Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Fabaceae

We have been under a heat warning recently, and yesterday's temperature got up to either 31C or 32C. It was just unbearable in my place and I needed to get out for a short drive and be in the air-conditioning of my car. We have also been having rain on some days, which was desperately needed. As I headed out west yesterday, I could see that I was heading towards a grey sky and, sure enough, the rain started. Not the best sort of day for photos, but I managed to get a few to keep me happy. All of the roads were my usual roads, though the views from them all had smoke haze. I'm not sure which wildfires this smoke is coming from - down in the US, or British Columbia, or from fires in our own province? I haven't noticed a smokey smell, though. Last summer, 2017, was dreadful for non-stop smoke and heat. I love Alfalfa flowers, as not only can a flower cluster be white, yellow, purple and so on, but some individual clusters can be a mix of different colours. “Alfalfa, a plant of the pea family grown primarily for forage, especially as hay. It is one of the most useful and widely grown hay crops in the world. Because of its high protein content, alfalfa is used as a food for almost all farm animals as hay, as silage, or as a temporary pasture crop. Because of its nitrogen-fixing properties, it is used in crop rotation to improve soil for other crops. When planted in combination with grasses, it helps prevent soil erosion. Alfalfa is also grown commercially for seed in arid or semiarid regions. Dehydrated alfalfa is ground into meal and used in feeding poultry and livestock. Indirectly, alfalfa is a source of honey, because bees gather substantial quantities of nectar from alfalfa flowers.” www.alfalfaseedab.com/ Along one of the gravel roads, I suddenly spotted two pairs of ears sticking up from a green field - a White-tailed doe and a youngster. The next photo was the sharpest of the three or four photos I grabbed before they took off at high speed. Unfortunately, it only shows the mother. A young Magpie was one of several in a family along one of the backroads. Love its fluffy feathers. It only rested on a fence post for a few seconds. Other than a few of the usual birds, such as Brewer's Blackbirds, Cedar Waxwings and Eastern Kingbirds, the only bird that was different was a Wilson's Snipe that was at the far water's edge of a large pond. Too far for even remotely decent photos, but it made a change to see a Snipe on the ground and not on a fence post.

Yesterday afternoon, 12 June 2017, on the spur of the moment, I went for a short drive SW of the city. The sun was shining, but unfortunately it was windy most of the time. My main purpose was to check on a few of the Mountain Bluebirds, who are now busy as can be, collecting insects to feed to their hungry babies. I know this will soon be over and the young ones will have fledged, so I really must make myself visit them again, or it will be too late. I had also hoped that maybe one of the Great Gray Owls in the area might just be out hunting. No luck this time. Makes me even more grateful to have seen one during our May Species Count on 28 May 2017. Lupines are in full bloom right now and I found this cluster in one of the ditches during my drive. "Lupinus, commonly known as lupin or lupine (North America), is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. The genus includes over 200 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Seeds of various species of lupins have been used as a food for over 3000 years around the Mediterranean and for as much as 6000 years in the Andean highland, but they have never been accorded the same status as soybeans or dry peas and other pulse crops." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupinus

