NSRCF Guardianship Program Plant Species Guide FIRST DRAFT EDITION Contents: Using this guide........... pg 3 Herbs: Goldthread........... pg. 4 Bloodroot........... pg. 5 Cleavers ........... pg. 6 Orchids ........... p. 7 Sage ........... p. 10 Sweetgrass ........... p. 11 Milkweed ........... p. 12 Shrubs: Low-bush cranberry. ........... p. 14 High-bush cranberry ........... p. 15 Mountain ash ........... p. 16 Showy mountain ash ........... p. 17 Trees: Cedar ........... p. 18 Birch ........... p. 19 Balm of gilead ........... p. 20 Printed in 2015. All images by LL except for those on the following pages: Sorbus americana (both), Sorbus decora (flower), Galium aparine (the illustration and photo), Hierochloe hirta (illus- tration) and the photos on the two Viburnum pages. All of these images were taken from the wikipedia commons. Using this guide: This guide is organized into three different groups which appear in the following order: herbs/grasses, shrubs, trees. Each page has one of three colours (green for herbs or grasses, yellow for shrubs, brown for trees) on the outer edge to tell which group the plant is in. Amongst the groups the plants are organized according to their height, so that the book moves from the plants lowest to the forest floor up to the tallest trees. Each entry gives ways for identifying the species at various stages throughout the year. Many entries also indicate spe- cies that are similar enough to be confused with the desired one. Within the body of the text, some technical botanical words are printed in semibold. These words (will be) explained in a glossary provided at the back of this book. Goldthread: Coptis trifolia Goldthread grows very low to the ground in cool, moist, acidic areas such as coniferous forests and spruce bogs. A perennial, it returns each year in the same spot, forming dense patches. Goldthread is named for its network of long thin yellow “roots” (rhizomes). Each leaf grows on a single stem, and is divided into three leaflets. The leaflets are dark green and glossy on top. Each white flower grows on its own stem. Goldthread often grows close to wood sorrel. 4 Bloodroot: Sanguinaria canadensis Bloodroot is one of the first wildflowers to emerge in the spring. The single stem and flower first appear wrapped within a single leaf. The white flowers have yellow centres that face towards the sky. There are usually 8 petals on each flower but can be up to 12. Each flower only lasts for about two days. After the flowers disappear, the distinctive club-like leaves grow to their full size, and can remain until autumn. The lobbed-leaves of bloodroot are very distinctive. Only one leaf grows on each stem, and each stem grows out of the ground on its own. Bloodroot gets its name from its orange-red coloured sap. If unsure, you can beak off a stem look for the sap. Bloodroot is a perennial, so it will grow back from the same “root” (rhizome) system each year. If you saw it one year, it should be there again the following year. This also means that the plant tends to grow in groups. For most of the growing season you sould look for clusters of the distinctive leaves. Bloodroot is very sensitive to disturbance. 5 Cleavers: Galium aparine Cleavers can grow very low to the ground, but can also climb on other plants. Cleavers has square stems, which are covered in very fine bristles that make it feel sticky or scratchy and allow it to cling to other plants. It has small white flowers with four petals, that appear from May to July. After the flowers a nutlet forms, which is a small, fruit that looks like two balls joined together. The leaves grow in whorls (circles) around the stem. Each leaf is composed of leaflets (usually 8, though sometimes fewer below the flowers or fruit). Cleavers is one of several species in the genus Galium. These species can be very similar in appearance. Here are some ways to tell them apart: Other species may not have any bristles or hairs on the stems, leaves or fruit. Other species have only 4-6 leaflets. Look for 8 somewhere on the plant! Other species may be free-standing, able to grow vertically without the support of other plants. 