Bruce Almighty

Saturday I ventured up to the Bruce for some botanizing.  August is a great time of year to go for a hike up there with the bugs few and far between and alot of alvar species hitting their prime.  Here's a snippet of the highlights for the day...

Soapberry (Shepherdia canadensis) is one of the species I was looking for here in Kitchener from my last post.  We have a single record for Waterloo Region but being known from an actively eroding bluff along the Grand River, I'm not holding my breath on finding it anytime soon.  In Bruce County this species is fairly common.

Cow-wheat (Melampyrum lineare) is blooming and could be found at the edges of a few trails. 

Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum) is one of our most common asters.

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is maybe a week past it's prime but still quite a sight.

Kalm's St. Johns-wort (Hypericum kalmianum) was found growing in a calcareous, marl meadow.

Flat-topped White Aster (Doellingeria umbellata)

 Appearing much different from Cardinal Flower, patches of Kalm's Lobelia (Lobelia kalmii) grew along the rocky edges of a beaverpond.

Glaucous White Lettuce (Prenanthes racemosa) is a strange looking plant, covered in dense hairs above and waxy smooth on the lower leaves and stem.

Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) is always a highlight at this time of year on the Bruce.  Unfortunately the dry conditions made for a poor year for flowering (or survival) of many plants.

A nice patch of False Asphodel (Triantha glutinosa) in a meadow marsh.

I was happy to see something new, this is Chestnut Sedge (Carex castanea) which has super long culms (stems) (these were about 90cm) and tiny hairs on the upper half of the culm.  Michigan Flora notes that it is a calciphile of moist coniferous forests.

This is Round-leaved Ragwort (Packera obovata), a species listed as "S3" provincially.  When blooming, the bright yellow flowers of Ragworts are hard to miss.

 
Getting into the goldenrod world...Hairy Goldenrod (Solidago hispida) resembles Grey Goldenrod (S. nemoralis) but doesn't 'nod'.

Uplands White Aster (Solidago ptarmicoides)

 A showpiece of the Bruce, Houghton's Goldenrod (Solidago houghtonii).  See the restricted range here.

And in among the Houghton's we have the odd Ohio Goldenrod (Solidago ohioensis) with broader leaves (and various differences int he flowering parts).

Grass-of-parnassus (Parnassia glauca)

Twig-rush (Cladium mariscoides)

Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis)

 The song "Your Rocky Spine" by Great Lakes Swimmer comes to mind...

That's a fine looking Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve).