Wide Open Spaces in Alberta

Last week I did a whirlwind trip to Alberta for work.  The task involved evaluating prairie vegetation, something I quite enjoy doing!  Although brief, I made the most of my short time in the shortgrass.  A couple of public-owned rangelands provided some fun post work exploring options.

The views were gorgeous, a rolling landscape with prairie potholes full of ducks, canola where the land is flat and prairie on many of the hillsides and anywhere else crops weren't an option.  

Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) was widespread, one of my favourites this time of year.

I walked away from this dragonfly perched atop a Tall Cinquefoil (Drymocallis arguta) stem still a bit unsure as to whether it was alive or not.

Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida) is rather rare in Ontario.  It was fairly common there, albeit this was the single flowering plant I could locate.

Another neat goldenrod, Missouri Goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis).  I'm not sure how to describe the difference, it has traits of several of our more common Ontario goldenrods.  This S2-ranked species is known from the Kenora, Thunder Bay and Rainy River Districts of Ontario.

 

Flodman's Thistle (Cirsium flodmanii)

 Silverleaf Psoralea (Pediomelum argophyllum), also known as Indian Breadroot is one of the first prairie plants I learned years ago in South Saskatchewan.  It can be locally fairly common but similar to the sage species that grow in the western prairies it's bluish-green leaves are eye-catching.

Wild Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota), the species I was looking to relocate from an old record in Waterloo Region.

One of many prairie pothole formations.