Weeds and Wildflowers

WEEDS AND WILDFLOWERS
May 17 & May 19

During the very successful Birding Festival this week in Prince Edward County, I found myself identifying not only birds, but wildflowers, bushes and trees for curious visitors, many of whom had come from afar. Most I have been able to attach a name to, but others are mysteries, even after consulting the field guides. Even in a remote wooded area some distance west of Prince Edward Point where few people visit we found flowers. One which we found in clumps was spring snowflake. We initially discovered it some years ago, and always make it a point every spring to wander over to this wooded wetland and renew our acquaintance with this very special plant.
Many years ago I had the pleasure of assisting two young lads in an ecological study of the county. One of them was obsessed with botany and often we would spend hours on our hands and knees combing neglected pastures. He was a quiet fellow, never said too much, except when he discovered a new plant. He would hold it up close to his face, rotate it a few times, carefully examine it, spout off a series of bewildering Latin names, and stuff it into a plastic bag which always dangled from his waist. Then he’d remain quiet until the next interesting plant showed up. I can’t remember if he ever spoke any language other than Latin. He had eyes like an eagle. He could spot a microscopic plant from the car while travelling at highway speed, when I couldn’t see it even after I had backed up and the plant was pointed out to me.
But despite his idiosyncrasies, I learned a great deal from him that summer, knowledge that I have managed to retain even to this day as I lead guided hikes around the Quinte area. The first thing he taught me was that one does not have to go deep into woodlands to find wildflowers; there is much to see in the fields, and especially in roadside ditches.
Weeds, perhaps, but a plant, he always reminded me, is however one chooses to label it. He said that a weed was nothing more than a plant for which no one had yet found a use.
Since much of our plant watching that summer was done from the back seat of a speeding car, I soon learned that roadside ditches were excellent places for the beginner. The variety is tremendous, many of the plants growing there having been displaced through roadside construction. I have always been impressed with yarrow which one often finds struggling along on the bare rock in shallow ditches, totally covered in filth and grime, but always managing to thrust forth a cluster head of miniature white flowers. Other ditches contain beds of dame’s rocket, actually a member of the mustard family, but exceptionally showy with its colourful purple, pink and white blossoms. They are just starting to bloom now.
Even if your roadside ditch refuses to boast any appreciable colour, you can content yourself with the so-called “green flowers” – curled dock, ragweed, shepherd’s purse, wild parsley, pennycress, stinging nettle, or lamb’s quarters.
Then there are the dandelions. They are pretty much through now, probably the best year ever for them. Most are not native to this area, although one, the dwarf dandelion is a native. We found one early this month at the Quinte Conservation Area , near Belleville, distinguishable from its neighbours by the hawkweed like blossom, and at least from my own observations – almost indistinguishable calyx lobes.
There is a lot to learn about plants in our area, and hundreds of species to explore. Fortunately there are some very good field guides available. I started out with the Peterson’s Field Guide to Wildflowers, and still use it. However, others are available too including the popular golden guide series, and others. Most seasoned botanists today rely on the more scientific Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide which contains an ingenious key system for quick identification, unlike some of the others which are based on flower colour, number of petals, etc. It is available in any book store that carries nature guides.