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Andy's Northern Ontario WildflowersAlvar Types and Flowering Plants- Manitoulin Island - |
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Habitat:Illustrated on this page are some Manitoulin alvar types that support a range of flowering plants that occur on the alvars and adjacent lands, on Manitoulin Island. Alvar areas are globally unusual because they occur only in localized areas of Canada, United States and Sweden. Alvars have the following characteristics that are challenging for many plants:
Alvars are formed, and are maintained, by local geological history, groundwater and related landscape processes. The plant community is generally dominated by mosses and herbaceous flowering plants, with some scattered small shrubs. Rain water quickly runs off the flat rock surface. However, ground water is close to the surface because the lake level occurs within a few meters of the pavement surface. Plants have to root in cracks in the rock or in the very shallow soil. The soil is also limey because the alvar forms on limestone or dolomite rock. Along the south shore of Manitoulin Island, lake ice during the winter scrapes along the shore, cleaning off exposed soil and plants. Therefore, there is commonly a zone devoid of plants within several meters of the shoreline. From a plant perspective, alvars support a distinctive community of plants because of the challenging growing conditions. The absence of tall shrubs and trees means that wildflowers in this habitat are exposed to full sun and wind. There are several alvar types:
Click
here for more habitat information:
Wild flower List:
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Wood lily, also known as Wild Orange Lily; perennial. Family: Lily Flower: Red to orange; base of petals is more orange-coloured and dotted with black spots; upward-opening; purplish-brown spots; 5 cm wide; 3 petals and 3 sepals; spaces between stalks at base of petals and sepals; 6 stamens; no scent; June - August. Stem: Erect; has whorled leaves. Leaves: Up to 10 cm long; lanceolate; in whorls of 3 to 8. Height: up to 90 cm. Habitat: Found in the wooded areas close to the transition zone between the forest and adjacent open area. Interest: The wood lily is the floral emblem of Saskatchewan. There are actually 3 petals and 3 sepals on the flower, even though it appears to have 6 petals.
Location:
Manitoulin Island, Providence Bay |
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Wood lily flower.
Location:
Manitoulin Island |
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Flower: Yellow; starlike; 5 petals on top of stalk; June-July. Leaves: Tiny flat fleshy leaves; succulent. Stem: Branched. Height: 2-5 cm. Other: Alien; found also on rocky beaches. It is possible that this plant escaped from cultivation. Interest: Cacti, including sedum, have an interesting way to conserve water during the very hot, dry, desert weather typical of their environment. These plants only open their stomates during the cool of the night. However, this means the plants do not get CO2 from the atmosphere that is needed by the plant to create sugars, by a photosynthesis reaction that takes place during the daytime. The adaptation goes like this: at night, the plants open their stomates and take in CO2; that CO2 is stored in various organic compounds; during the daytime, when the light-based photosynthesis takes place, but the stomates are closed, the plants take the CO2 from the organic compounds.
Location:
Manitoulin Island, Providence Bay |
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Mossy Stonecrop flower Language of Flowers: Stonecrop means "tranquility". Source
Location:
Manitoulin Island, Shequiandah Museum |
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Pringle's aster; perennial; also known as Frost Aster, Heath Aster, and Old Field Aster. Family: Asteraceae (Aster) Note: There are two varieties found in Ontario: a) The var. pilosus has robust shoots with pyramid-shaped flower structures; and b) var. pringlei consists of small plants that have smooth stems (see Semple et al. 1996 for discussion). Flower: White rays; 15-35 rays, 3-8 mm long and up to 1.2 mm wide; yellowish disc flower structures that become purple with age; few to many flowers; bracts are green-tipped; July - September. Leaves: Stem leaves are linear, very narrow or grass-like; alternate; has basal rosette of leaves (not illustrated). Stem: Slender, erect, branched towards the top where flowers occur. Height: Up to 50 cm. Habitat: Smaller plants occur on marshy areas of sandy soils and alvars. Distinctive: Grass-like leaves and small, aster flower.
Location:
Providence Bay area, Manitoulin Island |
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Pringle's Aster plant growing in a crack in limestone pavement (alvar).
Location:
Manitoulin Island, Murphy Point |
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Scarlet Paintbrush; perennial; also known as Painted Cup, Indian Paintbrush, Prairie Fire, Scarlet Paintedcup. Family: Figwort (Scrophulariaceae) Flower: Greenish-yellow, tubular, long 2-lobbed upper lip over 3-lobbed lower lip; 2.5 cm long; flowers are hidden in the axils of scarlet-tipped, fan-shaped bracts and arranged in a terminal spike; May - July. Leaves: Basal leaves 2-7 cm long, in rosettes, elliptic, untoothed; stem leaves are stalkless, divided into narrow segments. Stem: Erect; bears terminal coloured bracts and hidden flowers. Height: 30 - 60 cm. Habitat: Meadows, prairies, damp sandy soil. Interest: These plants are hemiparasitic - that is, they rely on the roots of grasses and forbs. The plants often have high concentrations of Selenium, a toxic metal,and are therefore potentially toxic if eaten in large quantities. This plant should be avoided as food if found growing in highly alkaline soils, which will increase the selenium concentration in the plants.