Generosity comes in all shapes and sizes. Three days ago, on 30 July 2016, six of us from Calgary had the honour of meeting a 92-year-old gentleman who has lived most of his long life on a huge area (380 hectares, 939 acres) of beautiful land near Hanna, Alberta. Though Gottlob Schmidt (known as Schmitty) has now moved into town (Hanna), he is not far from his beloved land and still loves to spend a lot of his time there. My friends and I understand why. This untouched land is not only beautiful to the eye, with its undulating hills with small, scattered pockets of Aspen woodland, but it also hides all sorts of natural treasures, including the wildlife that enjoys this native grassland. There are so few areas of native grassland left in Alberta, so each one is very precious. Schmitty told us that he has never seen his land looking so green! Perhaps not too surprising, as we have had so much rain recently, often accompanied by thunderstorms. In fact, the rain started on our return journey to Calgary and I was driving from our meeting place back to my house in torrential rain. I found a good scattering of small hailstones covering my lawn, too. This is where the word 'generosity' comes in. Two years ago, Schmitty donated all his land to Alberta Parks, along with certain strict regulations (listed at a link below) on how the land was to be maintained. He was very warmly recognized for his extreme generosity. The Park is known as Antelope Hill Provincial Park and, when Schmitty is no longer able to visit and enjoy his old, family homestead, the Park will be opened to the public. For now, it remains his own, private property. The highlight for us was meeting Schmitty himself. I can only hope that I might be lucky enough to be in half his shape if I ever reached that age! It was an absolute delight to spend a little time with this man with the big heart, when we first arrived and again later in the day, when it was time for us to head back to Calgary. We also got to meet Schmitty's good neighbours, Donna and Ken. www.albertaparks.ca/media/5788002/antelope-hill-pp-fact-s... calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/you-can-thank-this-man-... www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIVVBdkoUVY&feature=youtu.be My friends (specialists in mosses, lichens and liverworts and other things) and I, were given permission to spend the day there, to list all our findings. Our time was spent climbing one main hill and walking part way around it, calling in at several of the small areas of Aspen woodland. One of the highlights for me was seeing a patch of Amanita Muscaria (Fly Agaric) mushrooms. They were at various stages - for me, the earlier stage is the most exciting, when the mushroom has a round 'ball' cap, speckled with white flecks. It is quite rare that we come across one of these, and it is so exciting and such a treat when we do! They are so beautiful and amazing. Of course, it's just a "fungi nut" talking, ha. They are so attractive but also poisonous! "A large conspicuous mushroom, Amanita muscaria is generally common and numerous where it grows, and is often found in groups with basidiocarps in all stages of development. Fly agaric fruiting bodies emerge from the soil looking like a white egg, covered in the white warty material of the universal veil... Amanita muscaria poisoning occurs in either young children or people ingesting it to have a hallucinogenic experience... A fatal dose has been calculated at an amount of 15 caps. Deaths from this fungus A. muscaria have been reported in historical journal articles and newspaper reports. However, with modern medical treatment a fatal outcome because of the poison of this mushroom would be extremely rare." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria Various plants were good to see, too, including about four Prairie Crocuses that were still in bloom. I hadn't seen Skeletonweed for a long time, but there were quite a few small clusters of it. We found both Purple Prairie Clover (seen in this photo) and White Prairie Clover. A new plant to me was a tall one with white flowers, that I still need to identify properly - White Evening Primrose, I believe. The occasional gorgeous wild Rose made a bright splash of colour. "Purple Prairie-clover is easily recognized by its cone-like flower heads. Plants add valuable nitrogen back into the soil, and have a deep taproot adapted for drought tolerance. They are high in protein and palatable to mammalian herbivores. Flowers are visited often, and provide nectar for bees and butterflies. Seed dispersal occurs when plants are shaken by the wind, or by small rodents that may carry them to their dens." www.prairiepollination.ca/plante-plant/dalee_violette-pur... Of course, for me, any visit to a ranch would not be complete without wandering by any old barn/shed/cabin. I like the texture of decaying walls, revealing the old wood. Another find was the beautiful, old, glass doorknob on one of the sheds. After a few hours of exploration, the only things that we were so happy and relieved to leave behind were the mosquitoes! Never had I seen so many of them - the air was filled with these tiny, blood-sucking insects that followed us every step of the way! Thanks so much, Heide, for driving Sandy and myself all the way out there - about a two and three-quarter hour drive. Much of the distance was on the same roads that I had driven last week with my daughter, but this was the first time I had ever been as far as Hanna and just beyond. Hanna now has a Tim Horton's, opened around three months ago : ) Thanks, Heide, too, for trying to find the old railway roundhouse - unfortunate that there was too much construction in the area, so one can't get to the roundhouse. And thank you so much, Peter, for arranging and organizing this wonderful trip! Most importantly of all, our thanks to Schmitty, who so kindly allowed us to share the special land that he has called home for so many decades. Our thanks for allowing us to spend the day there and, even more importantly, thank you for your great gift to all Albertans, with your incredibly generous donation of Antelope Hill Provincial Park.

