Draft
Ontario’s Native Plant Catalogue
June 9, 2020
Lowland Garden - water saturated soil for at least part of the year
Often the more sun the more consistent moisture the plant requires, and vice versa. The second line of each Entry specifies by numbers the regions in which the plant is native: 1 - southwest Ontario from Windsor to Toronto and from Goderich to Niagara-on-the-Lake; includes London, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Toronto.
2 - north of region 1 to region 3; includes Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Barrie 3 - the Bruce Peninsula and around the south shore of Georgian Bay to/including Collingwood. 4 - regions York, Durham, and Northumberland. 5 - Prince Edward County and along the St. Lawrence River to the Québec border. 6 - from Lake Simcoe across to the Ottawa River; Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, Ottawa. 7 - from Georgian Bay across to the Ottawa River, plus Manitoulin Island and up the coast of
Georgian Bay to just past Sault Ste. Marie; Parry Sound,North Bay, Sudbury, Temagami.
8 - the far northeast; includes Cobalt, Timmins; Kapuskasing is on the western border. 9 - the far north central (north of Sault Ste. Marie); Hearst; Kapuskasing is on the east border. 10 - the far northwest; Rainy River, Lake of the Woods, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Lake Nipigon,
Terrace Bay, Wawa.
For the photos on website www.minnesotawildflowers.info, click on any photo to see all of them enlarged. For www.michiganflora.net, click on “All Images”.
The complete catalogue with all Internet Links active (pointing to beautiful photographs) is available for free at www.frontyardrestoration.com. Permission is not required to quote from, print, or distribute free of charge (except to recover expenses) any part of this work, so long as the source is acknowledged: Ontario’s Native Plant Catalogue, © John Boydell; June 9, 2020.
LL-1
Lowland Flowers
Flowers
Swamp Agrimony Small-flowered Agrimony, Many-flowered Groovebur, Harvest-Lice 1; Rare
aigremoine parviflore, aigremoine à petites fleurs
Agrimonia parviflora
-meadows, swales, thickets, open woods (deciduous to mixed), forest edges; bottomlands, floodplains, edges of wetlands/marshes/swamps/streams/lakes, seeps, wet thickets; disturbed habitats, roadside ditches, fields. >Full Sun to Light Shade. Wet to soggy to average soil. Accepts gravelly to loamy to silty and
calcareous. Deer resistant.
>2.5-5’ A tall, sturdy, sticky spike that can make it up to 2.5’ is tall decorated with yellow, lovely blooms (mid- to late summer) that run up along it to the top. In the centre of each blossom is a nice crown of yellow stamens presented to the world by five widely splayed petals. The toothed edged, compound leaves are long and delicate enough to resemble the fronds of a fern, finely-fashioned and lush. Attracts small bees and other insects. Colony forming from fibrous roots with rhizomes. Rose family.
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/sw_agrimony.htm https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=2417 http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=217 https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/agrimonia/parviflora/ https://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Plants/view/15
Golden Alexanders Golden Meadowparsnip, zizia doré
Zizia aurea
1 2 3 4 5; south 10 -stream/lake shores, floodplains, swampy edges/forests/glades, fens, sedge meadows, often with Tamarack & Poison Sumac; meadows, thickets, limestone glades, forest edges, forest glades, alvars, thinly wooded bluffs; disturbed habitats, fields, fencerows, roadsides, woodland trailsides, power-line clearings. >Part to Full Sun; tolerates to Light Shade. Wet to moist to average, acidic to neutral, sandy soil. The more sun the more moisture it prefers. Accepts rocky to sandy clay and juglone. Deer resistant. >2-3' Flat-topped clusters of lemon-yellow blooms (late spring) resembling those of Queen Anne’s Lace, but prettier, form halos above the plant. Long blooming. The resulting seed heads are eye-catching constellations of little dots floating in the air. Tooth-edged leaves are divided into three and then three again. The plant stalk is shiny and light green and has several flowering branches. A pollinator magnet. Feeds the larvae of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly. Will form colonies in wet meadows and open woods making it good for Restoration and Naturalizing. A short-lived perennial, but self-sows freely. The root system is described as either a taproot or a dense cluster of coarse, fibrous roots; it’s probably both. Carrot family.
