From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on July 14.
In early July I did some exploring around the Whymper Lake area (across the Strathcona dam, west of Campbell River). Here are a few photos (mostly botany…and other things of interest. [Click a photo to enlarge it.]
The first 5 photos are from the lakeshore habitat. Some stunning miniature forests of glistening red sundews etc.
Whymper Lake view
Western yellow pond lily (Nuphar polysepala)…
…provides nice landing pads for dragonflies such as…
Chalk-fronted corporal (Ladona julia)
White-beaked sedge (Rhychospora alba): a close-up of the flowers
Great sundew (Drosera anglica)
The next 3 are flowers of the dry gravel roadside habitat. Amazing that anything can grow there!
Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) – what a flower!
Spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)
Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus)…I think this is right, or one of those fleabanes…
Finally, a bit of relic hunting around some old settlements from logging camp days. Nature reclaiming short-lived boomtowns.
The backyard tin-can & bottle dumping pit. Not much decay on those old tins in nearly a hundred years. Still, way less garbage than today’s households produce.
An intact ketchup bottle…circa 1930s. Yikes, a bit of ketchup still in the bottle!!!
Posted inPlants and fungi|Comments Off on Plants of lakes and roadsides (and old ketchup)
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on July 12, with photos from Alison M.
Despite being laid up with a broken wrist and having to type with one hand, Alison has come through with some colourful photos for us of a succession of blooms from Paradise Meadows and area. The hot weather has accelerated the transition from winter to summer, in just a few short weeks!
[Click a photo to enlarge it.]
Western bog laurel (Kalmia microphylla)
Fern-leaved goldthread (Coptis asplenifolia)
Globe flower (Trollius laxus)
Avalanche lily (Erythronium grandiflorum). These are found on the knoll above Croteau Lake (a bit out of focus due to strong wind).
Jeffrey’s shooting star (Dodecatheon jeffreyi)
Utah honeysuckle (Lonicera utahensis). An uncommon honeysuckle in our area with twinned creamy-white blooms, photographed here along the trail to McKenzie Lake.
Black twinberry (Lonicera involucrata). A more common shrub honeysuckle species, with twinned yellow blooms.
Green bog orchid (Platanthera stricta)
Rosy twistedstalk (Streptopus roseus)
Meadows view June 18…note the snow!
Meadows view June 28
Battleship Lake view June 18
Posted inPlants and fungi|Comments Off on Paradise Meadows: Winter to summer in 3 weeks
In March, our Board of Directors approved a CVN proposal for a restoration and stewardship pilot project to protect and enhance Garry oaks in Vanier Forest. Much research and planning work has already been done by a dedicated team of CVN members. Now the team has been accepted as a delegation to Courtenay City Council to present CVN’s requests for access to the property to undertake the project and for some funding for the project. Bill Henderson and Karen Cummins will present these requests by videoconference to Council at their meeting on July 19.
To learn more about the project, visit our new web page for the project here. You can also find the page any time in the Activities menu.
Posted inConservation and Restoration|Comments Off on Vanier Garry oaks project next step – delegation to Courtenay Council
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on June 14.
Last weekend I was up in Strathcona Park for the annual Strathcona Bird Search, which is always very enjoyable even if the weather was cool and showery.
View of Lady Falls
Though I was busy counting birds, there was the usual distraction of so many beautiful plants to look at, and waterfalls to admire! Here are a few highlights [click a photo to enlarge it]:
Dwarf dogwood (Cornus canadensis)
False azalea (Menziesia ferruginea)
Davidson’s penstemon (Penstemon davidsonii)
Ground cone (Boschniakia hookeri)
Posted inPlants and fungi|Comments Off on Botanizing on the Strathcona Bird Search
For the first time, the annual “CVN Tree of the Year” has been chosen by public vote instead of by committee. The contest, inspired by European tradition and now in its fourth year, fosters a strong connection with nature by highlighting local trees that are cherished by the residents of the Comox Valley.
This year’s winning tree, nominated by Ted Grainger, is a western yew, located in the Cumberland Community Forest. Coming in a close second is a bigleaf maple found in Morrison Creek Park. Praised for its size and the swing in its branches, the maple was put forward for nomination by Marion Dulude’s Grade 6 class at École Puntledge Park. “Both are iconic trees for this area and have great but different stories attached to them,” says Karen Cummins, one of the organizers of the event.
CVN Tree of the Year 2021, a western yew, with (from left) committee members Karen Cummins and Susan Gravelle, and nominator Ted Grainger with his prize basket. (Photo: Dianne Grainger)
The western yew (scientific name, Taxus brevifolia, or Nuxalk name, kuts’ulhkwis) is a species of tree in the yew family, Taxaceae, and is native to the Pacific Northwest. “Taxus” is the Latin word for “bow”. Because yew wood is strong and stiff, it has been an important resource for coastal First Nations for millennia.
