Plants of the North Shuswap.

Discussion in 'Celebrate Biodiversity' started by Keith Elliott, Jun 2, 2021.

  1. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Hello everyone, I am going to try and find as many different plants that grow here, and I will try and limit my finds to native plants, rather than those that have been planted in private gardens. The area that I will cover will go from St.Ives, which is at the end of the Squilax-Anglemont Highway, out to the beginning of the highway where it commences from Highway 1 about 10 kms east of Chase, B.C.

    Beyond St. Ives, the road becomes a logging road only, and radio permission is apparently required to travel thereon.

    There is a small Provincial Park where the logging road ends and the paved highway starts.

    Yesterday we visited the park and took the first photos for this journey that we will be on for some time to come, of that I am sure.

    This is Rosemary and it grows freely on the gravel beach at the park. There are dozens growing just a few feet above the present water level of the lake.

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  2. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    The likelihood of me knowing what these plants are is going to be slim. These were growing alongside the dirt pathways at the park. I think they might be some kind of lily, but I'm not really sure.

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  3. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Maianthemum racemosum aka False false Solomon's Seal. This makes a gorgeous plant in the garden where it can grow quite large. Here is mine.

    E-Flora BC Atlas Page

    Maianthemum racemosum 05-2021.JPG
     
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  4. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Today, June 2, I took several photos of wild plants growing at our property and the immediate surrounds.

    This is some kind of a Pine tree but it has been mistreated something terrible. We recently cleared all the debris around this little tree, which is about 7 feet tall, and it now appears to be doing well.

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    I believe this is also a Pine tree, and it is growing alongside the road. I wonder if it may be the parent of the smaller tree? They are less than 100 feet apart. It has a mate a few feet away.

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    These are the cones which fall off the trees. They measure about 4 inches in length.

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  5. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Well that's just beautiful. It looks like it does well in shade...yes/no?

    Edit: Checking further on your link Margot, Val actually guessed that this was Lily of the Valley, and I see that it is listed as False Lily of the Valley, so she had the right idea.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2021
  6. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Over at the Provincial Park, there were a number of interesting looking plants and trees, so I will definitely be making another trek over there in the near future. One item that is fairly prolific there is the wild rose which grows in this area. Not a great photo here, but I took it before the sun was up high early this morning, it's on the lower portion of our lot.

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    I can definitely get much closer photos over at the park.
     
  7. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    These small trees have grown from seed which would have been on the ground about 5 years ago when I cleared the lower lot. No idea what they are, but they definitely look healthy.

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  8. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    The common name 'False lily-of-the-valley' is more often given to Maianthemum dilitatum which is closer in size but I see it can also be called 'Two-leaved false Solomon's seal'. To me it highlights the limitations of common names for plants - so imprecise!

    Another thing that irritates me is use of the adjective 'false' in the name of a native plant as if the native one is somehow inferior to the 'real' Solomon's seal or the 'real' Lily-of-the-valley' or whatever. I just counted about 25 BC native plants that begin with the word 'false'.
     
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  9. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    A few points:

    1) I've moved this out of PNW Native Plants, which is strictly for native plants. As soon as a non-native gets posted, I would be moving the thread out of that area anyway.
    2) If you're looking for identifications, then the etiquette is one thread per identification required -- this way the conversation doesn't drift all over the place and it helps others find what they are looking for. The conifers can be posted to the Gymnosperms forum with the prefix "Identification" in the thread title. If you are reasonably certain something is native, you can post it to Pac NW Native Plants, again using the prefix "Identification" in the thread title. If it turns out to be not native, I'll just move it into the generic Plants ID forum (which of course is available for anything outdoors).
    3) If you are looking to document the plants of an area, as much as I like having the traffic on the forums, the best tool for the job is iNaturalist. That is pretty much precisely what it is for -- and the data you gather with your photos (whether a plant is present in a known location) filters upward into scientific occurrence datasets as opposed to here which is a bit of a data dead-end. You can even make a "project" in iNaturalist that covers the exact area you intend to document, and invite others to contribute -- plus add write-ups of what you see along the way. Here's one example: Prescott Farm Biodiversity Project · iNaturalist and its accompanying blog / journal: Prescott Farm Biodiversity Project's Journal · iNaturalist

    Lastly: the first photo isn't a (non-native) rosemary, as it doesn't have opposite leaves. More likely a willow. The first conifer is a pine, I suspect not native to the area. The second conifer is a spruce, again, I'd have to dig into it, but I don't think it's native.
     
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  10. pierrot

    pierrot Active Member 10 Years

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    Keith

    this web page may be of use to you. you can download a free app for iOS or Android that does not use your data when out walking

    Trees Pacific Northwest
    Happy Wednesday
     
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  11. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    All right, well, I shall do my best to keep in line with your protocols Daniel.

    When I rubbed the leaves of what I thought was Rosemary, it smelled just like Rosemary. Do willow leaves produce the same, or very similar fragrance, when they are rubbed? Next time I will take a piece off and get very close-up photos of it.

    I checked with Val as to the possible origin of the two Spruce trees, and she said that her mother had three of these trees here at one time, but one died. Her parents had owned this property since 1978. Val thought these were a variety of Blue Spruce, which appears to confirm your identity as a Spruce.

    As to the Pine, I did notice yesterday on our drive to St. Ives quite a number of Pine trees, probably several thousand, appearing to grow wild on the lower parts of the mountains here. I shall be more diligent in future and try to get better photos.
     
