On the Rocks

I grew up near London Ontario where you're pretty hard pressed to find any exposed rock substrate.  In recent years I've been making regular trips north and have found that I love botanizing a good rock barren, ridge or rocky rivershore.  Let's just say camp meals cooking over the stove have been bonded to pots while I get sidetracked by some plants growing in a rock crevice.

The first photo is Three-toothed Cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata), previously a Potentilla.  Considered a shrub, this species often forms dense mats among rock crevices.  The foliage has a dark green shine to it and kind of resembles Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana).  This patch was growing on a ridge in the Nor-Wester Mountains near Thunder Bay.

Pink Corydalis (Capnoides sempervirens) adds a splash of colour to rocky or gravelly habitats with it's pink and yellow blooms.  It's found in every province and territory in Canada.