Two-ranked shiny, dark green needles, with two-white stomatal bands below, splay out like the keys of a grand piano. As for the smell, well this one is a favorite–warm and citrusy, like tangerines. Their stiff branches give the grand fir a stately more structural appearance, similar to other firs, with cones that face upwards high in the branches. 

So, go on a walk in your local forest and bask in the many sights and smells it offers. Enjoy the complexity that nature offers as you roam. Stop and smell an evergreen.

Curious Hiker: William L Finely National Wildlife Refuge

Views of golden paintbrush along Refuge Road

Overview

William L. Finley National Wildlife refuge is the largest of the three refuges that make up the Willamette Valley Complex. Offering many miles of trails, the refuge showcases the diversity of habitats once prevalent in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon. Habitats featured at the refuge include, both permanent and season wetlands, oak woodland and savannah, and wet prairie. Riparian and mixed forests, as well as agricultural lands, make up much of the remaining land.  

  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Distance: 3.8 miles
  • Terrane: 680 feet elevation gain
  • Open: All year. Best late April to May.  Fender’s blue in late mid to late May, early may for wildflowers.  
  • Trailhead: Woodpecker Loop Trail Head (44.41266,-123.33221)
  • Contact: Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex (541) 757-7236

Highlights

Wildlife viewing; birdwatching; diverse and unique habitats; fabulous wildflower displays

Need to Know

Roads to the trailhead are accessible, but gravel once you enter the refuge; No pass is required for parking; Restrooms are available on-site; Open dawn to dusk; Winter sanctuary closes some trails in winter; No running or jogging is allowed in the Refuge; No pets allowed.

Hike Description

Start your adventure on Finley Road right off 99W. Drive along slowly, taking time to look at the top of the trees for raptors.  Upon reaching the entrance to the refuge, turn left onto Finley Refuge Road and follow it to the first pullout and viewpoint.

As you look out on the expanse of land, notice its mounded topography.  This is a feature of wet prairie habitat—a habitat type that has been nearly wiped out with European habitation.  Less than 1% of wet prairie remains in the Willamette Valley from historical levels, and William L. Finley is home to the largest example of it.

Water pools in the shallow depressions in winter and spring, creating a unique environment for species to inhabit. Tufted hair grass, one-sided sedge, and dense sedge make up much of the ground cover. In the spring, common camas blooms here, turning the ground a soft purple hue. Insect’s buzz

Camas lily and insect visitors found in the wet prairie

Woodpecker Loop

Continue down the road slowly, stopping to look at the waterfowl in ponds along the gravel road. The refuge system was established primarily as a wintering ground for a subspecies of Canada geese, the Dusky, in 1954. It is now home to many wintering and year-round residents.

To get to the hiking trail, turn right at a signed junction for the Woodpecker Loop Trail. The trail gradually ascends a slope passing through oak woodland and prairie habitat. Keeping right at the junction, cross a wooden bridge and boardwalk and enter a thicket of Oregon White Oaks. Lichen coats the branches of hardwood trees.

Soon the woodland opens to the prairie. Spreading branches of the Oregon White Oak punctuate the landscape. Rounded bobbles of mistletoes haunt their upper branches.  Steller’s Jays warn others of your approach.  Enjoy the views out across the valley as you climb to an overlook. On a clear day look for the tops of the Cascade volcanoes in the distance.

The trail continues downhill passing a small pond before crossing over a swale on a boardwalk. Ash trees and sedge grow here—taking advantage of the wet ground. 

Intertie

Continue into a mixed forest habitat, where Douglas-fir and Big Leaf Maple make up much of the canopy overhead before reaching the junction for the woodpecker loop trail. Here, you can take a left to get back to the trailhead if your time is short. Otherwise, continue straight toward Mill Hill on the intertie trail.

Stay right at the next three junctions, observing the transition from mixed forest to oak savannah and woodland. Watch and listen for acorn woodpeckers and white-breasted nuthatch. In the spring, oak toothwort, and blooms along the muddy trail.

Mill Hill Loop

Reach a four-way junction and head right to begin the Mill Hill Loop. As you move further uphill Douglas-fir trees become more commonplace, competing with oak for valuable space. Eventually, you leave the oaks altogether for a forest of Douglas-fir and Big Leaf Maple, with sword fern as understory.  Stream violets, wild carrot, and bittercress grow on the shaded forest floor.

The trail bends as you reach a high point on the trail—opening to views of restored oak savanna, planted with native wildflowers, like Kincaid’s lupine, Nelson’s checkermallow, and golden paintbrush. This grass-dominated ecosystem, rich in grasses and forbs, is important to many insect species, including the endangered Fender’s blue butterfly. Birds swoop in to enjoy the feast. Elk or deer may be spotted at the forest edges. A bench situated on the trail provides an excellent vantage point to take a rest and watch the show.

Head downhill above swampy Gray Creek. Beavers occupy the site during the year and, in summer, wood ducks may be spotted. Look for moisture-loving plants nearby, including large patches of Pacific bleeding heart with their pink heart-shaped flowers and delicate intricate leaves. On the forested bank opposite the creek, Oregon grape thrives in the understory. Candy flower, giant fawn lilies, and Oregon Iris bloom here in the spring.

Bleeding heart growing on Mill Hill Trail

Continue the trail until you reach the main junction. From here, return the way you came. When you arrive at the Woodpecker Loop junction, take a right to finish that loop as well.