Woodland Strawberry

Woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca
Azalea Park
Brookings, Oregon

These little wild berries were growing underfoot in several places of the park; we sampled a few, and they tasted kind of like a cross between apple and berry, while the seeds lent a delightful crunch.

Oregon Myrtlewood

Oregon Myrtlewood, Umbellularia california
Azalea Park
Brookings, Oregon

Yesterday afternoon, I took my girls to spend the afternoon at Azalea Park, and one of the first things we saw there was this large myrtlewood tree. The leaves release a pungent, spicy odor when crushed; they can be substituted for bay leaves in cooking. Myrtlewoods grow slowly, and based on the trunk circumference, this one looks like it might be 100 to 150 years old. It also appears to have suffered fire damage at some point; there were several carvings of initials and dates in the blackened area of the trunk.

More about the myrtlewood tree can be read here.