Comox Valley Nature

The Botany Group enjoyed a field trip to Ruth Masters Greenway in Courtenay on January 7. Ruth Masters was a prominent local environmentalist and activist, and was a long-time member of CVN. In 2004, she donated this important property adjacent to the Puntledge River to the Comox Valley Regional District with protective covenants. Ruth died in 2017 at age 97.

The group focused on identifying trees and shrubs using characteristics like bark, branches and buds. Fungi, lichens, mosses and ferns were also a focus. There’s plenty to see even at this time of year. Some highlights included yellow-cedar, normally found at much higher elevations, and some cultivated trees remaining from the property’s use as an orchard—hazelnut, apple and cherry. The Greenway is also rich in fungi, some uncommon in this area.

Co-leader Véronique has produced another enlightening photographic guide to help us identify the species seen during this outing. In this case the guide comes in two parts which you can download:

• Part 1: Trees and shrubs at Ruth Masters Greenway (PDF, 6 MB)
• Part 2: Fungi, lichens, mosses and others at Ruth Masters Greenway (PDF, 3.9 MB)

Here’s a selection of photos from these guides [click a photo to see the whole image]:

On December 3, a large contingent of Botany Group members enjoyed a walk in Seal Bay Nature Park, following the Coupland Loop trail. The main themes of this late-autumn outing were mosses and fungi, and many interesting and beautiful specimens were observed, even on the logs bordering the parking lot. Other taxa that drew attention included a liverwort, lichens, slime molds, and a few herbaceous vascular plants.

Co-leader Véronique continues her practice of producing a photographic identification guide to many of these specimens using her own photographs. You can download the guide here (PDF, 6.4 MB).

Here’s a selection of photos from the guide [click a photo to see the whole image]:

The Botany Group delved into the plentiful and diverse world of fungi in the Puntledge forest on their November field trip. Although walking only a short distance, it seemed the group saw specimens to examine every metre along the side of the trail. Examples from almost all the 14 morphological groups of fungi (gilled, toothed, etc.) were found.

Co-leader Véronique has provided us with another photographic guide to help us learn about these fungi. You can download the guide here (PDF, 4.5 MB).

The Puntledge forest is currently the subject of a campaign by the Comox Valley Land Trust to save this special forest by purchasing the logging rights. David Stapley of CVLT was recently the keynote speaker at CVN’s November general meeting, where he described the forest and this campaign. To learn more about it and how you can contribute, visit CVLT’s website here.

Here’s a selection of photos from the guide [click a thumbnail to see the whole image]:

Now that the flowering season is over, the Botany Group returned to Paradise Meadows on October 8 to learn to identify the plants there by their other characteristics—growth habit, leaves, seeds and other clues. And, of course, to enjoy the beautiful fall colours in the meadows.

This trip was a sequel to the group’s summer trip to the meadows in August.

The focus plants on this fall trip included subalpine fir, amabilis fir, partridge-foot, queen’s cup, black huckleberry, white-flowered rhododendron, false azalea, spleenwort-leaved goldthread, western bog-laurel, western tea-berry, and Pacific soft rush. These all occur only above 300 m elevation.

Once again, co-leader Véronique has provided us with a photographic identification guide to plants observed on this trip. You can download the guide here (PDF, 5.3 MB).

Here’s a selection of photos from the guide [click a thumbnail to see the whole image]: