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Botany Ramblings:
April 29-June 30, 2001
James P. Goltz
Reprinted from the N.B. Naturalist
Familiar Native Spring Flowers
Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum), also widely known as Dog-toothed Violet and Adder=s-tongue, was first noticed in bloom on Keswick Ridge on April 29 (JPG, JJW, JR). Many were already in bloom at Fredericton by May 3 (JPG, JJW) and at Keswick Ridge by May 5 (FNC). In other parts of the province, the first blooms of this species were found on May 4 at Middle Island of Marys Point (DSC), on May 8 at Rosevale (AW), on May 10 on the Kingston Peninsula near Kingston (BM), and on May 10 near Crawford Lake (Ida Adair).
Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens), also called Mayflower, was seen in flower at Cambridge-Narrows on April 29 (MNC), on a steep south-facing slope at Rosevale on May 6 (AW), at the Experimental Farm in Fredericton May 6 (Don and Cathy Gibson), on the Wilson Property near Chance Harbour on May 7 (CLJ, EB), and at Kouchibouguac National Park on May 20 (les Ami(e)s de la Nature du Sud-Est).
Over a thousand blooms of Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) were found at Middle Island of Marys Point on May 4 (DSC), and many were also seen in bloom at Keswick Ridge on May 5 (FNC), and on the Kingston Peninsula near Kingston on May 10 (BM).
The pungent blooms of Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) were observed at Fredericton on May 3 (JPG, JJW), at Keswick Ridge May 5 (FNC), at Nackawic May 9 (DwS), on the Kingston Peninsula near Kingston on May 10 (BM), and at Marys Point on May 18 (DSC). Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum) was reported in bloom near Gagetown on May 26 (GCB), at Reid Lake on May 27 (NTNB) and at Kouchibouguac National Park on May 28 (MLeB). Nodding Trillium (Trillium cernuum) was seen in flower at the Nashwaaksis Stream in Fredericton on May 30 (JPG, DNRE) and at St.-Gabriel-de-Kent on June 5 (Denis Doucet).
Reports of violets in bloom included Great-spurred Violet (Viola selkirkii) on May 4 at Middle Island of Marys Point (DSC); Woolly Blue Violet (Viola sororia) on May 5 at Mactaquac Provincial Park (JPG, DaS) and on May 18 at Marys Point (DSC); Northern White Violet (Viola macloskeyi) on May 11 at Fredericton (JPG); Large-leaved White Violet (Viola blanda) on May 18 at Marys Point (DSC); American Dog Violet (Viola conspersa) at Bristol on May 12 (NBFN); Smooth Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens) on May 12 at Bristol (NBFN) and on May 18 at Marys Point (DSC); and the very rare Canada Violet (Viola canadensis) on May 13 at the Meduxnekeag River near Woodstock (NBFN) and on May 27 at Moody Hill (MA, JPG, SR, CM).
Blooms of Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) were found at Mactaquac Provincial Park on May 5 (JPG, DaS) and at Marys Point on May 18 (DSC).
Goldthread (Coptis trifolia) was seen in flower on the Kingston Peninsula near Kingston on May 10 (BM) and at Kouchibouguac National Park on May 28 (MLeB).
Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), also known as Wild Lily-of-the-Valley, was seen in bloom at Kouchibouguac National Park on May 20 (les Ami(e)s de la Nature du Sud-Est).
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) was in bloom at Kouchibouguac National Park by May 25 (MLeB) and its flowers were seen to carpet the wooded areas near New Horton Lake by June 23 (MNC).
A few Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), many Dutchman=s-breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) and many Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) were seen in bloom on Keswick Ridge on May 5 (FNC), and a single flowering plant of Small Pussy-toes (Antennaria howellii) was found that day at Mactaquac Provincial Park (JPG, DaS).
Orchids
Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule) was found in bloom at St.-Joseph de Madawaska on May 15 (Pierrette Mercier), near Gagetown on May 26 (GCB), at Kouchibouguac National Park on May 30 (MLeB), at Fredericton on June 6 (JPG), and near New Horton Lake on June 23 (MNC). Both Large (var. pubescens) and Small-flowered (var. makasin) varieties of Yellow Lady=s-slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) were seen in peak bloom on the Nashwaak River near Stanley on June 7 (JPG, DwS, MS, MT).
Both the typical pink-flowered form and the rare albino form (forma candida) of Calypso (Calypso bulbosa) were seen at a known location near Williamstown Lake on May 27 (JPG, MA, CM, SR).
Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) was in peak bloom on May 27 at Upper Woodstock (JPG, MA, CM, SR), where the normal colour form and the pure pink colour form (forma willeyi) grow together in the same woods. On the same day, this species had just started to bloom at Moody Hill and Reid Lake (NTNB). In mid June, Fred Tribe and Pat O=Brien successfully rediscovered a small colony of Showy Orchis at the Salmon River, Victoria County, about 25 years after Fred had first found it there. All of the other extant locations for this species in the province are in Carleton County.
