New resources for Mosses and Lichens

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

Dr. Sean Haughian, Botany Curator of the Nova Scotia Museum has kindly made some of the museum’s archived materials on Bryophytes and Lichens available to us. PDF files can be found here for Bryophytes  and Lichens  and web site links can be found at here for Bryophytes & Lichens

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What’s the earliest flowering native plant in Nova Scotia?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by admin

I guess it’s a toss-up between Skunk Cabbage and Dwarf Eastern Mistletoe

Above: Skunk Cabbage Mar 30, 2008, St. Mary’s Bay area, Digby Co. Left: Spathes emerging from snow. Right: spadix (flower clusters) exposed.
Below:Eastern Dwarf Mistletoe, Mar 28, 2020; at right, opened up. These photos by Bob Guscott
Click on image for larger version

I thought the answer was skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, which I thought is found naturally only in SW Nova Scotia but, according to Nova Scotia Plants, also occurs in Cumberland Co.

The skunk cabbage pics at right were taken during  a NS Wild Flora Society outing in 2009, led by our President, Charlie Cron, who travels to SW Nova Scotia most springs to check it out.

I made a post about it on Facebook and soon got a message from Bob Guscott, retired forest pest specialist with DNR (now L&F), one of his obsessions being the  ecology of mistletoe in NS.

Said Bob:

“Saw your FB post today on Skunk Cabbage. I have not seen it in Nova Scotia yet, but always thought that it was a candidate for first native plant to flower. The other candidate for first to flower in NS is Eastern Dwarf Mistletoe, Arceuthobium pusillum.
Continue reading →

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ALL NSWFS MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

The Museum of Natural History is now closed as a precaution to the spread of COVID-19. We will be postponing all future meetings and field trips until we hear that circumstances have changed.

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Annual General Meeting of Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage Trust

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Bob Kennedy
You are cordially invited to join the 19th Annual General Meeting assembly of members and volunteers/supporters of the Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage Trust.  Mark your calendar today for Sunday, March 22 from 2 – 4 pm at the Estabrooks Community Hall.
Our guest speaker Allison Thorne, NS Nature Trust, will share news about saving local urban wild lands, like the Blue Mountain Birch Cove campaign.  Free event. Everyone is welcome.
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MEETING CANCELLED: March 7 – Ingram River Wilderness Area Public Consultation

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

Meeting was cancelled yesterday by the Dept of Lands and Forestry

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Flora of Nova Scotia Course – Acadia University

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

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Looking for Circumboreal Plants Common to Two Continents – and A Visit to the Linnaean Botanical Garden in Uppsala, Sweden

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

Monday Feb. 24

Bob Kennedy had the opportunity to briefly visit Northern Europe this past summer. He became fascinated by the few plants which were native to both Europe and Nova Scotia and the many more that were similar, yet different species. Bob will take you through his explorations in the Black Forest, Grindewald in the Swiss Alps and Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

While in Sweden, Bob also had the opportunity to visit the Linnaean Botanical Garden in Uppsala. Bob will introduce us to Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, at the location he did much of his work.

 

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NSWFS Letter on Owl’s Head

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Bob Kennedy

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The following letter was emailed by the Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society to the people listed below on January 30, 2020

Attn: Premier Stephen McNeil; Honourable Iain Rankin, Minister of Lands and Forestry; Honourable Gordon Wilson, Minister of the Environment; Tim Houston, Progressive Conservative Opposition Leader; Gary Burrill, Leader of the NDP; Sean Fraser, Central Nova Member of Parliament; Kevin Murphy, Eastern Shore Member of the Legislative Assembly; Thomas Trappenberg, Leader of the Green Party:

 

We of the Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society are writing to express our concern with the de-listing of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve and proposed golf course development on these public lands. The Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation and conservation of wild flora and habitat in Nova Scotia.

 

Owls Head is a provincial treasure that must be protected for the benefit of future generations. The coastal barrens at Owls Head support globally rare Broom Crowberry heathlands. This plant community is found nowhere else in Canada. The species Broom Crowberry can only be found in northeastern North America, where it is rare to all provinces and states outside of Nova Scotia. Like our provincial tree the Red Spruce or the Nova Scotia Mayflower, Broom Crowberry is an important emblem of our province’s natural history.

