This Giant Gardenslug (Limax maximus) was moving so quickly it was a challenge to get a decent photograph. Slugs are notoriously hard to photograph – the challenge is to have enough depth of field (area of the image in focus) that both the near eye spot and the body are sharp and crisp. Since slugs are often prefer to avoid …
Introduced Species
Roadside Coffee
I’m enjoying cycling to work since my 45 minute commute takes me through rolling countryside and past farmland. I’ve got time to enjoy the scenery and dodge the slugs that seem to gather on the damp roads in the early morning. I’ve also noticed that the edges of the roads are awash in the blue of Chicory (Cichorium intybus), a …
Learning about Ligules
I’m out on the west coast of Vancouver Island this weekend finding out more about Parks Canada’s dune restoration program in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. European Beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) creates a wall at the edge of the dunes that prevents sand movement. Sand dunes up and down the west coast of North America are being choked with introduced grasses, …
In a Bind
Every so often, I realize that a plant that I think I’ve identified correctly is actually not what I originally thought it was. Learning to identify plants can be fairly challenging, especially given the fact that many look very similar to each other. Field guides can be limited in scope and images on the internet are often mislabeled. Part of …
Radish Riddle
On one of my many trips out to Florencia Bay to look for the Pink Sand-verbena that had been reported a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon another unusual looking plant that initially had me stumped. It was a single plant, somewhat scraggly looking with white flowers and pinnately lobed leaves that were quite bristly. This lone straggly looking …
A Prickly Subject
I was initially stumped by the aster I found growing in the Courtenay Airpark. I photographed the plant and was particularly struck by the distinctive row of spines down the midrib of the leaf. With a leaf like that I assumed that the field guides would definitely use it as a field mark and it would be easy to identify. …
Back in the Bog
The snake-like hood of Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia californica) is a bright green that stands out along the Shorepine Bog Trail in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. I love walking the Shorepine Bog out at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. There’s always something interesting in bloom and the bizarre twisted Shore Pines (Pinus contorta var. contorta) give the whole boardwalk a …
Vexed by Vetches
The Pea Family (Fabaceae) can be a little vexing at times – with this group the small details are often what separates one species from another fairly similar looking species. Fortunately the two vetches that I’ve found so far at the Courtenay Airpark are fairly distinctive and easy to identify. Some features differentiate vetches from most of the other members …
Small Pink Flowers
The flowers of Herb-robert (Geranium robertianum) range in colour from pink to reddish-purple. I have to admit that lately I’ve been spending a great deal of time looking at small weedy flowers. My walks out to the Courtenay Airpark have proven it to be an excellent place to find all sorts of exotic plants from Eurasia. This week I’ve focused …
Glorious Grovesnails
A solitary Grovesnail (Cepaea nemoralis) makes its way along a fence rail. On my regular afternoon walk to the Courtenay Airpark I noticed a rout of close to two dozen snails on the rail of a cement fence near the Old House Restaurant. The snails were Grovesnails (Cepaea nemoralis), a common garden snail introduced to North America from Europe. The …