Colourful May Wildflowers

A few weeks ago I posted about April showers bringing April flowers, of which there are many that show up late in that month. However May seems to have the greatest diversity of flowers, especially in woodlands before the trees leaves get too dominant. The profusion is amazing, especially along some trails. In fact I have had birders tell me that when the birding got a bit slow, they thoroughly enjoyed the abundance of wildflowers.

This first one shown started in April, but May is its normal flowering period, and this population did persist flowering well into May.

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)

Forests with developing heavy canopy have the earliest species. Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) is abundant.

 Less obvious is the Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)

 White flowers, such as this Sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza claytoni) don't stand out as much as more colourful ones. This is one you need to watch out for, especially if you venture off a trail, since the developed seeds are black and sharp-pointed and will penetrate clothing and prick you.

A similarly looking white flower is White Baneberry (Actea pachypoda), sometimes known as Doll's-eyes since the white berries with black dots were used by pioneers as eye's for home-made dolls.

Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata), sometimes called the pinwheel flower, is plentiful. It is just as often pinkish-purple or white as it is blue.

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), in peak flower in May, should prossibly be called Juneapple, since the little apple fruit seldom occurs until June. Parts of the plant are poisonous.

On one occasion when I was getting ready to photograph some of the wildflowers, I encountered a species I had never seen in Rondeau before: False or American Gromwell (Lithospermum latifolium). In fact until I came across this small clump, it was considered an historical species for Chatham-Kent, and hadn't been seen in Rondeau since the early 1960s. It is nice to update the historical records.

A fairly rare woodland wildflower blooming in May is Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica). There are historical records for Chatham-Kent, but a fabulous colony of them occurs on a private property along the Thames River in Elgin County.

In more open woods, especially where there are lots of oaks and leaf development is slower, are a slightly different mix of wildflowers. Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is widely scattered, and often sought out by hummingbirds which can sometimes be seen hovering beneath the flower with its long bill up into the flower searching for nectar.

 On a very few occasions, you might encounter a pale yellow form of this normally bright orange-red flower.

 Robin's Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus) is quite restricted to sandy/grassy openings of the oak forest.

 False Toadflax (Comandra richardsonii) is another very restricted species, and not nearly as large and colourful as many others.

 Wood Betony (Pedicularis canadensis) on the other hand is usually quite abundant in these oak forest openings. They may be purplish, as shown in the first image, or yellow, as shown in the following one.

 An abundant member of the Lily family, growing in sandy soils along oak forest edges, is this Starry False Solomon's-seal (Maianthemum stellatum).

Just a few of the more obvious and sometimes less obvious, herbaceous wildflowers to be found in May, with some of them persisting into June. Herbaceous plants aren't the only ones with flowers. Woody plants have them too...some are obvious and some are so diminutive they aren't noticeable unless you look really, really hard for them. Some will be featured in a future post.

Celebrating Tallgrass Prairie

Today, June 3, 2017, is officially National Prairie Day. At least it is in the USA, where the idea originated through the Missouri Prairie Foundation and was officially made a National Day a couple of years ago. Of course tallgrass prairie is a main part of the Missouri landscape, as it is throughout the mid-western USA.

There are a number of high quality remnants across the mid-western US. The features change regularly, and there is always something impressive about them from April through September. I've been to dozens of remnants there over the years. Some of my favourites places during my digital photography era include the following, many of which are in Missouri:

Indian Paintbrush on Diamond Grove Prairie, MO

Indian Paintbrush and Wood Betony on Coyne Prairie, MO

Pale Purple Coneflower on Golden Prairie, MO

 Besides the spectacular flora, there are spectacular fauna as well.

Loggerhead Shrike

Regal Fritillary (Endangered)

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

 Of course there are the mega fauna, including these bison on the largest protected tallgrass prairie remnant in the US: The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma, which is almost 15000 hectares (37,000) acres in size....

Bison enjoying fresh grass following a spring burn

....and Elk on an eastern Nebraska prairie.

Treaty Line Prairie, MO

Wa-Kon-Tah Prairie, MO

 It is hard not to be impressed with this pink form of Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadii), shown here on the Tucker Prairie in north central Missouri. This site is immediately adjacent to an interstate highway.

This next photo shows Tucker Prairie, with Wild White Indigo (Baptisia alba) scattered across the prairie and Interstate 70 in the background. It is located about 20 km or so east of Columbia.

Here in Ontario, tallgrass prairie does not have the same high profile since it is a relatively small part of the landscape. However in parts of Ontario, such as the tri-county area of Essex, Chatham-Kent and Lambton, it has been a significant part. It has also been a smaller, but still significant vegetation type in places farther east, including the greater Brantford and greater Toronto areas and still farther east in the area of the Rice Lake Plains.