 

Owls Head also supports extensive bog wetlands, which the government of Nova Scotia is committed to protect under the Nova Scotia Wetland Conservation Policy. These wetlands are biodiverse and contribute important ecosystem services including maintaining watershed health. The wetlands, ponds, lakes, and marine environment associated with Owls Head would be adversely affected by a golf course development. Data that we have collected at similar sites in the province show deterioration of water quality in surface runoff with the removal of barrens vegetation. We urge the province to follow through on commitments of the Nova Scotia Wetland Conservation Policy by not permitting a golf course development at Owls head.

 

We urge the province to follow through also on its commitments to protect Owls Head as part of Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan. Owls Head has been considered a Provincial Park Reserve for decades, enabling generations of Nova Scotians to kayak and hike within its boundaries. A golf course development at Owls Head removes accessibility to organizations like ours and to the greater public. A golf course development at Owls Head removes its valuable contribution to the greater Eastern Shore Islands Wilderness Area and the 100 Wild Islands Conservation Campaign.

 

In the greater interest of Nova Scotians, we of the Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society ask you to:

 

1) please re-instate and make legal Owls Heads protected areas status and,

2) stop the land sale of Owls Head, reject the proposal to destroy this conservation gem for the purposes of a privately-owned golf course.

 

Sincerely,

 

Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society

c/o Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History

1747 Summer Street

Halifax NS  B3H 3A6

nswildflora@yahoo.ca

nswildflora.ca

 

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CPAWS asks for support to Save Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve

Posted on January 23, 2020 by admin

UPDATE: NSWFS writes letter “to express our concern with the de-listing of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve and proposed golf course development on these public lands” View Owls Head NSWFS letter Jan 30, 2020
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From action.cpaws.org:

“The Nova Scotia government has secretly de-listed Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve and is now preparing to sell-off these public lands to a private developer who is interested in building golf courses.

“This decision was made behind-closed-doors with ZERO public consultation. The only reason why this delisting is known is because of the investigative reporting by Michael Gorman at CBC Nova Scotia.

“We urgently need your help to STOP the Nova Scotia government from selling off this coastal park for private development.

“Please send an email to Premier Stephen McNeil that calls on the government to 1) stop the sale of public lands at Owls Head, and 2) immediately protect these lands using the Wilderness Areas Protection Act.”

The CPAWS Action Website provides a form for sending a letter – please do

For more about this important conservation issue:
Continue reading →

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Eagle Hill Field Seminars 2020 announced – On the eastern Maine coast

Posted on January 20, 2020 by admin

Several of our NS Wild Flora Society members have attended these classes at Eagle Hill, and rave about them.


Click on image for details

Below Posted Feb. 7
Announcing Eagle Hill Institute’s seminars on vascular plants
Eagle Hill is right on the coast of Eastern Maine, between Acadia National Park and Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge.
Jun 14 – 20 … Field Botany and Medicinal Plants of the Maine Coast … Steven Foster
Jul 5 – 11 … Sedges and Rushes: An Ecological Approach … Jerry Jenkins
Jul 12 – 18 … Wetland Identification, Delineation and Ecology … Rick Van de Poll and Joseph Homer
Jul 12 – 18 … Farmers in the Marsh: An Innovative Approach to Holistic Salt Marsh Restoration… Susan Adamowicz and David Burdick, and Geoff Wilson
Jul 19 – 25 … Ericaceous Heaths and the Ericaceae: Understanding Vegetation Patterns … Paul Manos
Jul 19 – 25 … Grasses of the Greater Northeast: Identification and Ecology … Dennis Magee
Aug 2 – 8 … Potamogetonaceae: Diversity and Ecology of the Pondweeds … C Barre Hellquist and Eric Hellquist
Nov 6 – 8 … Twig Identification of Trees and Shrubs (Weekend Workshop) … Dennis Magee
The following general flyer has links to individual vascular plants seminar flyers.
For general information and a complete calendar:
office@eaglehill.us … 207-546-2821, ext. 4.
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