  12. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    I think wait for flowers on that willow-like plant. May actually end up being something in the daisy family if it has a kitchen-y odour.
     
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  13. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    I have to make mention of the small pine tree again this morning and here's why. A couple of days ago the Fir stump was taken out with the excavator. The roots from the Fir were very much intertwined with the small Pine roots. We were most unsure as to whether or not the Pine would survive, given the disturbance. But when Jeff was taking the big stump out, he made every effort to try and leave as much of the ground untouched right by the small Pine tree as he possibly could. He immediately backfilled the substantial hole (sorry, no photos of that operation) and we added a few gallons of water.

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    We were considering cutting the root up and burning it here, but the forest fire rating has already reached "high" (despite the rain) so the better solution was to get it to the dump.

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    The Pine after its' recent ordeal! Along with a photo of the damage to the bottom of the tree from some time in the past. If you have any suggestions as to what we might do to help the tree.....

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  14. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Firstly, my apologies for not passing along my thanks earlier for this link @pierrot. I will have to get the missus to help put that on my phone. Believe it or else, I have a total of zero apps thus far. I am terrible on the phone. But, it certainly looks as though the app will be most useful for my future endeavours. So thank you again!
     
  15. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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  16. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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    Wait! - a stump garden for hosta or fern ... one time I asked @Acerholic if they had ever visited the Stump Garden at Highgrove UK
     
  17. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    This is quite a coincidence as I was advising a friend earlier today to consider making a stump garden with 2 enormous stumps that have just been dug up in her garden. I linked the Highgrove Stump Garden to inspire her. Realistically, it would be even more difficult for @Keith Elliott to create such a garden than it would for my friend here in Nanoose Bay for the reason that there simply isn't enough moisture to satisfy the sort of woodland plants such as ferns and hostas that you would enjoy growing in that type of environment.

    What to do with stumps? You have to wonder where the word 'stumped' originated?

    https://www.highgrovegardens.com/pages/thestumpery#:~:text=The%20Stumpery%20is%20a%20tranquil,and%20features%20remarkable%20natural%20structures
    or just search “Prince Charles stumpery garden”.
     
  18. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    When you posed the question, what was his answer?
     
  19. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Wow! That's quite the place, isn't it?

    I have a question about the stumps, as to whether or not they need to be left in the ground to provide nourishment for anything that might choose to grow out of them. I would think that once they have been unearthed the source of their well being would be eliminated.

    I am trying to remember if I had such a stump with another tree growing out of it while I was on Ruxton. It seems to me that I did, and I remember several others, doubtless of great age, scattered around Ruxton with a variety of different trees growing. I shall conduct a search of my now meagre archives to see if I come up with anything.
     
  20. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    I am sure that, in the long term, stumps are best left in the ground and, unless there's a reason to get rid of them, why not? They do add to the organic makeup of the soil over time so leaving them can only be a net benefit to the environment.

    We have many stumps on this one-acre property of trees that were cut down when the house was built about 50 years ago and only now are they really starting to disintegrate - arbutus, mainly but also some Douglas fir trees. By and large, they're on the fringes of the garden and, I think, quite beautifully structural. I'll miss them when they finally collapse.

    So, in answer to your question - stumps do not NEED to be left in the ground unless their presence interferes with your efforts to create a garden; otherwise, leave them be.
     
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  21. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    No luck finding a photo of the tree that is (was) growing out of an old fir stump on Ruxton. I did find a photo of the tree in question, but it doesn't show the stump.

    There are a number of very large stumps around Ruxton, most likely from a logging operation that we think was conducted more than 100 years ago, but no photos unfortunately.

    As for the Anglemont area, we have noticed many dump truck loads of earth and huge tree stumps driving past our place over the last 6 weeks or so. Apparently, there is an area being cleared further up the mountain for new houses. I haven't driven up there to see what's going on yet, but I do know that if you want some fill, the drivers will unload you a truck load for $50.00. That's much less expensive than buying pit run from the local supplier.
     
  22. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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    I think our correspondant Acer was aware of it AND the tv interview / garden tour with Prince Ch hosted by a person named Alan Titchmarsh - it’s on YouTube - worth watching on a rainy day (as it is at coast today)

    The head gardener interviewed at Highgrove is from Canada

    Then again, Keith you already have SEVERAL head gardeners incl deer and gophers - and your eager youthful human neighbor - lucky you :)
     
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  23. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    I stopped at the community hall in Celista this morning while returning from scotch Creek. This old stump has a rather dead looking stick growing out of the top. There's no sign of life to it. Difficult to see in the photo, the stick is about 6' tall and no sign of greenery anywhere.

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  24. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    I got through 3/4 of the video before I was rudely interrupted by our guests arriving for lunch...just kidding. Definitely going to watch it again but with the sound turned louder. Such an interesting place with a magnificent variety of plant life.

    The deer we seem to be rid of, for now, although I did see two younger ones yesterday evening on that steep bank where the water lines go down. The gopher doesn't appear to have caused any more damage and maybe he has a new address.

    As for the head gardener designation, that strictly belongs to Val. I am just the go-fer as it were.

    A few more photos from the Celista hall lot. First photo is of a smallish pine tree, less than 7' tall. Last three are the same pine tree, I will say about 28-30' tall.

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  25. Keith Elliott

    Keith Elliott Contributor

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    Same parking lot, these tiny white flowers were growing wild, the only two that I could see there.

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