Walpole Island in early July

Walpole Island in early August

Yesterday, Marie and I went to Windsor, partly to explore the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve. It was a major focal point of my career in many ways, beginning in 1976. It has changed some since the time it was first obtained by MNR in the early 1970s. Regular fire is a critical part of its health. Fire in the form of prescribed burns has been challenging to implement as regularly as it really needs, and it is looking shrubbier as a result. In Ontario, tallgrass prairie looks decidedly green at this time of year, but by mid-July and until early October, the colours and hues diversify considerably.

Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve

In spite of the lack of regular fire, there are some fascinating vegetative elements that can be found throughout the growing season, just not in as great abundance as they should. Two of the rare plant species of interest on this visit were:

Two-flowered Cynthia (Krigia biflora)

Purple Twayblade (Liparis liliifolia) an endangered orchid species

This is what OPPNR has looked like at times following a fire, with fabulous numbers of Dense Blazing-star in peak flower. Dense Blazing-star is a Threatened species, although it can be abundant in the limited places where it occurs.

This next species, Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) will be fairly common in another few weeks.

Aside from some of the significant plants, birds are also a significant part of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Both Bobolink and Henslow's Sparrow, both officially Species At Risk in Canada, may be found surviving to some extent in pastures and abandoned fields on the agricultural landscape, but will actually thrive in a healthy tallgrass prairie.

Henslow's Sparrow, digiscoped on an Ontario planted prairie in 2005

Dickcissel has been found nesting on Ontario prairies, grasslands and abandoned fields. This is another feeble attempt at digiscoping, this time on a Dickcissel, discovered on a planted prairie, in 2005.

Ontario's tallgrass prairies deserve more recognition, and that is happening slowly. They are a scientific treasure-trove of diversity. In just the last few years, more than two dozen faunal species new to Canada have been recorded in the Ojibway Prairie area alone!

I encourage you to get out and explore a tallgrass prairie near you!

Orchid hunting

As much as I like birds, I get side-tracked from time to time, and there are so many things to get side-tracked with!

Last weekend I was on the prowl for an orchid species I hadn't seen in probably 35 years: Ram's Head Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium arietinum). It is fairly widespread in Ontario and elsewhere, but never common, and certainly not here in southwestern Ontario. I knew this species was likely still around in the greater Ipperwash area, as it used to occur (and maybe still does) in Pinery. However I recall hearing years ago that the Pinery population had declined significantly.

A friend gave me some directions to where I was likely to find it. With directions in hand, and a fairly good idea of the crown land layout that it was on, I headed out. As it turned out, it was closer to the beginning of the unofficial trail than I was expecting, so actually went at least a couple of hundred metres past it. It is a tiny orchid, barely 12-15 cm in total height. The sun was bright, and so the contrast and shadows did not make it easy to see. But by going well beyond it in my search, I came across several other orchid species.

This is Pink Lady's-slipper, a.k.a. Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule) and is huge by comparison. There were at least a couple of dozen of these in flower, as well as numerous sets of leaves which will not produce flowering stems this season.

Another orchid I came across was Hooker's Orchid (Platanthera hookeri). I only saw basal leaves, no flowering stems, although it is more plentiful at another part of this site, and could be in flower now. It isn't nearly as colourful as the previous orchid, obviously, and one can easily walk past without noticing it.

Flower of Hooker's Orchid

I saw leaves of the Large Yellow Lady's-slipper, but none in flower. Again, it is more common elsewhere, not far from the Hooker's Orchid, and could be in flower very soon.

These next two photos show the target species. As mentioned, it is quite small, and easily overlooked. The macro lens used almost to its fullest was necessary to get these shots. I noted only two flowering stems and another 5 non-flowering plants. It is considered very rare in southwestern Ontario, and perhaps the only remaining population in Lambton County. It is likely the southernmost population in Canada.

Of course on the sandy pine forests of the Ipperwash area, there are other interesting, non-orchid species. Since I don't see them in Chatham-Kent, I took advantage of a healthy population of several species here just waiting to be photographed. This first species is Fringed Polygala (Polygala paucifolia), sometimes known as Gaywings. It really is a pleasing sight on the shaded forest floor.

A less colourful but still interesting plant is Starflower (Trientalis borealis).

In a nearby location, the Karner Blue Sanctuary owned by Lambton Wildlife, is a good population of Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis). Wild Lupine is critical for the survival of the Extirpated Karner Blue Butterfly, which used to occur at this site. It formerly occurred in the St. Williams Forestry Station in Norfolk County near Long Point, as well as Pinery Provincial Park. Some of the reasons for this dainty butterfly's extirpation are controversial, but it is largely due to some ill-advised management of the habitat. And that could be the topic for a completely separate blog post.