Nominated for its poetic beauty, this western yew symbolizes how community efforts, like fundraising and raising awareness, can protect and preserve threatened forests. Growing on a northwest-facing slope, just past the information kiosk, it is surrounded by artifacts from the former inhabitants of the historic Cumberland Chinatown.
“When you first see this tree, the smooth bark looks like a gnarly, twisted arbutus, but the outer foliage reveals it to be a yew tree. Its shape suggests a life of struggle and tenacity, but it is beautiful nonetheless,” says Ted Grainger, winner of this year’s gift basket and a painting by Sharon Niscak.
As conifers that produce berries, yew trees are unusual. This year’s winning yew is even more unique because of its expanse of exposed roots and wide branches. Approximately 9 metres wide and almost as tall, the squat and multiple-leader form indicates that the yew has grown in the shady understory and been shaped by the succession of the 80–100-year-old forest. This spectacular tree has grown with and around a cherry tree and is extremely slow growing. The papery, red bark—peeling and shredding on the tree’s many stems—while typical of this medicinal tree when it is not covered in moss, nonetheless sets it apart from the neighbouring trees.
Thanks to the passion and perseverance of Cumberland Community Forest Society, this western yew is one of the thousands of trees in over 500 acres of mature forests that have been protected.
CVN encourages everybody to go out and experience the beautiful and important nominated trees firsthand. According to Suzanne Gravelle “The list and location map will remain on the CVN website so the community can still tour and honour all the trees.”
The 2021 contest is dedicated to Cathy Storey. Her legacy is a testament to the CVN motto “to know nature and keep it worth knowing.”
Notes and photos from Alison M. on some of the first flowers blooming in the subalpine and other observations, distributed to the Botany Group on June 13. Click a photo to enlarge it.
We were up at Paradise Meadows last Friday (June 4th) on an overcast cool day, and while the Meadows were open (photo #1), about half of the boardwalk still had crusty old snow that softens during the day, especially when it rains (photo #2) This wet weather may help to clear away the snow – so perhaps by the end of next week.
(1) Paradise Meadows on June 4
(2) Paradise Meadows boardwalk on June 4
The most exciting thing was the eerie “winnowing” of several Wilson’s snipe, around the ponds and in the area of Paradise Creek.
On the floral front, there were lots of Caltha leptosepala (white marsh-marigold) in bloom amid the streams of snow melt-water (photos #3 and #4) .
(3) White marsh-marigold
(4) Whte marsh-marigold flowers
In sheltered south-facing spots the Kalmia microphylla (western bog-laurel) was not quite open (photo #5).
(5) Western bog-laurel
Finally, to my embarrassment, a lonely sign [a plant identification sign placed by Alison in her work for the Strathcona Wilderness Institute], quite near the trail-head, had survived the heavy snow-pack!
Posted inPlants and fungi|Comments Off on Paradise Meadows not yet clear
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on June 9.
A few notes from our [Botany Group] members [click a photo to enlarge it]:
Kate reported that there is some nice candystick (Allotropa virgata) emerging at Nymph Falls Park.
Some notes from Joy about the camas bloom visible from the Dyke Road (with a close-up photo of camas from the estuary taken last year):
“A most wondrous sight greeted me this afternoon whilst driving along the Dyke Road.
In the mid-distance, between the river and the road, I spotted a large spread of beautiful blue that could have been low areas of water. I parked my vehicle, and with my binoculars I was thrilled to see that it was a largish display of camas (Camassia quamash) happily and generously blooming like a grand dame staging a comeback. Oh, so beautiful! There were the usual suspects in amongst the camas and more so in the perimeter. The only one I can remember offhand is the orange of the castilleja, but there were more.
It was thrilling to see it bloom in such abundance after the heartbreak of losing the Kye Bay Road displays. It would be wonderful to be able to see it from much closer, but my guess is that it is in some very boggy ground.
Too exciting! I hope others can stop by for a ‘gander’. I parked safely at the wide pavement by the Kus Kus Sum fence.”
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on June 6.
Last weekend (also showering, like this one) I did some wandering around Miracle Beach Provincial Park looking at all the nice blooms this time of year has to offer. You are probably thinking that beer and roses don’t exactly go together, but this gets to the truth of what we often see in the natural world…beauty side by side with human detritus.
Here are a few highlights [click a photo to enlarge it]:
June is the month for roses! The lovely Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana).
