I'm pretty sure that the hillside where I live would once have been considered a Garry Oak meadow. In the 50 years since houses started being built here and non-native grasses and other plants moved in, the tiny native annuals in particular are seldom seen. As I find them, I try to eliminate the competition and give them more room to thrive. Some, like Miner's Lettuce and Sea Blush, do too well for my liking but I find room for all. Not all these plants are annuals but they all have struggled to survive in challenging conditions. Blue-eyed Mary & Monkey Flower Shooting Star Small-flowered Woodland Star & Whole-leaf Saxifrage Blue-eyed Mary Miner's Lettuce Brown-leaved Miner's Lettuce (These brown-leaved ones started showing up 2 or 3 years ago.) EDIT: I thought the botanical names would appear beside the photos listed. Collinsia parviflora and Erythranthe alsinoides Dodecatheon hendersonii Lithophragma parviflorum and Micranthes integrifolia Collinsia parviflora Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata Claytonia perfoliata with brown leaves
Oh, dear, this is a bit too cryptic for me. Could you please explain? I was hoping to hear from you, Ron, about the Claytonia perfoliata (if that is what it is). Have you ever heard of brown-leaved variants?
Thank you - mine certainly looks the same as the photo. I'd never heard of Claytonia rubra so really appreciate you pointing it out.
Margot this is a special post Garry oak meadow natural habitat are special to how we grew up in Oregon and Vanc Island a rare spot indeed I know we’ve had other threads along the years here and I think there are some Quercus garryana (spell) up around Mt Lehman (approx Chilliwack BC) and some up the Fraser River at approx Yale BC (Lady Franklin rock ?) Some suggest it is because Cowichan people came and traded with other coast Salish — I am no expert in First Nation history immemorial and respect the stories the people have about this topic.
How exciting! Would love to have GO ecosystem on my property. Keep up the valiant efforts in protecting this precious, valuable, culturally and ecologically significant ecosystem! The GOERT (Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team) is based on the Island and they may be able to help you, in the very least by providing some references an info. Their email is info@goert.ca
