Where can I find a venus slipper now?

I have recently arrived from other shores and am spending the summer learning and searching for your wildflowers. But i am a bc novice and I need some help!

Firstly, i'd like to say Daniel what a fantastic site. I absolutely love Plant of the Day. I think it is one of the most useful, pleasantly interactive sites i have ever used. i think you should enter it for some awards.

Can anyone give me specific suggestions for trips:
Time of year, location and what species will have a good showing.
At the moment i am particularly interested in spotting venus slipper, butter and eggs, elephant heads and steers head.

I am traveling out to penticton this weekend. Will i see anything?

Would love to hear other forum members favourite bc wildflower locations too if they are willing to share them.

Ry

 

Hi there Ry,

You should drop by the office sometime and we can discuss wildflowers and locations.

For me, this time of year would be focused on either traveling south to the US or west to Vanc. Island and the Gulf Islands. The BC southern Interior -- typically -- will be a few weeks behind similar plants on the islands. As an example, we saw venus slipper (Calypso bulbosa) on Galiano on Saturday, but I wouldn't expect to see it in the Interior until at least mid-May (that photograph was taken a few miles north of Hwy 3). For myself, I hope to be in the interior around the 3rd weekend of May to photograph wildflowers (and pick up some wine).

How to figure out where to go and when:

Option A) Join the Native Plant Society of BC or Nature Vancouver and look for when and where field trips are scheduled (and talk to members)

Option B) Look at locations / times of previous Botany BC meetings

Option C) (if traveling south) Pick up Best Wildflower Hikes Washington

Option D) (if traveling south) Follow the field trips outlined in the Washington Native Plant Society, the Native Plant Society of Oregon and the Friends of the Columbia Gorge

Option E) (something I do) Browse around on Flickr for photographs tagged wildflowers with locations -- if people upload them on the day of taking the pic, you get a real "on the ground" sense of what's in bloom. I do this to track "big events" like tulips blooming in Skagit Valley, flowers blooming in Columbia Gorge, what's in bloom in spring in California

So, to answer your questions:

venus slipper : blooming right now on Galiano Island in Bluffs Park, likely blooming near Ladysmith on Vanc. Island

butter and eggs : assuming you mean Linaria vulgaris, this is a plant I associate with late spring and summer in the Interior

elephant heads : (Pedicularis) in BC, this will be a mid-July and onwards plant at higher elevations

steer's head : (Dicentra uniflora) Never seen it, only occurs in BC in the central and SE interior. Possibly more accessible from Vancouver via the Columbia Gorge and should be blooming there starting now or the next few weeks (this one is high on my list to photograph).

 

Thanks so much daniel, that is a great help. I would love to pop in a see you sometime. I come to the UBC gardens frequently as obsessed with botanical photography too. I am assuming your office is around there somewhere?

I will take up all your references and try to change my weekend trip from penticton to galliano!

 

Yes, my office is in the research / admin building (Campbell). Do let me know when you'd expect to be by, as I infrequently have meetings.

If you are considering a place to go, it strikes me that this might be the perfect weekend for the Honeymoon Bay Wildflower Reserve aka The Sutton Creek Wild Flower Reserve (on that page) or here. Largest dense concentration of Erythronium revolutum known in BC. I've been twice, once last year around April 7 (and was too early) and once in the last weekend of April of 2005 (and I was too late, but that was the year that everything was a couple weeks early).

Myself, I'm committed to the Tulip Festival tomorrow with a group of friends.

Galiano was a good hike last weekend, about 30 species in bloom. The highlight was probably the Erythronium oregonum. The few venus slippers we saw were found by following the trail to the right of the main parking lot in Bluffs Park for hmmm... 30m or so, then heading right into the forest maybe 5-10m (I think there are some small footpaths).

 

thanks again. I want to do it all!!

enjoy the tulips

 

You're supposed to say you are frequently present for very important meetings that could not possibly be conducted without you.

Calypso was blooming at Deception Pass State Park last Saturday.

 

hairymallow,
Sometime during the summer there is a trip, or several to "Flower Island". This is in the San Juan Islands, San Juan County,USA, somewhere between Orcas and San Juan Ils. It is a fully protected preserve for native plants. It might be worth checking out if Native Plants are your speciality. I tried to Google Flower Island Tours and got the usual tourist garbage. Check thru your local Native Plant Soc. and see if they know anything about it. I will try to get more info for you as I am from the SJ Isl and now live in Anacortes. You say you are summering here, where are you based/from?
barb

 

Hi Barbara
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I will definitely look into this and any further info you have will be great. I do fancy visiting the San Juan Islands at some point.

I'm from the UK, London, here (in bc) for a year, maybe more if i can find a way to stay. I'm fairly new to the wildflower game. A few years ago i happened upon the wildflowers of namaqualand whilst traveling around South Africa. It was so spectacular that i took about a million photos and was hooked. Initially, i was just interested in seeing flowers en mass but now I can feel myself turning into a wildflower hunter at an alarming pace. I love to photograph all flowers really but especially wildflowers.

Thanks again

Ryanne

 

Daniel
Thanks again for the directions to the calypso bulbosa. They were perfect, i went last friday and found them straight away. Took a lot of shots (think i've attached a couple). I had to go to Penticton in the end the previous weeked, but that was good too. I saw quite a few things including the woodland star and shooting star (sorry don't know the proper names yet!) which i liked a lot. Every flower is new to me so really enjoyable. I've emailed to try to join the native plant walk on the 21st at UBC. Not a member of the Native Plant org but hopefully they will let me come anyway.

Anyway really just wanted to thank you again.

Ryanne