June also means that summer is coming, and with it more Lucky cans, garbage and beach fires!
Beach pea (Lathyrus japonicus). A plant that likes to lean out onto the beach, climbing over logs, rock and sand.
Dune grass (Elymus mollis). The strappy, blue-green leaves and giant spiky flowers are a showstopper. It is also a great shore stabilizer.
Maple erineum mite (Aceria calaceris). You may notice these bright strawberry-red patches on the leaves of Douglas maple (and possibly other maples…but I always seem to see it just on the Douglas maple).
Salal flowers (Gaultheria shallon). Look again at these common, but enchanting bell-like flowers covered in sticky hairs.
Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla), are always attractively beaded with water droplets after the rain.
A peaceful view of Black Creek.
American brooklime (Veronica americana). This veronica likes ditches, stream sides and wet places.
Damp weather brings out the gastropods! Here is a banana slug (Ariolimax columibanus) out for a stroll on a sword fern frond.
The previously unidentified maple tree (#13) on Willemar Ave. has now been identified as a Norway maple (Acer platanoides).
One intrepid group of cyclists has visited almost all of the nominated trees and sent us these photos of some of them (all photos by Angela Dawson). Click a photo to enlarge it.
Here are a note and photos from Alison M., distributed to the Botany Group on May 19.
These photos of three exquisite flowers are from the lower elevations of Strathcona Provincial Park in the Buttle Lake area taken at the very end of April. [Click a photo to enlarge it.]
The Asarum caudatum (wild ginger) and the Calypso bulbosa (ladyslipper) can be found in woodlands around the Comox Valley, although where there used to be lots of the latter at the entrance to the Comox Bluffs Ecological Reserve they are sadly not visible this year.
Wild ginger
Ladyslipper
Ladyslipper
The Coptis aspleniifolia (spleenwort-leaved goldthread) will be visible up in Paradise Meadows along the boardwalk as the snow recedes (not yet).
Spleenwort-leaved goldthread
Spleenwort-leaved goldthread
Posted inPlants and fungi|Comments Off on Early blooms from the Elk River trail
To celebrate our 60th anniversary we invite you to come for a guided stroll on the Courtenay Riverway Heritage Walk with a member of Comox Valley Nature on April 24, 10 am -noon. Learn about the history of this area, including how the former sewage lagoon has become one of the most popular walking spots in the Comox Valley. Check out the restoration work that has replaced invasive plant species and added more native plants, shrubs and trees that is being done by Comox Valley Nature in partnership with the City of Courtenay. Hear why invasive plant species are so damaging to the ecosystems. Enjoy the view from the "lookout" over the estuary and be reminded how important the estuary is to the web of life.REGISTRATION required on our events page cvnature.ca/events An easy 1 km walk on a wheelchair accessible paved path. Dress for the weather and bring a water bottle Sorry, no dogs. This event is free, but donations are welcome.For more information, add your name to a wait list or to cancel your reservation email: . ... See MoreSee Less
To celebrate our 60th anniversary Comox Valley Nature is offering this opportunity to get together with knowledgeable birders to share skills and learn more about birding in the Comox Valley.This outing is designed for beginners, but birders of all levels are welcome. Experienced birders will help with identifying species, equipment, useful apps, and field guides. Both CVN members and the public are welcome on this walk at the Courtenay Airpark which will be on a wide smooth pathway for about 2km round trip. Bring binoculars if you have them. Dress for the weather. Warm clothing necessary – it’s often windy there! Please leave pets at home.Register through our events page at This event is free. Donations welcome.#birding#comoxvalley#iba#courtenay airpark ... See MoreSee Less
To celebrate our 60th anniversary we offer this opportunity to learn more about Garry oaks in the Comox Valley.Vanier Nature Park is home to a small grove of Garry oak trees which is being stewarded by Comox Valley Nature. These oaks are at the northern extent of their range, and are a remnant of a culturally modified ecosystem that once covered 160 square kilometres in the Comox ValleyThis walk will be lead by Geologist Bob Hauser and Forester Terry Lewis. They have spent many hours in the park removing invasive holly. Terry and Bob will look at the work in progress in the grove and share their unique perspective on this forest, with a focus on soil science and tree species.The Vanier Nature Park project is being co-managed by Comox Valley Nature and the City of Courtenay with funding from the City of Courtenay, BC Nature and the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. Registration required through The walk is partially on level ground with some gentle to moderate uphill walking on a forest trail that has some uneven footing. No dogs please.For more information, to add your name to a wait list or to cancel your reservation, email: Details of the meeting place will be sent to registrants. Please be at the meeting spot at least 10 minutes before the walk starts to sign in. ... See MoreSee Less
