Orchids and Ferns on the Bruce

I woke up this morning to a thin layer of snow coating the Hell's Angels parking lot.  They are my neighbours.  I once had a Coors Light in the clubhouse, I took it as a welcome to the neighbourhood. The snow made me realize two things; soon the last diehard biker will winterize his hog and my Saturday nights will involve a lot less motor revving.  The second thing I realized was that I'll soon have a lot more time on my hands to go through photos taken in 2014. 

I decided I would start this blog to share photos and stories.  I've been encouraged by a few people to start a blog, so here it is.  Enjoy.

This past weekend I made a trip to the Bruce with a few work friends.  Saturday's agenda involved conducting a count of Putty-root (Aplectrum hyemale).  I had only seen this orchid for the first time earlier this spring on a Field Botanists of Ontario (FBO) trip to Shining Tree Woods in Norfolk County.  While I didn't manage any pictures of the 21 putty root we found on Saturday (largely due to the never-ending precipitation), I was able to pull up these shots from Shining Tree.

The leaves of this species are distinctly pin-striped, and have a texture that feels similar to the new plastic bank notes.  Leaves appear each year in November and a flowering stalk will emerge the following May/June.

This plant is listed as S2 within the province which means it is imperiled within Ontario, often with fewer than 20 occurrences known.

For the afternoon we headed toward Hope Bay where my co-worker Christy gave us a tour of one of her favourite spots.  After a winded hike up a talus slope we were treated to the diversity of ferns that the Bruce has to offer.  First up was a rarity which Christy had found on a rock face a couple of years back, Wall Rue Spleenwort (Asplenium ruta-muraria) S2.

This species grows on limestone cliff faces.  It's also native to parts of Europe where it is fairly common and grows on limestone masonry.

Lots of Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes ssp. trichomanes) which can be locally fairly abundant on limestone boulders and cliff faces.  The similar Green Spleenwort (Asplenium viride) has a green rachis (stem) and is a little more uncommon.

Holly Fern (Polystichum lonchitis), also fairly common growing up from the rich leaf litter.

Male Fern (Dryopteris filix-mas), somewhat similar to Marginal Wood Fern (Dryopteris marginalis), one main difference lies in the sori (the spore capsules on the underside of the pinna) which are more centered and in a double row formation as opposed to marginal where they are at the edges of the pinnae.

And lastly, Hart's Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum) S3, a personal favourite and also a Species of Conservation Concern provincially.