From notes and photos by Alison M. distributed to the Botany Group on April 18.
[Click a photo to enlarge it.]
Ships Point Park
- Last Saturday (April 9th) in the warm sun at Ships Point Park, where there are a few Garry oaks amongst the conifers, the Garry oak ecosystem plants were just beginning to bloom, though the oaks themselves are still in bud. This tiny park is well worth a visit in spring.
The Garry oaks are the same genetic strain as the ones in Helliwell Provincial Park, and are related to the populations in Redding, California.
- Tall Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
- White fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum)
- Checker lily (Fritillaria affinis)
- Purple lamium, a non-native plant (Lamium purpureum)
Fanny Bay Conservation Area
Over on the Fanny Bay side, along the dyke in the Conservation Area, there is still a lot of water lying.
- The swamp lantern (Lysichiton americanus) was in its element: …
- …the mosses, lichens, and the lichenizing shroom lichen agaric (Lichenomphalia umbellifera)…
- …which were thriving on a fallen cedar.
- Because of the wind the blooms from the huge broadleaf maples (Acer macrophyllum) were scattered along the path.
- Also noteworthy were enormous flowers on the salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), which defied proper focus in the wind.
