My Bit of Heaven - by Kristl Walek

[Kristl Walek]

Thank you so much for your concern, Maggi.

I think part of being Canadian is taking more in stride unpredictable forces of nature or extreme weather conditions----we of course chuckle when warm-weather cities are devastated by a few inches of snow in winter. And having living in extreme cold/snow/ice storm areas, and in areas where one could not breathe in the summer with heat & humidity, I feel blessed to live now in such a ridiculously mild climate, with comfortable summers & winters. Somehow having to deal with the yearly hurricanes seems like a fair trade for a life with reasonably good weather the remainder of the year. Of course one is concerned each season about the possibility of a direct hit---but we cannot direct nature---so you do what you need to do to prepare without panic---hope for the best. Landfall in North Carolina is tomorrow I believe.

Right now, gorgeous sunshine and beautiful days (through tomorrow at least). After that will be more touch and go.

[Gillie]

Hi Kristl, S. amplexifolius is found scattered along the North Mountain - think I saw it near Port Lorne, Annapolis Co. It is much more common in ravines of the Cape Breton Highlands.. Braun's Holly, my favorite native fern, is also more common in Northern Cape Breton. Working up there two weeks ago I found P. lonchitis for the first time. As you likely know there are many rare plants that are common in Northern Cape Breton. The same day we found Triosteum aurantiacum at Meat cove.

[Kristl Walek]

Hello Gillie and thank you so much for your post---yes, the problem with the Streptopus, as you say, is its "scattered" habit---and I would have been most pleased to find just one of these "scattered specimens," after 2 years of searching for it, and following up every lead I have gotten (the one plant somewhere near Charlies Path at Delaps Cove etc). Very frustrating as I spend 5 out of 7 days each week hiking around in the wild, and particularly the North Mountain.  S. roseus I have run into again and again (also "scattered"), but the Flora would make you think that amplexifolius should be everywhere, which it clearly isn't.

I believe I pictured Polystichum lonchitis in my previous post on botanizing in Newfoundland---that was the first I had seen this---very exciting. I too love P. braunii----really a fabulous plant, although the very common P. acrostichoides will always remain high on the list.

Have you ever run into any of the Aspleniums in Nova Scotia?

I am planning to botanize in Cape Breton next year---would love to talk to you more if you could share your ideas of the best areas for me to concentrate my energies.

Graham and I have now spent 3 almost-solid days looking for the elusive Aronia arbutifolia (our third year of searching for it) and following all leads (including from the Nova Scotia herbareum). We see plenty of A. melanocarpa, but mostly A. prunifolia in its varied hybrid forms. This is, of course the only time of the year one could be relatively certain of identification, when the berries are fully coloured. We will return to Keji Adjunct tomorrow, one last time (our best lead so far, although we have already walked the area many times). The predicted strong hurricane winds, will make photography almost impossible, but it is our last opportunity for this year. If you have ever seen it FOR SURE, could you let me know.

[Maggi Young]

Hello Gillie, so glad you have made your first post...... some really interesting plants in your neck of the woods, eh? 

[Gillie]

Only came across Asplenium once, in a gorge on the Grand Anse River (up stream from the Lone Sheiling) in the Cape Breton Highlands Nat. Park. I may have coordinates at work - I know we took pictures. Have you seen Hal Hinds report on the Corney Brook Gorge, also in CBHNP? He discovered many rare plants there.

[Gillie]

Hi Kristl,
Alas I have enough difficultiy telling red and black aronia apart (now the darn taxonomists are calling it Photina), I never expect to find the purple hybird. In my work, I'm happy to just identify the genus unless I have fruit.

Hi Maggi,
As Kristal has shown since coming to Nova Scotia it is truely a wonderful place to live. Botanically we have a nice mix of Boreal and Temperate species with some artic alpines and coastal plain species, throw in almost 2000 feet of elivation and a huge coastal influence and it makes things very interesting. Some day soon I hope to get to Scotland - my ancestors came from the Parish of Small Isles (Muck & Rum) 200 yrs ago and I want to go there and see the beauty of the Highlands

[Gillie]

Kristl,
I saw lots of Inkberry (Ilex glabra) berries today, (in Milton, Queens Co), that were not yet ripe - berries were sitll reddish. Would the seed be viable yet or should I wait a while longer to pick it?

[ChrisB]

Hi Gillie
Welcome to our forum!

