Salal (Gaultheria shallon)
Western red cedar (Thuja plicata)
(A particularly disturbing consequence of global climate disruption is the rapid perishing of species unique to the North Coast.
Because we have until recently had a specifically regional climate, a great many types of plants and animals have evolved to live only here. [Or here and and similar places they've invaded, such as the UK and the South Island of New Zealand.] These species have become emblematic of this place and the human cultures that developed here.
Like the disappearance of our starfish and the dying crowns of our bigleaf maples, watching these symbols of my homeland suffer and die in the arid blast-furnace heat of the new "normal" is heartrending. Other key examples are the salal and Western red cedar pictured here.
I saw several abnormally hot, dry summers in my youth, but the salal and cedars never died.)
Appearing also on My Corner of the World.