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 photo of beautiful summer Lupines growing at the Reader Rock Garden, was taken on 4 July 2012. "Lupinus, commonly known as lupin or lupine (North America), is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. The genus includes over 200 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Seeds of various species of lupins have been used as a food for over 3000 years around the Mediterrranean (Gladstones, 1970) and for as much as 6000 years in the Andean highlands (Uauy et al., 1995), but never have they been accorded the same status as soybeans or dry peas and other pulse crops." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupinus

Today (12 October 2014) is Thanksgiving Day for Canadians, so I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, no matter what part of the world you are living in or serving in. We have so much to be thankful for every day, in this country! A special thank you to those service people and their families, who make so many sacrifices for the rest of us, too often the ultimate sacrifice. I am very thankful for what you all do for the rest of us. Have a happy, safe time, everyone! Some people choose to celebrate on the Sunday (today) and others on the Monday (tomorrow). From my archives, this photo of Alfalfa was taken along one of the backroads SW of Calgary, on 21 July 2010. I love the way Alfalfa flowers come in various colours and different colour mixes on the same flower head. “Alfalfa, a plant of the pea family grown primarily for forage, especially as hay. It is one of the most useful and widely grown hay crops in the world. Because of its high protein content, alfalfa is used as a food for almost all farm animals as hay, as silage, or as a temporary pasture crop. Because of its nitrogen-fixing properties, it is used in crop rotation to improve soil for other crops. When planted in combination with grasses, it helps prevent soil erosion. Alfalfa is also grown commercially for seed in arid or semiarid regions. Dehydrated alfalfa is ground into meal and used in feeding poultry and livestock. Indirectly, alfalfa is a source of honey, because bees gather substantial quantities of nectar from alfalfa flowers.” www.alfalfaseedab.com/

White Prairie-clover is one of the plants that we saw at the Beynon Ecological Preserve, SW of Drumheller, in Alberta Badland country. On 3 August 2013, a group of us drove east of Calgary to visit and record all flora and fauna found on the Beynon Ecological Preserve. This land belongs to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. I don't often see this species, as it grows only in a few places in Calgary. There was a lot of it at Beynon, along with Purple Prairie-clover, which is another plant I very rarely see. It was a fairly windy day and so many of the wildflowers were blowing in and out of the viewfinder when I was trying to photograph them, lol. Unfortunately, it's not exactly the most photogenic flower, but I need to add it to my Beynon album. "The flower spike is about 1-3" tall and ¾" across. The small flowers form a wreath around the bottom of the spike, which moves upward as the season progresses. Each flower is about ¼" across, with 5 petals and 5 white stamens. The flowers often have a pleasant fragrance." www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/wpr_cloverx.htm "Beynon is primarily a private 500+ acre ecological preserve. Located within a deeply sculpted portion of the Rosebud River valley, the area is recognized as being regionally significant. Due to its unique topography, picturesque valley setting, and relative rarity in terms of biodiversity, Beynon protected its surrounding area by permanently protecting over 400 acres (1.6 km2) from development. This protection was achieved by way of an outright donation of land by Beynon's founding family, who still own most of the unincorporated area called Beynon. The Nature Conservancy of Canada were the recipients of the 400-acre (1.6 km2) land donation in 1999." From Wikipedia. By the way, the Beynon Canyon was featured in the cemetery scene from the 1978 film Superman: The Movie. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beynon,_Alberta

Normally, Hedysarum is purple, but we saw this unusual white one at Bowmont Park. Doug, if you happen to see this, perhaps you would confirm (or otherwise) that this is the only place where this has been found in Calgary. Or maybe there is one other place?

One of my favourite wildflowers - Bird's-foot Trefoil - and yes, I know, I seem to have lots of favourite flowers, LOL. This member of the Pea family only occurs in a very few places in this city - I think I have seen it in just three locations. Love the brilliant yellow with faint red lines, and the way the flowers tend to form a ring or a partial ring. This one was growing at Bowmont Park. Unfortunately, it is an introduced (non-native) plant from Eurasia.

