Rare flower grows on Gabriola
The Nanaimo Daily News mentions mentions a rare flower that grows on Gabriola:
The bog birds-foot trefoil grows in just three locations on Vancouver Island with the largest number found on the Harewood plains. The plant is an endangered species in Canada and is red-listed in British Columbia, though it grows plentifully in areas like California.
The plant, with its cream pea-like flowering, grows in shallow soil and reaches about 15 to 60 centimetres in length. There are only five known sites in Canada where the plant grows, three of which are in Nanaimo with another on Gabriola Island and another near Ladysmith.
It’s a pretty little thing – here are some photos of this flower on Flickr.
For detailed information about this plant, see this .pdf document from the Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team: Lotus pinnatus. It says, in part:
Bog birds-foot trefoil grows in open, seasonally wet meadows, along the margins of creeks, or in seepages where underground water comes to the surface. The species appears to require contact with cool, seeping water during the growing and blooming period. It grows in sites with shallow (< 15 cm) soils, over gently sloping sandstone or conglomerate bedrock.
Ok, then! I’ll be watching for this one.
- photos of Lotus pinnatus – calphotos.berkely.edu
Filed in Gabriola Island,native plants One Response so far
One Response to “Rare flower grows on Gabriola”
specialk on 10 Mar 2010 at 2:52 pm #
Looks like Nanaimo may soon have bog birds-foot trefoil as a floral emblem.
March 10: “A flowering plant found almost exclusively in Nanaimo could soon become the city’s official floral emblem.” – Nanaimo News Bulletin
Link for full story:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/nanaimonewsbulletin/news/87262252.html