Location:
Manitoulin Island, Misery Bay Click here for a feature by the North American Native Plant Society. |
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Scarlet paintbrush and yellow paintbrush.
Location:
Manitoulin Island, Misery Bay west. |
Detail of flower head of Indian Paintbrush illustrating the orange-coloured bracts
Location:
Manitoulin Island |
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Large Yellow Lady's Slipper; Native; perennial herb; also known as American Valerian, Greater yellow lady's slipper, Large yellow lady's slipper, Moccasin Flower, Nerveroot, Noah's ark, Whippoorwills-shoe, Yellow ladies'-slipper, Yellow moccasin-flower, Yellow Indian Shoe. Family: Orchid (Orchidaceae) Flower: Single; large 4-6 cm; pale yellow, purple lined; large and showy; located on the top of the stem; has 3 sepals, 2 of which are united that are greenish or yellowish in colour and striped with purple or dull red lines, very long, narrow; has 2 petals, brown in colour, narrow, twisting; the third petal is an inflated pouch that is open at the top, about 4 cm long, white hairs within; late May - early June. Leaves: 3 to 5 oval or elliptic leaves; pointed; up to 15 cm in length; parallel-veined; sheathing the stem. Stem: Leafy; Height: Up to 60 cm in this area. Habitat: This is a common Lady's-slipper, found in many habitats, including boreal forest, bogs, open swamps and stream edges, and alvars. General Interest: Plants that grown on alvars or calcareous soil, like limestone areas, are commonly clump-forming. Large Yellow Lady's Slipper is distinguished from the Small Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin) by: a) by the size of the lower lip, which in Large Yellow Lady's Slipper (>30 cm) and b) the lateral petals in Large Yellow Lady's Slipper are lighter in colour, yellowish-green streaked with brown, and not the dark brown colour often found in Small Yellow Lady's Slipper.
Location:
Manitoulin Island |
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Ram's-head Lady's Slipper; Native perennial herb; also known as Ram's-head and Ram's-head Lady's-slipper. Family: Orchid (Orchidaceae) Flower: Solitary; petals and sepals are brownish-green; lower lip is whitish and is strongly veined with pink or red; about 2 cm wide; flower occurs on top of the leafy stalk; the pouch is conical in shape; a circular mouth to the lip is covered with white hairs. late May- early June. Leaves: 3 to 5 deep green-coloured leaves, elliptical in shape, strongly ribbed; arranged in a spiral around the stem. Stem: Height: Up to 35 cm. Habitat: Alvars, cold, coniferous swamps and bogs, and sandy, old dunes bordered by conifers. Interest: One of the smallest orchids. When the flower is viewed on the side, it resembles a ram's head. This plant is considered "Uncommon in Ontario". The scientific epithet "arietinum" is the Latin meaning "like a ram".
Location:
Manitoulin Island, near Ice Lake. Click here for more information on Ram's-head Lady's Slipper |
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Close-up of Ram's-head Lady's Slipper. |
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Purple rattlesnake-root; Native perennial herb; also known as Glaucous white-lettuce, glaucous rattlesnakeroot. Family: Asteraceae or Aster or Daisy Flower: Pink or white; up to 25 in the flower head; August - September. Leaves: Lowermost leaves are stalked. Stem leaves are clasping on the stem. Stem: Smooth and pale coloured. Height: Up to 2 m. Habitat: Purple rattlesnake-root occurs in damp prairies and meadows, along streambanks, and wet rocky areas.
Location:
Killarney, Lighthouse area |
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Purple rattlesnake-root plant.
Location:
Killarney, Lighthouse area |
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Wild Chives; Native perennial; also known as Purple onion, Prairie Onion, Wild Onion, Wild garlic, or Fall Glade Onion.. Family: Alliaceae Flower: Rose-pink, lilac; darker centre line; tubular-bell-shaped; flowers form a dense terminal cluster; up to about 30 in a round cluster; flowers consist of 6 petals that spread slightly at the tip to form the bell; late May - June. Leaves: Straw-like, round, hollow; about 2 mm in diameter. Stems: Stem rises from tiny bulbs to produce a typical onion-like stem topped by lavender flowers. Height: 20 - 50 cm. Habitat: Moist alvar and calcereous meadows, open alvar; often with wet ground in the spring. Interest: Circumpolar; smells like onion; the name Allium is the Latin for garlic.
Location:
Mississagi Lighthouse, Manitoulin Island |
For more
information email: ajfyon@vianet.on.ca
URL: http://www.ontariowildflower.com/manitoulin_limestone_beach.htm
© 1999-2009
Andy Fyon
Sudbury, Ontario
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Page Created By: |
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Date last modified: |
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Andy Fyon |
December 12, 2009 |
