Follow Your Nose!

In September I took a trip to the North Bear Alvar, in the Carden Plain, east of Orillia.  North Bear Alvar is a 318ha property acquired by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and is home to some pretty neat plants.  Golden-winged warbler and loggerhead shrike, two rare bird species are known from the area also.

Remember Froot Loops and Toucan Sam?  "Follow your nose!" he'd exclaim.  Well that's exactly what you do to find Great Plains Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum).  When this orchid is in bloom in the fall, if the spiraling white flowers don't grab your attention, the strong smell of vanilla sure will.  There are friendlier habitats to grow in than a scorching limestone pavement in the middle of July, but these and many other alvar-adapted  species somehow manage to pull it off.