Saturday, April 23, 2016

FBO Ausable River Trip

Today I found myself in the Arkona-Parkhill area for the first Field Botanists of Ontario trip of 2016.  Our guide for the day, Tony Reznicek didn't disappoint with a few "life list" species ticked off the list and an overall great day out.

After meeting at Fossil Road near Arkona, the group carpooled to Joany's Woods where we explored an area of floodplain forest and spring ephemeral-rich slopes.  The fresh smell of onion was on the air as we passed through areas dense with a groundcover of Wild Garlic (Allium canadense).  Both White Trout Lily (Erythronia albidum) and Yellow Trout Lily (E. americanum) soon unfulred their petals as the temperature rose by mid-morning.  We later moved on to the Parkhill Conservation Area for lunch and a hike deep down into the ravine system.

A few less common species on the day included Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).  This species resembles Squirrel-corn (D. canadensis) which has flowers with more rounded 'spurs' and has rounded yellow bulblets.  The bulblets of Dutchman's Breeches are flattened and pink-coloured.

The spring leaves of Canada Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum canadense) don't resemble the leaves which you would see in the summer/fall which lack the spotting and become overall 'sharper' looking leaves with shallower lobes.

Yellow Trout Lily was abundant and a favourite nectar plant for the bees right now.

Giant Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum giganteum), otherwise known as Early Blue Cohosh differs from C. thalictroides in that it emerges earlier and flowers almost immediately as it emerges, has purple (versus yellowish) flowers, and has longer styles than C. thalictroides.  Tony explained that the blue fruits that we see on plants in the fall and into the spring are not fruits per se but more seeds which form as the pollenated ovule grows so rapidly it ruptures the ovary wall and forms as a naked seed.  So they are gymnosperms (naked seeds) as are pines and spruces, weird.

While the spring ephemeral showing had everyone's attention, some plants have yet to show any sign of greening up; this is last year's stem of Tall Bellflower (Campanulastrum americanum).  The Oldham 1993 list for Middlesex County notes this to be "R2" rare.  I had only ever seen it before at Point Pelee.

This Spring Azure had just got out of bed, still working the kinks out.


While it's early, a few sedges were ID'd including Long-stalked Sedge (Carex pedunculata) with it's reddish basal leaf sheaths.  

This species has elongated peduncles (the stem the fruit hangs off of) which differentiates it from Pennsylvania Sedge (C. pensylvanica).

Wood's Sedge (C. woodii) is a fairly common sedge in Middlesex County, it can be found in loose clumps in rich Maple-Beech forests.

The staminate spike of Pennsylvania Sedge (the elongated part at right in the photo) is tighter against the pistillate spikes below it.  There is a larger space seen in the photo of Wood's Sedge above.  Pennsylvania sedge of then forms colonies via rhizomes and is a common sedge throughout many parts of Southern Ontario.


Plantain-leaved Sedge (C. plantaginea) is one of my favourites, and about 9 have now been worked into my backyard landscaping.  It has evergreen leaves which maintain their colour through the winter and give way to several to many flowering stems (culms).

The highlight sedge of the day was certainly the Carey's Sedge (C. careyana) growing at mid to lower slope elevations deep in the stream valleys.  This species is listed as S2 - Imperiled in Ontario.

The reddish base of the broad leaves is diagnostic.  It could be confused with White Bear Sedge (C. albursina) or Plantain-leaved Sedge.


The broader leaves of Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) differentiate it from Virginia Spring Beauty (C. virginica).  As with many spring wildflowers, the petal colour can be variable, for this genus ranging from white to purple to pink.

The leaves of Leatherwood (Dirca palustris) are beginning to emerge.  This stout shrub (usually about waist-high) can be found singly or in small populations in rich forests. 

Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) is always a good indicator that you're into something good and it was everywhere at the Parkhill Conservation Area.
 
 Finally some Early Meadow-rue (Thalictrum dioidum) in bloom.  The small flowers resemble chandeliers.

But what is better than Early Meadow-rue?  False-rue Anemone (Enemion biternatum)!  This small wildflower grows in small patches in rich floodplain forests.  It is listed as Threatened in Ontario and was the lifer for the day for me.  Tony mentioned that he is on a quest to find Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale) here in the Ausable River valley and from populations he knows of (out of province - it has yet to be found here in Ontario), the species prefers calcareous sites and is often associated with False-rue Anemone.  This species is known from maybe 15-20 sites in Ontario, about half of them occurring in close proximity in this river valley.
 
American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis) was in bloom at the crest of a ridge.  Glaucous Honeysuckle (L. dioica was fairly abundant here and there with it's bluish-purple leaves on spindly stems).

The ant-pollinated flowers of Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) have begun to bloom.

 According to my scoreboard, Harbinger-of-spring (Erigenia bulbosa) is no more a lowland/floodplain forest plant than it is a plant of rich upland forests.  I have yet to see a pattern in what habitat it can be found in, other than a good one.

A few steps away I was pleased to find a patch of Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius) which I know better from swampy hummocks of wetlands on the shield.

The last species Tony wanted to show us today was Purple Cress (Cardamine douglasii) which grows at the edges of a series of shallow wet pools in a young forest.  In a matter of days it's petals will fall making it next to impossible to spot among the Leeks, Trilliums, Bloodroot, Toothworts and Sedges that blanket the forest floor.

3 comments:

  1. Looks like you hit a mother-lode of spring plants, and with Tony as a guide....you couldn't go wrong!

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    1. It was quite a day, Parkhill C.A. had been on my "to do" list and didn't disappoint. I was inspired to explore another floodplain area the next day, an area I'd never been to and which also had some good results. Material for my next post :)

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