Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: native to Alberta

This is one of our small, wild Orchids, Striped Coralroot. It is a native plant and grows in open woods. Grows 15-40 cm tall, June-July. Always a good feeling when we come across a few clumps of this attractive plant. "Corallorhiza striata is a species of orchid known by the common names striped coralroot and hooded coralroot. This flowering plant is native to much of North America, especially Canada and the northern and western United States. It is a member of the coniferous understory flora, where it lives in the layer of decaying plant matter on the ground obtaining nutrients from fungi via mycoheterotrophy. Like other coralroots, it has reduced leaves and no chlorophyll and relies upon its parasitism of the fungi for sustenance. This coralroot has an erect stem which may be red, pink, purple, or yellow-green to almost white. It is mostly made up of an inflorescence of orchid flowers. Each flower is an open array of sepals and similar-looking petals which may be pink or yellowish and have darker pink or maroon stripes. Inside the flower is a column formed from the fusion of male and female parts, which may be spotted with purple or red. The fruit is a capsule one or two centimeters long." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corallorhiza_striata Yesterday morning, 15 June 2017, I decided to join friends for a botany walk in North Weaselhead. We saw a good variety of species, including a few quite special ones, such as Striped Coralroot and Indian Breadroot. Thanks for a great walk, Barry! We also saw a tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird. After going for coffee with a couple of the botany people (thanks so much, Peter!), I went home for lunch and then decided to drive SW of the city, in the hope of maybe seeing a Great Gray Owl and/or a Bobolink. No luck with an owl, but, with a lot of patience, I did finally see a Bobolink. I only had very distant views, so managed to get only photos to post for my records. I did better a year ago, but it is early still. It was so nice to bump into Bonnie and her neighbour, Russel(l), on my drive. They mentioned a road that I had never been on before and I decided to give it a try. Such a beautiful road, though I had no idea where I was the whole time. When I got home and checked on Google, I was surprised to see just where I had driven.

This is one of our small, wild Orchids, Striped Coralroot. It is a native plant and grows in open woods. Grows 15-40 cm tall, June-July. Always a good feeling when we come across a few clumps of this attractive plant. Yesterday afternoon, 31 May 2016, I went for a botany walk with a group of friends. I have missed almost all the outings this spring, so thought I had better go. We walked in North Weaselhead, where we saw these beautiful orchids, hidden in their usual little spot. "Corallorhiza striata is a species of orchid known by the common names striped coralroot and hooded coralroot. This flowering plant is native to much of North America, especially Canada and the northern and western United States. It is a member of the coniferous understory flora, where it lives in the layer of decaying plant matter on the ground obtaining nutrients from fungi via mycoheterotrophy. Like other coralroots, it has reduced leaves and no chlorophyll and relies upon its parasitism of the fungi for sustenance. This coralroot has an erect stem which may be red, pink, purple, or yellow-green to almost white. It is mostly made up of an inflorescence of orchid flowers. Each flower is an open array of sepals and similar-looking petals which may be pink or yellowish and have darker pink or maroon stripes. Inside the flower is a column formed from the fusion of male and female parts, which may be spotted with purple or red. The fruit is a capsule one or two centimeters long." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corallorhiza_striata

A photo from my archives, that I am finally posting. I spent 31 May 2013, with a small group of friends, doing the May Species Count for the Whaleback. This location is about 170 km south of Calgary, down towards Pincher Creek. The South Whaleback is near Maycroft, just N of Oldman River, about 5 kms W from #22. I'm adding photos taken on that trip to a Set of photos that, up till recently, contained images taken on the Small Whaleback on 10 July 2011. On 31 May 2013, we covered the southern end of the Whaleback. Actually, I'm not sure exactly which is the Whaleback and which is the South Whaleback - confusing. The whole area is made up of endless hills and the Rocky Mountains are in the distance, quite close in this very southern part of Alberta. It rained or drizzled all day, so I had to battle water spots on the camera lens as well as low light and wind. The yellow Balsamroot, which we don't get further north, closer to Calgary, was just beautiful. It was a good day, great company, a few interesting finds and glorious scenery to thoroughly enjoy. "More commonly known as the Whaleback, the Bob Creek Wildland and its sister area the Black Creek Heritage Rangeland protects Whaleback Ridge and one of Alberta’s most important elk winter ranges. A montane environment of Douglas Fir and rough fescue grasses, this area in southwest Alberta has sweeping vistas of the Livingstone Range hanging over the western boundary and the Castle Mountains to the south." www.crownofthecontinent.net/content/the-whaleback/cotCA82...

Yesterday afternoon, 4 May 2016, I had a volunteer shift and then thought I might call in at the Reader Rock Garden. Changed my mind when I discovered that new road construction was taking place at the very first corner I was going to take, so I couldn't turn right. Instead, I called in at Fish Creek Park to check on the family of Great Horned Owls. Only saw one of the two owlets and there was no activity at all while I was there - a friend did see both after I left. Isn't that always the way, lol? I so rarely get photos of Wood Ducks, as when I do see one, it is almost always way off in the distance. Yesterday, however, I was lucky enough to see a pair of them, as well as a pair of American Wigeon, all close enough to photograph. Photographed these nearby bright Golden Bean flowers, also called Buffalo Bean. This is one of our earliest spring flowers and they are everywhere at the moment, splashing the landscape with vibrant colour. "It is also called the Buffalo Bean. It was named the Buffalo Bean by Blackfoot because this flower bloomed as the buffalo moved to their summer grazing grounds." From the Cross Conservation Area. "A member of the pea family, it grows in grassland, hillsides, and patchy woodland areas to a height of about 30 cm, and produces bright yellow golden flowers about a centimetre long. The flowers were commonly used by the natives as a source of yellow dye and were boiled in a tea as a cure for stomach ailments for people and horses. The plant has toxic properties if ingested; symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, dizziness, and abdominal pain." From Wikipedia.

