Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: July-August

Marsh Hedgenettle is a native plant, which grows in moist, open areas such as streambanks and ditches. This particular plant was growing by the Evergreen Stormwater Pond. In Asia, it is cultivated for its root and is often called "Chinese artichoke".

Yesterday afternoon, I drove westwards, a huge smile on my face as I headed towards the foothills and very eastern edge of the mountains. My first stop was at Maclean Pond, hoping to find various mushrooms. I did find a couple of tiny ones (same species), but I did better at finding and photographing a few wildflowers and this beautiful Police Car Moth. "This is a fairly large moth with a wingspan of up to 50 mm. The wings are jet black with large white patches between the black scaled veins. As well, there are two orange patches of hairs on either side of the thorax, right behind the head. It is this colour combination, that of an old style police car, that gives it its name. Larvae are hairy and black with yellow and blue markings. The Police Car Moth is found throughout the province in or near forested areas. Adults fly throughout July and early August." From www.royalalbertamuseum.ca .

This is a greatly enlarged photo of this Marsh Cinquefoil flower. The actual reddish purple flowers are 15-35 mm across. My plant book says that there are 5 purple sepals and 5 reddish petals, but my flower puzzles me as to just what is what : ) This native wildflower grows in marshes, bogs and shorelines, July-August. This one was seen in a bog by the lake at Bentz Lake Natural Area, north of Calgary and west of Sundre.

This member of the Mustard family, Dame's-rocket, was introduced from Europe as a garden flower. Now it has spread to roadsides and open forests. When we spent a morning walking at Strathcona Ravines Park (within the city) a few days ago, we came across a number of areas of this invasive, but very pretty, flower growing on the hillsides. I always love to see the colour, especially against the green foliage.

Yes, I survived the full-day hike yesterday, though my body isn't moving quite like it should today, LOL. The scenery was spectacular and the wildflowers just wonderful. Two of us were taken to this trail by a friend who had been there a handful of times before. Both guys have had a lifetime of walking and hiking - and then there was me, LOL. However, we were stopping constantly to search for plants, record them and photograph them, so it was not a brisk-walking hike, thank goodness, otherwise I wouldn't have gone. Lost count of the number of times I glanced at the mountain sides to check that there were no Grizzly Bears in sight, though one had been along our trail at one point, turning over large rocks to see what was underneath. Thanks, David, for sharing this special place with us, and thanks for your patience with a slower walker : ) I SURVIVED!! Thanks, too, for finding the only Parry's Townsendia for us - I was thrilled to bits with this, as I had never seen one before. The flower in my photo is way past its best, but I still love it. The setting was perfect, too, surrounded by rocks and Lichens and other wildflowers. We were astounded by the number of Long-bracted Orchids there were everywhere, including at the top of this mountain ridge. Parry's Townsendia is a native wildflower that grows July-August on dry hillsides and grassy slopes. The flower head is 5-7 cms across. The achene (fruit) is a pappus of long, soft bristles, more attractive (in my opinion) than the actual flower (which looks rather like a Fleabane).