Noticing Nature #16 on the last day of 2025 : Orchids, Asparagus and a couple of minor odds and ends.
Wednesday 31 December
Before getting to the last section of flowering plants here are some end of year birds seen whilst out walking. It’s always fairly quiet about now and the freezing rain we had on Monday has not helped at all, but for all that here are … Cardinal female, White-throated Sparrows, Cooper’s Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker and Wild Turkey
Now - Flowering Plants that might be seen out walking - just not necessarily at New Year 😉. Somehow, it didn’t seem that you’d want to be spending too much time with this stuff on Christmas Eve … so we’ve skipped a week.
On a botanical note - if I still lived in Britain, this would be a cool way to spend tomorrow: https://bsbi.org/take-part/activities/new-year-plant-hunt/group-hunts
‘Nine-tenths of our life is well forgotten in the living’, wrote William Carlos Williams. I suppose every year changes each of us, subtly, though we don’t recognise how or why. I’ve had so much more time to discover things, birds, especially; I never really saw a wheatear before - their slanting flight, the way their stripes of silver and chocolate brown catch the light. I didn’t consider it necessary to know the names of everything – that names are only the labels we put on things – but knowledge of the detail is a kind of honouring the pattern. ~ Christine Evans, A Welsh Country Diary, December 31st 1997
Family Poaceae
Now for some of the field grasses. In diversity alone there are over 12,000 species of grasses in this family worldwide in 770 genera and so undoubtedly, there are more than the few I have records of from this area. Grasses are the fifth‑largest family of flowering plants - yes, they do flower. They thrive in almost every terrestrial habitat, from tropical rainforests to arid deserts and high mountains. All of the world’s major cereal crops belong to this family: wheat, rice, maize (corn), barley, sorghum, oats, millet and rye. Their dense, fibrous root systems bind soil, reduce erosion, and store large amounts of carbon underground, contributing significantly to carbon sequestration. Many species can sprout new shoots from basal meristems even after heavy grazing or fire, allowing grasslands to recover quickly and supports the grazing habits of countless herbivores—from insects to large mammals. The flowers are typically wind‑pollinated and lack showy petals. Instead, they produce lightweight, feathery stigmas and stamens that release pollen en masse, turning entire fields into “pollen clouds” that travel considerable distances.
I would point out at this time that grasses are not by any means the easiest plants to clearly identify but for all that I know of some 19 species that do grow where I live. They range from the invasive, pest species of Common Reed (Phragmites australis) that grows so proudly in the ditches alongside Highway 20 to typical grasses many of us have in our lawns and which has established itself through the region - Timothy Grass (Phleum pratense) and Barnyard Grass (Echinochloa crus-galli).
An interesting and unusual feature of grasses is that the meristem - that is the growing part - is near the bottom of the plant instead of the more usual tips of stems and blades which means that grasses can quickly recover from cropping at the top by grazing animals or fire.
Family Orchidaceae
Mostly we think of orchids as rare and exotic flowers from the hothouse and not something to be found out and about in the fields and forests. In fact there are over 28,000 species worldwide (even more than the grasses mentioned previously this week, and at least three of them growing just down the road from where I am writing this. Albeit they are not always easy to locate. The flowers are distinctive and share some features such as bilateral symmetry of the flower (zygomorphism), many flowers with features that make them at least appear to be turned upside down, a nearly always highly modified petal (labellum), fused stamens and carpels, and extremely small seeds.
Orchids have evolved remarkably intricate pollination mechanisms. Many species mimic the appearance, scent, or even the tactile feel of female insects to attract male pollinators. Others produce nectar, visual guides, or trap insects temporarily to ensure pollen transfer. Orchid seeds are minute, like dust, and contain virtually no nutrient reserves. To germinate, they have to form a symbiotic relationship with specific mycorrhizal fungi that can supply the necessary carbon and minerals. Some orchids can live for decades, and many take several years—sometimes even a decade - to reach flowering maturity.
Also, not all orchids have bright, eye-catching colours. For example you may come across Broad Leaved Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine) in our garden. It is originally from Europe, but now widely distributed across eastern and central Canada and the United States. It flowers in the late summer and early fall, producing up to 50 small flowers with greenish purple petals and sepals, and a divided labellum: the innermost part, closest to the column, is curved into a bowl-like shape and is purple or brown, often glossy on the inner side; the outer part is triangular and pink, green or white. It produces 3-10 leaves on its stem, which is covered with fine hairs. Indeed they are not flashy orchids at all, more the sort of green plant you wouldn’t give a second thought to. They are to be found in disturbed habitats such as lawns, sidewalks, gardens, and roadsides as well as in forests, swamps, and riverbeds.
More colourful orchids noted on the West Island are the Pink, or Stemless, Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) and the Yellow Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) of which specimens have been found in Senneville and in the meadow parts of the Anse-à-l’Orme nature park.
Family Asparagaceae - Asparagus
A taxonomically complex family, some q50 genera, that was once included with the Lillies but is no more. Expect changes in the future as botanists go about their work. These plants are all monocots rather than dicots. Almost all the plants found here are non-native.
Despite the family name, don’t expect all species to look like the plants we eat. For example there Agave, that store water, allowing them to thrive in arid deserts. Others, like Hyacinthoides (bluebells), are adapted to shaded woodland floors, emerging early in spring before canopy cover blocks light. Then we have the Hostas that grow in our gardens. None of them at first glance anything like “asparagus”.
In this area members of the family include European Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis), two species of Squill, the Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) and False Soloman’s Seal (Maianthemum racemosum).
Family Amaryllidaceae
Common Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) - is one of my favourite flowers if only because we wait to eagerly for them to push up through the snow in late March or early April - is the easily seen species of this family and may be present in your garden. Planted and garden escaped Wild Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) are related, was are the Hipeastrum (Amaryllis) grown in many homes to flower around Christmas time.
Canadian Meadow Garlic (Allium canadense) is the actual native representative of the family. It grows about 18 in. tall and can spread quite freely when well sited. It is vulnerable mostly because people pick it in the wild and can deplete or eradicate natural stands. Please leave it alone if you find any.
Family Asphodelaceae
Day Lilies are probably grown in every garden in the town but it is only the ubiquitous orange form that is the true wild form of the species, even if it is non-native and arrived from Asia. It loves our roadside ditches. Orange Day-Lily (Hemerocallis fulva)
Lots of interesting information about common & native plants