Plants of Alberta 4

Not sure what plant this little seedhead belongs to - not a very tall plant (some kind of Aster??). Photographed it in Bow Valley Provincial Park two days ago when lichen-hunting with two friends/Lichen experts. The colours of the bokeh come from the sky and the beautiful autumn yellows of the trees in the far, far distance. I feel as if I've squeezed two days into one today, LOL! I think it has something to do with the fact that we know that winter will arrive with a vengeance any time from now on, and I'm trying to cram in as much as I can into my days : ) Was out walking south of the Glenmore Reservoir, from the Sailing Club with birder friends for about two and a half hours this morning. Fairly quiet, birdwise. From there, I drove straight over to the Calgary Zoo and spent a couple of hours finding things to photograph. On the way home, I called in to take another look at the thousands of Bird's-nest Fungi down at Burnsmead. However, I discovered that they've been dug up and covered with more mulch. I did find the odd few here and there, but the remaining few were all dried up. After that, I HAD to go food shopping - the last thing I felt like doing, LOL.

A macro of a Yellow Mountain Avens flower (Dryas drummondii) after it has gone to seed. I always love to see the long, tight twist of fine, silvery hairs. Photographed at Cobble Flats, Kananaskis, on 12th July. "Native across Canada and Oregon to Montana. Uncommon. Stems, prostrate and much branched forming a mat (actually a woody shrub). Leaves, alternate; elliptic to oblong, 1.5-3cm long, edge coarsely scalloped, rounded at tip, wedge-shaped at base, leathery, strongly wrinkled surface, hairless or slightly white woolly below. Flowers, solitary on woolly stalks, 5-25cm high in fruit; 8-10 pale yellow petals, strongly ascending; flowerhead and sepals covered with black, gland-tipped hairs; June-August. Fruit, numerous, with much elongated feathery styles, spirally twisted together when immature or in damp weather. Habitat: gravelly slopes, river bars and roadsides". talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/?s=1144

I'm still shaking my head when I see this macro shot. It shows the flower centre of a Prairie Crocus - a beautiful, fresh one that I found on 30th September at Bow Valley Provincial Park. Usually, they bloom late March and April!!! What a crazy year we have had as far as the weather is concerned! Fibre optics of the plant world - thanks, Art (LeapFrog)!

This attractive grass is also known as Blue Gramma and Gramma's Eyebrows. Photographed on 21st August at Horseshoe Canyon, in the Alberta Badlands. This is only a short, small grass, shot with a macro lens.

I always have mixed feelings when photographing Mountain Ash leaves, as this is an invasive species, which is most unfortunate. However, the leaves are so gorgeous in the fall. This tree is growing in the Reader Rock Garden.

These bright red berries add a welcome splash of colour in the forest at this time of year. We saw these in West Bragg Creek, Kananaskis, on 3rd October. This is a medium-sized, native shrub, whose leaves turn a beautiful colour in the fall. The berries are very high in Vitamin C, but are somewhat astringent. The bush has a most unpleasant, very musty smell, which can be smelled from quite a distance. www.saskfruit.com/studentwebsites/High%20Bush%20Cranberry...

I love occasionally seeing the berries of Sea-buckthorn - bright orange, speckled and very shiny. These berries were seen in South Glenmore Park on October 2nd. "Once used extensively in shelterbelts, this plant is making a comeback due to its highly nutritious (and medicinal) bright orange berries. Silver foliage is also very attractive. Male and female plants are required for fruit production. Shrub-like in growth habit, Sea Buckthorn will require at least 3 square meters for its mature size. Sea buckthorn is a very hardy, drought tolerant plant that also “fixes” its own nitrogen in the soil through a complex interaction between its roots soil micro-organisms." www.theurbanfarmer.ca/plant_profiles.html "The fruits are rich in carbohydrates, protein, organic acids, amino acids and vitamins. The concentration of vitamin C in sea buckthorn fruit, ranged from 100–300 mg/100 g fruit, is higher than strawberry, kiwi, orange, tomato, carrot, and hawthorn. Sea buckthorn is also high in protein, especially globulins and albumins, and fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic acids. Vitamin E content in sea buckthorn (202.9 mg/100 g fruit) is higher than wheat embryo, safflower, maize, and soybean." www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-335.html

I love these tiny strobili that you find at the tips of Horsetails. They are especially beautiful when the sun shines through them. This one was growing at the Priddis Greens Golf Course back in July, when we botanized the forested areas on their land. "Horsetails are a group of relatively primitive, vascular plants in the genus Equisetum, family Equisetaceae, subdivision Sphenophytina. The sphenophytes have an ancient evolutionary lineage occurring as far back as the Devonian period. These plants were most abundant and diverse in species about 300 million years ago, during the late Devonian and early Carboniferous periods. Fossils from that time suggest that some of these plants were as large as 8 in (20 cm) in diameter and at least 49 ft (15 m) tall. Today, however, this group is represented by 29 species of small, herbaceous plants all in the genus Equisetum. Horsetails are very widespread. From: science.jrank.org/pages/3390/Horsetails.html Had a lovely day out in the mountains again today, when a group of us went out to the Golden Eagle Migration location near Mt. Lorette, Kananaskis. By the time we left in the afternoon, the Eagle spotter had recorded 195 Eagle sightings since early this morning. The people who volunteer to do this do such a great job! Can you imagine spending all those hours between sun-up and sun-down, with your binoculars pointed towards the sky and mountain peaks, your scope at the ready, too? Actually, I didn't see a single Golden Eagle, as they are practically invisible to the naked eye. Some of us went for a walk from this migration location, to the Troll Falls, a beautiful, high waterfall hidden in the forest. We even saw a couple of little mushrooms, LOL!

Not sure what plant these very small seedcases belong to. Just thought they were quite pretty. Found in an open meadow at Bow Valley Provincial Park on 30th September.