A Plant Inventory Index

    This set of web pages is meant to be a catalogued plant inventory. A collection of pictures that I have taken and categorized into the various families within the classification system of plants. All of these pictures were taken at my little piece of the world. This is just a small piece of land, 2 acre, at the edge of the Palouse region of Western North-central Idaho. The habitat is a dry Pinus ponderosa / Symphoricarpos albus (Ponderosa Pine / Snow Berry) type. The elevation is about 2500' and the aspect is generally North - North West. This land shows a small representation, typical in this habitat type. There are some mature Pinus ponderosa and some seral hardwood species on the edge where human activity has altered the environment. Yet another part of the land was once stripped of natural vegetation for the purpose of dry land farming. Succession is in its early stage where this activity once occurred. I have hastened the natural process by planting some trees and shrubs in this area, but grasses are still the dominant plants. There is also the grass I maintain for fire protection around my dwelling.
    This small piece of land is triangular in shape. The three sides have different land use activities. In general my land is surrounded by open farmland. One adjacent side is planted in grasses in a cooperative effort between the landowner and the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). That is somewhat atypical farmland that has been taken out of production due to the erosive nature of this hilly topography in our area and to provide wildlife habitat. I would be happy to see that land remain in CRP for ever but I know it could be brought back into a crop production at the end of any cycle contracted between the property owner and the USDA. Another side is pasture for horses. The third side has a county gravel road, beyond which the land has generally no human land use activity at this time. It is very flat bottomland bordering a creek. This piece of ground is non-productive to farming and is either dense clay or another form of fragipan that prevents water from percolating down. It has been out of production for that past 5 years. This area now grows grasses and is starting to be a noxious weed problem site.

    I am still figuring out a good way to present this information. For now this is it.