When you get a chance, could you maybe add location details to your profile, it helps us understand some of the posts you make.  Hope you stay, its sounds like you have a lot of knowledge like Kristl about plants from your part of the world.  We love hearing about and seeing pictures of them.....

[Kristl Walek]

Kristl,
I saw lots of Inkberry (Ilex glabra) berries today, (in Milton, Queens Co), that were not yet ripe - berries were sitll reddish. Would the seed be viable yet or should I wait a while longer to pick it?

Ilex glabra holds its berries almost all winter---I have seen them in February---like Viburnum trilobum; the critters seem to have little interest in it unless they get desperate.

I have collected it early in the past---but the seed all rotted in testing  (showing that it needs to be more fully ripe). Last year I collected it sometime in mid to late October, when they were fully colored black & all was well.

By the way, I have discovered that small plants move very easily---the sides of the road and elsewhere in southern Nova Scotia are solid with them, I have not seen them often further north in the province, but almost *common* south of Annapolis County.

I have seen Sean Blaney and David Mazerolle's report on the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

[Gillie]

Thanks for the advice Kristl!
I have found a small population of Ilex glabra along Hwy 101 near the Pockwock Watershed but no further east. I might try cuttings.

Sean Blaney is amazing, I've been out with him a couple of times and he is extremely knowledgeable.

[Gillie]

Hi Gillie
Welcome to our forum!

When you get a chance, could you maybe add location details to your profile, it helps us understand some of the posts you make.  Hope you stay, its sounds like you have a lot of knowledge like Kristl about plants from your part of the world.  We love hearing about and seeing pictures of them.....

Hi ChrisB
I just checked my profile and it says my location is Hilden, Nova Scotia...perhaps it is not showing up?

[Maggi Young]

Hi Gillie,
 I think Christine was meaning to put your location in your signature box... that way it appears in every post. The way it is now is only visible to Forumists who go to look at your profile.

[Gillie]

Thanks for the explanation Maggi!

[johnw]

Thanks for the advice Kristl

I have found a small population of Ilex glabra along Hwy 101 near the Pockwock Watershed but no further east. I might try cuttings.
Sean Blaney is amazing, I've been out with him a couple of times and he is extremely knowledgeable.

Gillie - There are quite a few small stands of Ilex glabra in metro Halifax out to Peggy's Cove and beyond.  As it moves northwards they tend to be, as Kristl says, much smaller colonies eventually isolated plants - i.e. along the eastern shore.  As well the plants shrink in size the further north ones goes.  The best are in the south of Nova Scotia and I have seen them in Yarmouth & Shelburne Counties over 2m high.  However the most attractive ones are the compact ones.  I saw a beauty at Rarefind Nursery in New Jersey and the late owner said it was called 'Nova Scotia'!  Some of the selected forms are not terribly hardy in really bad winters here; they defoliate though frequently come back given a stretch of mild winters.

re: propagation according to the Arnold Arboretum -

"Propagation is frighteningly easy, and firm cuttings root year round when provided with 1000-parts-per-million indolebutyric acid (IBA) quick dip (five seconds), or a commercial rooting powder under either mist or poly-ethylene tent. Even without such treatments, a somewhat lower percentage of cuttings will root. The species can also be propagated by transplanting the suckering shoots that develop around the base."

You may also enjoy reading about one called 'Peggy's Cove' whose discovery I witnessed:

http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1950.pdf

Funny many plants from NS wind up in the USA and are touted as being extremely hardy.  (The Ilex glabra are pretty tough but may not due well in stinking hot summer areas.)  Case in point is Cytisus scoparius 'Nova Scotia'.  No doubt collected in southern NS where I have seen them decimated in some winters, not necessarily the coldest winters mind you but they certainly detest snowless frozen ground.  Unfortunately for farmers many if not most return strongly and seed everywhere.  They have even started popping up around the highways in metro Halifax.  

johnw - a very warm day here and still 20c at 9:30 pm.

[Gillie]

Hi John,
Thanks for the info on cuttings, I will definitely be trying that out. Very interesting article on 'Peggys cove' also, so nice for you to have been a part of that.

Yes, Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) is another exotic shrub that has proven quite invasive in parts of Nova Scotia. Another such species is Frangula alnus (Rhamnus frangula) which is more of a problem in finer textured soils. Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is another shrub I believe may not be on the radar yet but I think it will be a problem in the future.