Two plants of the endangered Southern Twayblade (Listera australis) were found in early bloom on June 17 at a known location for this orchid near Harvey Station (JPG, GB). Numbers of plants of this species at this site have ranged from 0 (in 2000) to 7 (in 1986).
Shining Ladies=-tresses (Spiranthes lucida) was observed in early bloom at Hammond River on June 21 (CLJ).
I was delighted to finally be able to recognize two plants of the cryptic Nuttall=s Bog Orchid (Platanthera huronensis), a species only recently split off from the Tall Northern Green Bog Orchid (Platanthera aquilonis, formerly Platanthera hyperborea), in a calcareous cedar wetland near Andersonville on June 30 (JPG, MT, SR, DwS).
Woody Plants
On May 5, a few late female flowers of Beaked Hazel (Corylus cornuta) were still visible at Keswick Ridge (FNC) and the first few blooms of Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis) were seen at Currie Mountain (JPG, DaS).
Neither Serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.) nor Pin Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) had started to bloom at Marys Point by May 18, but many were seen in flower between Codys and Woodstock on this date (DSC), and a few Pin Cherry were also seen in bloom at Shediac Bridge (NP).
Rhodora (Rhododendron canadense) was seen in flower on May 23 near Harvey Station (JPG) and at Kouchibouguac National Park on May 28 (MLeB).
One of the species of Mountain Ash (Sorbus sp.) was seen in flower at Kouchibouguac National Park on May 25 (MLeB).
Ferns and Fern Allies
Fiddleheads of either Cinnamon Fern or Interrupted Fern (Osmunda sp.) were seen at the Crawley Farm Road near Moncton on May 7 (Gilles Bourque). A small clump of fiddleheads of Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia pensylvanica) was seen at Rosevale on May 8 (AW).
Dozens of plants of Daisy-leaf Grapefern (Botrychium matricariifolium) were found on Caraquet Island on June 2 (JPG, NP).
Introduced and Non-Native Species
A few plants of Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris), originally brought from the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, have persisted and given rise to seedlings on a seepy limestone outcrop on the Hammond River. Blooms of this species were seen here on June 21 (CLJ). In New Brunswick, naturally-occurring stands of Butterwort are known only from the Restigouche River watershed. Nearby on the same rock cliff on the Hammond River, a few transplanted plants of Ram=s-head Lady=s-slipper (Cypripedium arietinum) continue to thrive several years after they were brought there from a gypsum outcrop near Windsor, Nova Scotia. This species has not yet been found growing naturally in New Brunswick, but is obviously capable of growing in suitable habitat.
Although many blooms of Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) had already been observed at Saint John by May 1 (JPG) and at St.-Gabriel by May 5 (MLeB), this species did not begin to flower near Turtle Creek at Rosevale until May 6, at a site that had been under snow earlier that week and under water two days previously (AW).
A few flowering plants of Field Pansy (Viola arvensis) were found at Keswick Ridge on May 5 (FNC) and on the East Irish Settlement Road (west of Woodstock) on May 20 (NTNB). Many English Cowslip (Primula veris) were found in flower in old fields at Hovey Hill on May 18 (JPG).
Several dozen plants of the pale yellow-flowered species of Goat=s-beard (Tragopogon dubius), a rare weedy plant now known from only three locations in New Brunswick, were found on the south-east side of Fredericton on June 17 (JPG, GB, MT).
Fungi
The very few reports of fungi included False Morel (Gyromitra esculenta) at Memramcook on May 1 (Alain Clavette), Scarlet Cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) at the Meduxnekeag River near Woodstock on May 9 (NBFN), and Ganoderma tsugae at Keswick Ridge on June 28 (JPG, DwS, MS).
People and Plants
Since the death of Hal Hinds on May 9, Bev Benedict has been appointed the Acting Curator of vascular plants for the Connell Memorial Herbarium at the University of New Brunswick. Dr. Gary Saunders is the faculty person in charge of the herbarium.
The New Brunswick Botany Club continues to be active, organizing four activities for the year including an excursion to the Renforth fen and Hammond River on June 23, a botanical inventory of Odell Park at Fredericton on July 8, a foray to calcareous wetlands on the Acadian Peninsula on July 21, and a field identification workshop on asters and goldenrods at Sackville on August 25. For more information on this group and its activities, contact: Julie Singleton (bowerbk@nbnet.nb.ca) or Maureen Toner (Maureen.Toner@gnb.ca).
Abbreviations:
AW Ajo Wissink, BM Betty Mitham, CLJ Cecil Johnston, CM Carl Munden, DNRE Department of Natural Resources and Energy, DaS Darla Saunders, DwS Dwayne Sabine, DSC David Christie, EB Ethel Bosence, FNC Fredericton Nature Club, GB Gart Bishop, GCB Gagetown Celebration of Birds, JJW James Walde, JPG James Goltz, JR Jessica Robinson, MA Margery Acheson, MLeB Mike LeBlanc, MNC Moncton Naturalists= Club, MS Mary Sabine, MT Maureen Toner, NBFN New Brunswick Federation of Naturalists, NP Nelson Poirier, NTNB Nature Trust of New Brunswick, SR Sara Richard.
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