Bioblitz Journal Entry
Phylogenetic placement of wood sorrel: Wood sorrels are a part of the oxalis or sorrel family and the order of oxalidales. They are located within a clade of green, flowering, vascular land plants called eudicots.
Common adaptation: All the organisms I observed have thin leaves. Plants with such leaves are adapted to have a large surface area compared to their volume in order to maximize the amount of photosynthesis that can occur (large surface area = able to absorb more light).
Unique adaptation: Grasses such as those in the genus Elymus are better adapted to resist drought compared to the other organisms I observed because they have thin-walled cells and long narrow leaves. Both of these characteristics slow evaporation/water loss and are thus desirable in areas that may experience droughts.