Took this macro shot of an Alfalfa flower at the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area in the city, on August 18th. "Alfalfa is widely grown throughout the world as forage for cattle, and is most often harvested as hay, but can also be made into silage, grazed, or fed as greenchop. Alfalfa has the highest feeding value of all common hay crops, being used less frequently as pasture. When grown on soils where it is well-adapted, alfalfa is the highest yielding forage plant." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfalfa

I love these Red Powder Puff flowers! The light coming in through the ceiling in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo just caught this bloom nicely. "Native to Bolivia, Red Powder Puff is an evergreen shrub or small tree. It was formerly included in the legume or pea family, but has recently been shifted into the mimosa family. It typically grows 10-15’ tall in its native habitat and is a very popular flowering shrub in central and southern Florida, where it will survive year-round in the ground. Raspberry-like flower buds open to hemispherical red powder puff flower heads (to 3” across) consisting of masses of scarlet stamens. Variations in flower color exist, with some pink and white forms being available. Calliandra comes from the Greek words kallos meaning beauty and andros meaning stamen." From www.mobot.org/GARDENINGHELP/PLANTFINDER .

Needed something bright and cheery today, as it is snowing. What a difference a day makes - yesterday, as seen in the image posted above, was blue skied and sunny. Photographed in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on 26 April 2010.

It's so unfortunate that this beautiful member of the Pea family (Fabaceae) is considered a weed. It is grown as a crop and has spread to various places. Introduced from Eurasia, it can be found (if you know where to look) growing along roadsides and on waste areas. I think I've only ever seen it in about four or five places, though. It blooms from June to September. The plant was named for the arrangement of the long, narrow seedpods/legumes, which resemble a bird's foot. A handful of us had driven past a colourful roadside display two days ago, and I just had to go back yesterday on my way home from Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, to grab a few (macro) photos.

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.

Alfalfa is one of my favourite wildflowers. There are so many colour combinations in one flower cluster, anything from plain, deep purple, to yellow or green, even pale blue and purple mix as in my photo here. Photographed (supermacro) at Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area on August 18th last year. The two images below have been previously posted. "Alfalfa is widely grown throughout the world as forage for cattle, and is most often harvested as hay, but can also be made into silage, grazed, or fed as greenchop. Alfalfa has the highest feeding value of all common hay crops, being used less frequently as pasture. When grown on soils where it is well-adapted, alfalfa is the highest yielding forage plant." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfalfa

A macro of Alfalfa. I love these flowers, as not only can a flower cluster be white, yellow, purple and so on, but some individual clusters can be a mix of different colours, too, as seen here. I thought this was a specially nice flower head. Photographed at Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area in the city. Just got home a short while ago from a full day of hiking at Bow Valley Provincial Park, which is right on the very eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. I think the temperature was around 10C when we started walking and I believe it got up to around 19C by the end of the afternoon, when the black clouds started to move in. It was a beautiful sky - I don't think another single cloud could have been squeezed into it - so much more interesting than a plain blue one. Blue Asters were almost the only wildflowers to be seen still in bloom - always so depressing after the very short growing season that we have here. The forest was empty of fungi, except for one unphotogenic Pholiota (?) that was growing sideways on a tree. However, we saw a variety of birds, including a Kingfisher, Merlin and Sharp-shinned Hawk. Not a day for photos, really, other than a few shots of stunning scenery. Not a bad thing, as I must have taken something like 500 or 600 photos on yesterday's trip south of the city, LOL! Absolutely gorgeous day today, much enjoyed - thanks so much, Andrew! Thanks, Marion, too, for driving us there and back - much appreciated!

"Just" a Red Clover flower, but I always think they are such an attractive flower when seen close up. This one was growing at the side of one of the backroads south west of the city a few days ago. Red Clover is an introduced plant from Europe, brought over as a forage plant. "The flowers of red clover have long been known to have many positive health effects including anti cancer properties. Most commonly a pleasant tasting tea is made from the dried flowers. Red clover also adds nitrogen to the soil through the symbiotic relationship between select soil bacteria and plant roots. Red clover handles traffic well and needs little water to survive." From www.theurbanfarmer.ca/plant_profiles.html Fell asleep in front of the TV for about an hour just now. I was SO tired after hiking for 5-6 hours in the heat at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park today. My endurance level is really low these days, which is a real nuisance. So beautiful in the forest there, and I love to go with friends for a change, as it's easy to get lost in there, especially for someone like me who doesn't have a sense of direction!

Not a very good shot of the flowers of this native wildflower, Cushion Milk Vetch, but better than nothing : ) Should have done a much better job. Seen two days ago, when we spent hours botanizing the beautiful new Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park (which won't be open to the public for another 1-3 years).