Taken at Grant Narrows/Katie marsh during a 6-7 km walk on August 14th. A momentary digression from the topic but for those in the lower mainland area who have never been to Pitt Lake - and I am one although born and bred 66 years ago in Vancouver this is a very worthwhile perimeter walk. We saw 4 osprey, bald headed eagle, heron and several beaver/muskrat lodges. Lots of bear scat and about 5 minutes after saying to my foreign born wife "there's lots of bears out here in Pitt Meadows" we suddenly saw a young, I'd say 18 month black bear jump in the perimeter water, strongly swim to a clump of grass, then disappear. We were a little nervous about continuing on as the broader dyke trail narrows as it enters into cottonwoods, willows and blackberry bushes but made lots of noise. Blackberries are particularly delicious this year. As to the wildflowers ... can someone help with the names? I think the first is purple loosestrife
The first two are Lythrum salicaria and Lotus pedunculatus - both weeds in this region, rather than native wildflowers.
The last is also a non-native: Euphrasia nemorosa Burke Herbarium Image Collection And at this time of year, black bears should be more concerned about gathering the plentiful berries than humans--although I suppose there is still a chance of running into a mother with cubs nearby.
Daniel my British Columbia wildflower app says Euphrasia nemorosa (common eyebright) is "native" although it may mean native to North America with a slow drift westwards over the years. I agree about black bears in August although they can be unpredictable when surprised.
Interesting. There is much disagreement about where it is native and where it isn't. USDA has it native to this region (and eastern North America). Plants of the World Online only has it native to the Northwest Territories in North America and introduced elsewhere (but absent in BC): Euphrasia nemorosa (Pers.) Wallr. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science . Other sources only list it as native to eastern North America. I suspect we may have to wait for the Flora of North America treatment to sort it out -- that should be published soon.
Thanks Daniel ... we appreciate your generous input to this site; an ongoing learning experience for Ottilia and I.
If BC's situation is anything like UK, I'd think best treated as just Euphrasia sp. - UK has about 80+ Euphrasia microspecies and hybrids, and distinguishing them isn't at all easy!