https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=151 http://www.scorpionfly.ca/plants/plantpages/zizia.html http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=218 http://www.prairiepollination.ca/plante-plant/zizia_dore-golden_alexander/ http://www.repertoirequebecnature.com/vasculaires/Zizia_aurea.html https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/zizia/aurea/ https://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Plants/view/709 https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/golden-alexanders http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/gld_alexanderx.htm https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/plants/goldenalexander.html
LL-2
Lowland Flowers
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=g710 https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ziau.pdf
Canada Anemone Canada Windflower, Meadow Windflower, anémone du Canada
all
Anemonastrum canadense, Anemone canadensis
-open moist low ground, swales, meadows, thickets, open woods, forest edges; floodplains, sandy shores, edges of streams/lakes, swampy areas, marshes; disturbed habitats, fields, clearings, road/ railroad sides, ditches. >Full to Part Sun. Rich, wet to moist, calcareous to neutral soil. Accepts average moisture, but becomes less aggressive; also accepts gravelly to light clayey, plus your average garden soil. >1-2' Showy, white blooms (late spring) with yellow centres are held above star-shaped leaves. Given enough moisture it will become aggressive via its rhizomatous root system to make it a great Ground Cover - a sea of white blossoms. Buttercup family.
https://www.saskwildflower.ca/nat_Anemone-canadensis.html http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=222 https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/anemone/canadensis/ https://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Plants/view/30 https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/canada-anemone https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=2357 http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/mdw_anemone.html
Purple-stemmed Angelica angélique pourpre
Angelica atropurpurea
1 2 3 4 5 6, Manitoulin Island -floodplains, bottomlands, shores of streams/lakes, marshes, swamps, fens, seeps; meadows, fields, swales, ditches, open woods. >Full to Part Sun. Rich, aquatic to wet to moist, usually calcareous, soil. Moisture dependent. Accepts
mildly acidic and sandy to clayey.
>4-6’ Large (3-9” across), greenish-white, globular bloom-heads (through summer) on tall, sturdy but hollow, purplish stems. A spacious plant with lush foliage. Its height and large flower heads make it a stand out in your garden. A short, stout taproot. Carrot family.
http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=474 https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/angelica/atropurpurea/ http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Plants/view/33 https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/angelica http://michiganflora.net/images.aspx?id=106 http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/grt_angelica.html
Calico Aster One-sided Aster, Farewell Summer, aster latériflore
Symphyotrichum lateriflorum
all; most of the population is south from Sault Ste. Marie -thickets, open woods (often Beech-Maple, Oak-Hickory; mixed woods; occasionally conifer), forest edges, glades, meadows, sloughs, ravines, alvars; floodplains, seeps, rocky/sandy stream/pond shores/ banks, swampy forests, fens; disturbed habitats, pastures, fields, fencerows, waste ground, road/railroad sides, clearings. >Light Shade to Full Sun. Rich, moist to dry, acidic to alkaline soil. The more sun the more consistent moisture it needs. Accepts sandy/rocky to clayey and juglone. Deer resistant. >2-3’ It’s like a low, airy shrub with its multiple, spreading branches. Copious dainty, blue to pink to white blooms (late summer well into fall) are scattered along just one side of each branch (lateriflorum). The blossom has a yellow centre disk that changes to a purplish-bronze colour as summer progresses. One
LL-3
Lowland Flowers
plant, sometimes even a solitary disk, will change colour to produce a calico effect. Its tiny seeds have little fluffs of hairs attached allowing them to float in the breeze for a bit. The leaves are long, fairly narrow (lance-shaped), and sometimes with finely toothed edges. I don’t know who named it Farewell Summer (actually it was the proudly gay New Brunswicker, Harold [Hal] Royall Hinds, 1939-2001), but what an emotionally laden name for a flower in Canada. A bee, butterfly, larvae, and bug magnet. One of the least aggressive of the Asters; clump to colony forming from small caudices with short rhizomes. Aster family. Three varieties are native to Ontario:
angustifolium Narrow-leaved Calico Aster, aster à feuilles étroites;
hirsuticaule lateriflorum
tenuipes
Rough-stemmed Calico Aster, aster latériflore à tiges hirsutes; Calico Aster, aster latériflore.
is not native (Slender-stalked Calico Aster, aster à pédoncule mince).
