Plants of Alberta 4

Sainfoin has been grown in parts of Europe and Asia for hundreds of years. Various strains have been introduced to North America as a forage crop since about 1900. We came across this plant on 27th August, growing on Rob Blades' prairie grassland hilltop, west of Nanton, Alberta. I've only ever seen one field of Sainfoin (from a distance), but this is considered a weed. We have seen it growing at Carburn Park in the city. Love the deep purplish pink stripes on the petals. Belongs to the Pea family and blooms June-August. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainfoin

This is a macro shot of just a small flower - one that I don't see very often. Found on 27th August, on Rob Blades' prairie grassland hilltop, west of Nanton, Alberta.

This tiny, yellow wildflower was photographed in Jim Coutts' wonderful homestead garden, just north east of Nanton, Alberta. The flower is so small that you really need to see it in macro size or through a hand lens. Also known as Black Clover, Blackseed, Hop Medic, Nonesuch, Spotted Bur-clover, and Trefoil. It's not native to Alberta. Annual. Please pull by root and dispose in garbage. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicago_lupulina

I'd never seen Russian Thistle up close before. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, green-white or pink, and are usually solitary in the leaf axils. Photographed this plant on the canyon floor at Horseshoe Canyon, Badlands of Alberta near Drumheller. www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/russthis.htm

This Yellow Owl-clover plant (macro shot) and several others were growing on the canyon floor at Horseshoe Canyon. They like dry prairie grassland, flowering June-August. The stems are 10-40 cm tall, with a spike terminal cluster of tiny golden yellow flowers (10-15 mm long). Stem surface is covered in sticky hairs. Native to Alberta, and uncommon. Annual. Semi parasitic. There are 25 Orthocarpus species worldwide, only this one in Alberta.

A pretty sight, I think, when looking at a Fireweed flower very closely. Saw this one when I was on a walk at Clearwater Park two days ago. "Coming to a newly opened (Fireweed) flower, a bee finds abundant pollen on the anthers and a sip of nectar in the cup below. At this stage the flower keeps its still immature style curved downward and backward lest it should become self-fertilized - an evil ever to be guarded against by ambitious plants. In a few days, or after the pollen has been removed, up stretches the style, spreading its four receptive stigmas just where an in-coming bee, well dusted from a younger flower, must certainly leave some pollen on their sticky surfaces." From chestofbooks.com/flora-plants/flowers .

White Sweetclover (Melilotus alba) was introduced from Europe as a forage crop. It grows along roadsides, waste areas and reclamation sites. Stems can be up to 2.5 m tall and the flower cluster at the top of the stem contains 40-80 tiny (4-6 mm long) white flowers. This cultivated and naturalized plant occurs as a weed across most of Canada. Photographed at Clearwater Park a couple of days ago.

I'm never sure which Campion species I'm looking at when I see them. However, this is one of the species. "The flower has a distinctive inflated calyx and five white petals, each petal deeply notched." From Wikipedia. Photographed on a walk at Clearwater Park, off Highway 8.

This is just a very small flower in reality - how misleading macro shots are : ) Sorry to those of you who are totally confused and mislead by all my macro shots, LOL, but I just HAVE to take photos like that - that's what I love! Looks like the larva of something crawling over the petal? Seen on 3rd September, growing on wet mud at Bragg Creek Natural Area, east of the Kananaskis boundary.