This is the second photo posted this morning that the description "vanished" as soon as I had finished it. This is another photo from my archives, taken on 27 June 2011, at Bow Valley Provincial Park, W of Calgary, at the foot of the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. I always think the tiny, individual flowers of this wild Orchid are so pretty, especially when seen in macro size. "Corallorhiza striata is a species of orchid known by the common names striped coralroot and hooded coralroot. This flowering plant is widespread across much of Canada and Mexico, as well as the northern and western United States. It lives in the layer of decaying plant matter on the ground in forested regions, obtaining nutrients from fungi via mycoheterotrophy. Like other coralroot orchids, it has reduced leaves and no chlorophyll and relies upon its parasitism of the fungi for sustenance. This coralroot has an erect stem which may be red, pink, purple, or yellow-green to almost white. It is mostly made up of an inflorescence of orchid flowers. Each flower is an open array of sepals and similar-looking petals which may be pink or yellowish and have darker pink or maroon stripes. Inside the flower is a column formed from the fusion of male and female parts, which may be spotted with purple or red." From Wikipedia.

They always say that Ladybugs bring you luck - so this one is for good friend, Doug (dougwaylett on Flickr), whom I have known the last few years through botany (wildflowers, also fungi) and, several years ago, birding. He collapsed yesterday and was in the Trauma Unit. Later, he was moved to Intensive Care. I have not yet heard any further update today (it's 10:30 a.m.). Hoping you had a restful, uneventful night, Doug - everyone's thoughts are with you, and with Flo (Doug's wife). Found this tiny Two-spotted Ladybug (Adalia bipunctata) in my house the other day and photographed it on the fluffy centre of a large Protea flower that has been in my kitchen for two or three weeks, waiting to be photographed. Now it has lost all its colour and has dried out, but at least gave me a different kind of image here : ) The Two-spotted Ladybug is smaller than the more common Seven-spotted Ladybug and is one of our native Ladybugs. "Adalia bipunctata, commonly known as the two-spot ladybird, two-spotted ladybug or two-spotted lady beetle, is a carnivorous beetle of the family Coccinellidae that is found throughout the holarctic region. It is very common in western and central Europe and North America. It is used as a biological control agent ..... The most familiar form of the two-spot ladybird beetle is the red one with the two black spots. However, there also exists a black form with red spots on it. In addition, there are intermediate forms, but they occur only rarely in nature." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalia_bipunctata UPDATE ON DOUG: it is with tremendous sadness that I have to let people know that Doug passed away. Apparently, he had just given a talk on Slime Molds in the herbarium at the U of C yesterday and was looking at some lichens, when he had a massive heart attack. Flo, I am so, so sorry.

These little Red Squirrels tend to be deep within the Spruce trees, but occasionally you get one that decides to sit out on a branch in the open. We came across this one during a three-hour walk in Weaselhead yesterday morning. Unlike the Eastern Grey Squirrels, the Red Squirrel is native to Alberta.

A macro shot of an individual flower in a cluster of Golden Bean flowers, growing at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park. This is one of our earliest spring flowers and they are everywhere at the moment, splashing the landscape with vibrant colour. "It is also called the Buffalo Bean. It was named the Buffalo Bean by Blackfoot because this flower bloomed as the buffalo moved to their summer grazing grounds." From the Cross Conservation Area. "A member of the pea family, it grows in grassland, hillsides, and patchy woodland areas to a height of about 30 cm, and produces bright yellow golden flowers about a centimetre long. The flowers were commonly used by the natives as a source of yellow dye and were boiled in a tea as a cure for stomach ailments for people and horses. The plant has toxic properties if ingested; symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, dizziness, and abdominal pain." From Wikipedia.

Shrubby Cinquefoil is a very common plant here. I always think it has quite a pretty flower centre. Actual flower is much smaller than seen here, of course : ) Seen at Jim Coutts' homestead, just north east of Nanton, south of Calgary. talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/?s=1152

This is a supermacro image of these tiny, red seedpods belonging to the Sticky False Asphodel wildflower. When they have turned bright red, they make a pretty splash of colour on a nature walk - if you happen to notice them, as they are very small (reddish-yellow, oval capsules, 5-6mm long). These seedpods were found while on a day of botanizing Elkton Bog, near Cremona, north west of Calgary on 30th July. www.mountainnature.com/plants/PlantsLatinNameResult.asp?I...

Another of our wild Orchids, the rare Striped Coralroot. This small Orchid (macro image) with very tiny flowers was seen with quite a few others on our walk yesterday, at the new Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. We were extremely lucky to be allowed this chance, as the Park will not be open to the public for another 1-3 years. "Corallorhiza striata is a species of orchid known by the common names striped coralroot and hooded coralroot. This flowering plant is native to much of North America, especially Canada and the northern and western United States. It is a member of the coniferous understory flora, where it lives in the layer of decaying plant matter on the ground obtaining nutrients from fungi via mycoheterotrophy. Like other coralroots, it has reduced leaves and no chlorophyll and relies upon its parasitism of the fungi for sustenance. This coralroot has an erect stem which may be red, pink, purple, or yellow-green to almost white. It is mostly made up of an inflorescence of orchid flowers. Each flower is an open array of sepals and similar-looking petals which may be pink or yellowish and have darker pink or maroon stripes. Inside the flower is a column formed from the fusion of male and female parts, which may be spotted with purple or red. The fruit is a capsule one or two centimeters long." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corallorhiza_striata