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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Trails at Cypress Hills

Early morning on the Woodland Trail.


Western Canada Violet  (Viola rugulosa Greene).  I see some Wild Raspberries (Rubus idaeus) in there too.  Like Wild Strawberries, these Wild Raspberries are tiny and sweet.  I ate a few....quite a few...


Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) and Goldenrod (Solidago spp)


Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)


Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) or Kinnikinik, as the Plains Cree call it.  Not many berries on these yet.


The Cypress Hills, being significantly higher elevation than the short grass prairie below, has cooler summer temperatures and receives more precipitation.  The region was also not covered by any of the glaciation periods.  It's a habitat akin to that found farther south in Montana and unique in Saskatchewan.

Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) completely fills the low spots in the forest.   House Wrens seem to like this stuff.  Every patch I walked by was busy with these cute little wrens foraging about for things to feed their chicks.


Yep, a very pretty place


Wildflower information from Wildflowers Across The Prairies, authors F.R. Vance, J.R. Jowsey, J.S. McLean





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