From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on March 30.
I’m sure you are all as glad as I am to see the first wildflowers of spring! Here are some highlights from a walk along Campbell River’s scenic Canyon Trail. [Click a photo to enlarge it.]
- Skunk cabbage or swamp lantern (Lysichiton americanum). You all know this one, but isn’t it impressive? Be sure to stop and admire it, and take in the scent of spring!
- Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis). Crinkly pink-petalled flowers appear at the tips of shoots, before the leaves.
- Western sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus var. palmatus). A lovely, though often overlooked plant that grows in wet places and roadside ditches.
- Pink fawn lily (Erythronium revolutum). The dappled leaves of the fawn lily are just as attractive as the nodding flowers. Pink fawn lilies flourish along the river floodplain.
- Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa). Though not in bloom yet, red elderberry puts out twinned green shoots that are quite advanced compared to other shrubs.