6 Orchids The Orchids are a family of plants, which are most often thought of as having beautiful, fragrent flowers, and living in wet areas ike bogs. While many orchids have unique and stunning flowers, the family is one of the two largest in the plant kingdom. With this great size comes a great diversity in forms of flowers as well as habitats of growth. One family resemblance amongst all of the orchids are the parrallel veins on the leaves. In fact, this feature is common to all monocotyldons. In this section are compiled some of the orchids that might grow in the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve. They have been divided into those with large noticible flowers, such as the lady’s slippers, and those with small, more discrete flowers, such as the rattlesnake plantains. Note on the leaves of orchids: Orchids are in the group of plants known as monocotyledons (or monocots). This means that the veins on the leaves of orchids are parralel. Some plants only flower for a short time, though their leaves remain for much longer. Keeping an eye open for parralel veined leaves is one way of finding orchids when they are not in flower. However, there are other monocots common to the area that also have parralel veins. Two examples are given below: Canada mayflower (left) and bluebead lily (right). 7 Pink Lady’s Slipper: Cypripedium acaule Pink lady’s slipper flowers in late May and June. Each plant is composed of two basal leaves, from the centre of which emerges a long stem that bears a single flower. Pink lady’s slipper, like many orchids, can only live on very acidic soil (between pH 4-5). They are often found in stands of coniferous trees. After the flower withers, the leaves and stem remain, as well as the hood, that looks like a bird’s beak. The seed pod forms under this hood, and later the whole stem, hood and pod turn brown. 8 Rattlesnake Plantain: Goodyera oblongifolia Rattlesnake plantain is an orchid that is best recognized by its leaves rather than its flowers. 9 Sage: Anaphalis margaritacea Sage, also known as pearly everlasting, likes a lot of sun and mostly grows in open areas in woodlands, or disturbed sites like road edges. It usually grows close to the ground but can grow over 1m tall. The plant has long, thin silvery, or grey-green leaves. The flowers grow in a cluster at the end of the main stem called a The most dsitinctive part of them are the white bracts, which appear to be petals, but are actually the protection for the smaller yellow florets that appear in their centre throughout the summer. 10 Sweetgrass: Hierochloe hirta Sweetgrass grows close to water. 11 Common Milkweed: Asclepius syriaca Milkweed has a very structured appearance. The leaves are opposite to each other on the stem and each pair is perpindicular to the next one. The flowers grow in globular (round) clusters. Each individual floret is pinkish purple and looks as though it was made out of wax. Later in the year milkweed grows its distinctive seed pods, which eventually split in the fall, releasing silk covered seeds that float on the air. The large leaves of milkweed look like feathers (pinnate); each has a very noticible pink vein running from the stem to the tip of the leaf, called a mid-rib. The plant has a milky white latex flowing through it. Break off a leaf, a pod or part of the stem and you will see the sap. Milkweed loves sun so should be looked for in open areas such as meadows or roadsides. 12 Swamp Milkweed: Asclepius incarnata This plant is a very close relative of common milkweed. They are in the same genus, called “Milkweed” or Asclepius. As the name suggests, swamp milkweed prefers to grow with wet roots, near the shorelines of lakes, ponds, rivers and swamps. Swamp milkweed’s flowers are darker purple than regular milkweed, and each individual floret is smaller in size. Swamp milkweed also grows seed pods after it has finished flowering. They are smaller in size than the pods of regular milkweed. The flower clusters grow off of axilliary stems, that grow from the joints (or axils) of the upper leaves and the main plant stem. 13 Low-Bush Cranberry: Viburnum edule Low-bush cranberry or Mooseberry is a shrub; it has woody stems and drops its leaves in the fall, growing new ones each spring, but is not as big as a tree. Low-bush cranberry grows to around 2 metres tall. Its leaves have three lobes, like a small maple leaf, and are hairy on the veins and underneath, but otherwise smooth ontop. The flowers of low-bush cranberry are white and appear in June and early July. After the flowers yellow to orange-red berries appear (July and August), sometimes lasting into the winter. Low-bush cranberry likes to grow where its roots can get a lot of water: in damp woods, bogs, lakeshores and stream banks. 14 High-Bush Cranberry: Viburnum trilobum High-bush cranberry is a close relative of low-bush cranberry. It is also a shrub but grows up to twice as tall (4 metres). The bark of high-bush cranberry is smooth and grey, to brownish-grey. The leaves are three lobed, and grow opposite of each other on the stem.