Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society

Bob Kennedy and Jeff White are mounting a trip to explore Cape Breton flora from July 21-July 30. It includes the Baleine area, Aspy Bay and Meat Cove at the extreme North-West tip. We will be looking for arctic species and other plants of interest that are unique  or more common on Cape Breton than elsewhere. If anyone is interested in meeting up with us for part or all of the trip, contact me at bob@grimsey.ca

This weekend is perfect timing to see the Yellow Lady’s Slippers Orchids by Meadow Pond near Windsor. Also starting to bloom in the gypsum scree is Balsam Ragwort.

I just got back from the gypsum talus slopes outside Albert Mines NB and had a pretty good day of finding new things. The particular draw for me was the only population of Dryas integrifolia in the Maritimes outside of Newfoundland. You can see some photos at  http://inaturalist.ca/observations/13001961.

It was tricky lugging the tripod up the unstable slopes (many blackflies) without damaging anything (I think I only displaced a bit of moss).

I think I also saw myrtle leaved willow (known at that site) and am pretty sure I saw the only Anemone parviflora in a fairly large population blooming. Probably more in a couple of weeks. There was also Shepardia, Mitella and Erigeron hyssopifolius. There is supposed to be a small population of Solidago multiradiata, but I wouldn’t know how to identify it so early. All the other photos are at http://inaturalist.ca/observations/bobkennedy

“All are invited to a public meeting on April 12th for updates and information on park progress. We will also explore interest in forming a citizen’s group, such as a “Friends of Blue Mountain” group, to speak up for creation of the promised park and collaborate with the municipality and other levels of government.
Please come to St. Peter’s Anglican Church Hall from 7-9pm on Thursday, April 12th.
There will be a formal presentation at 7:15, and opportunity for questions and public comments at 8pm.”
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If you ever enjoyed a walk out at Peggys Cove, Taylor Head, Duncan’s Cove or the Skyline trail in Cape Breton Highlands national park, this talk is for you.

As well as being iconic landscapes, barrens contribute an important and historically overlooked part of Nova Scotia’s natural history. These distinctive ecosystems are characterized by some of the harshest conditions in the maritime provinces, but they host a great diversity of plants and lichens, produce many edible berries, and provide habitat for a handful of species that aren’t found elsewhere in the maritimes.

This talk discusses current and ongoing research to describe plant communities on the barrens, mapping the way plant communities are arranged on the barrens, and understand the diversity of plants, lichens and bee pollinators that live there.

A presentation to Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society by Biology Professor Dr. Jeremy Lundholm, PhD student Emily Walker, and research associate Caitlin Porter of the Ecology of Plants in Communities (EPIC) Lab, Saint Mary’s University.

All welcome. 7:30 pm at the Museum of Natural History, Summer Street, Halifax.