Photos and notes by Alison M., distributed to the Botany Group on August 22. Click a photo to enlarge it.
King gentians (Gentiana sceptrum) are now in full bloom in the Meadows (photos 1 and 2) – though remember that they will only be open fully in the later afternoon.
Ladies tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana), distinctive with the flowers in a spiral around the stem (photo 3). Found in boggy areas especially on the south side of the Centennial loop, a bit east of the Lake Helen MacKenzie junction.
Most spectacular earlier in August was the Northern bedstraw (Galium boreale) both for the profusion of blooms and the perfume, particularly in the evening (photos 4 and 5). Worth braving the voracious mosquitoes! There is an ever-expanding large patch on the north side of the Centennial loop, about 150 or so metres after you turn left at the junction coming from the trailhead. The plants are spreading down from a draw to the left of the boardwalk, but are extending to the other side. Unfortunately by now their blooms will have come to an end
Other flowers in bloom include the three burnets:
Sitka burnet (Sanguisorba stipulata) (formerly canadensis) is yellowish-white and shaggy looking with filaments at least 3 times as long as the calyx-lobes which are 2.5–3 mm long (photo 6).
Menzies’ burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii) is reddish-purple to bright pink, shaggy looking with filaments 2–2.5 times as long as the calyx-lobes which are 2-3 mm long (photo 7).
Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) is reddish-purple to maroon, differing from the other two by its lack of shagginess, the filaments being about the same length as the calyx-lobes which are 2-3 mm long (photo 8).