http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=6 http://www.labunix.uqam.ca/~fg/MyFlora/Asteraceae/Symphyotrichum/Lateriflorum/lateriflorum.e.shtml https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/symphyotrichum/lateriflorum/ http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Plants/view/607 https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/calico-aster https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=486 http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/savanna/plants/calico_aster.htm http://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/plants/calicoaster.html http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277245&isprofile=0&cv=4
Heart-leaved Aster Common Blue Wood Aster, aster à feuilles cordées
Symphyotrichum cordifolium
all, except Manitoulin District -meadows, deciduous open woods, thickets, forest edges, forests, glades, thinly wooded slopes, bluffs, moist ledges, cliffs, alvars; floodplains, stream banks, moist edges of swamps; disturbed habitats, clearings, roadsides, along ditches, fencerows, trailsides. >Light Shade to Part Shade; tolerates to Full Shade. Rich, moist to average soil. Accepts dry, thin soil over bedrock, rocky to light clayey, acidic to alkaline, and juglone. Deer resistant. >2-4’ Dense, rounded clusters (6-18” long) of pale lavender-white blooms (through fall) top a sturdy central stem. Like all Asters, though each individual flower head is small, they have a real presence because their colour almost seems to glow, especially at dusk. Lush, attractive, heart-shaped leaves along the length of the stem. To help you identify a heart-shaped leaf, know that where the leaf meets its stem it has a notch (sinus) on each side just like a Valentine’s Heart has its notch at the top. Critical to pollinators late in the season and seed eaters in winter. Critical to humans late in the season because it may be your last plant to flower (along with Goldenrods). Self-sows with seeds that float in the breeze. A short rhizome. Aster family.
http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=10 http://www.labunix.uqam.ca/~fg/MyFlora/Asteraceae/Symphyotrichum/Cordifolium/cordifolium.e.shtml https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/symphyotrichum/cordifolium/ https://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Plants/view/602 https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/blue-wood-aster https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=479 http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/bl_woodaster.htm http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a788
LL-4
Lowland Flowers
New England Aster aster de Nouvelle-Angleterre
1 2 3 4 5 6 7; found in, but not native to the Manitoulin District
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae Aster novae-angliae
-prairie swales, wet meadows, deciduous open woods, thickets, forest edges, thin woods, glades; floodplains, bottomlands, marshy ground, shrubby swamps, fens, shores, stream edges; disturbed habitats, fields, road/railroad sides, ditches. >Full to Part Sun. Rich, wettish to average soil. Accepts sandy to clayey, nutritionally-poor, and juglone. Deer resistant. It will look ragged by the end of summer, but survive, if it’s too dry. This is a Lowland plant that will tolerate a moist, loamy to clayey meadow especially if it’s a bit shady. >2-5' Very showy with tall stems crowned with long lasting, rounded heads of violet to purple blooms (late summer well into fall). Their dark blue contrasts beautifully with the yellow of Goldenrods which will be flowering at the same time. May flop over if not supported by neighbouring plants. An important pollinator magnet due to its copious blossoms lasting very late into autumn. Freely self-sows. Forms a thick clump from caudices with short, thick, woody rhizomes. Aster family.
https://uwaterloo.ca/astereae-lab/research/asters/symphyotrichum/symphyotrichum-novae-angliae http://www.scorpionfly.ca/plants/plantpages/aster.htm http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=25 http://www.labunix.uqam.ca/~fg/MyFlora/Asteraceae/Symphyotrichum/Novae_Angliae/novae_angliae.e.shtml http://www.fleursduquebec.com/encyclopedie/1777-aster-de-nouvelle-angleterre.html https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/symphyotrichum/novae-angliae/ https://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Plants/view/609 https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/new-england-aster https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=487 http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/ne_asterx.htm http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/new-england-aster https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/education/CDIndex/NewEnglandAster.pdf http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b540 https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_syno2.pdf https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_syno2.pdf
White Panicled Aster Lance-Leaved Aster, Willow Aster, aster lancéolé
all
Symphyotrichum lanceolatum
-moist low open places, bottomlands, floodplains, floodplain woodlands, swamps, marshes, fens, wetland borders, along streams, banks, shores, interdunal flats, thickets, low prairies/meadows, swales, seasonal wetlands, forest edges, deciduous to coniferous forests, glades; open bedrock, alvars, gravelly seeps; disturbed habitats, ditches, road/railroad side ditches, pastures, fields, fencerows. >Full Sun to Part Shade. Very wet to mucky to moist (occasionally to average), sandy to loamy, poorlydrained soil. Moisture dependent. Accepts rocky to clayey, acidic to calcareous, and juglone. >1-3.5' Showy sprays of white blooms (late summer into fall). A wildlife magnet. Able to form large colonies via long, thick, creeping rhizomes. Can be aggressive in damp sites. Aster family. There are several subspecies and varieties, all native;
e.g. Western Panicled Aster, aster de l’Ouest, Great Lakes Panicled Aster, aster lancéolé à tiges hirsutes, Interior White Aster, aster continental, Broad-leaved Panicled Aster, aster à feuilles larges, et al.
