Alberta Wanderings 2010

[christian pfalz]

hello cohan, erigerons...that looks interesting 
cheers
chris

[cohan]

hello cohan, erigerons...that looks interesting 
cheers
chris

send me a pm--i have to get some seeds together for wim also...
am i correct that you would want mostly dryland species? i also have some local asteraceae, some of which are regular meadow plants, some from wetter places..

[David Nicholson]

As usual Cohan I'm thoroughly enjoying your trip.

[cohan]

thanks, david!
this next set of views takes us from the last site, along Abraham Lake, continuing through the Kootenay Plains montane zone (a relatively drier area of moderate altitude and less snowfall in many parts-important for widlife in winter)more or less west along the David Thompson Highway, which runs all the way by my home, right to its end where it meets the Icefields parkway which connects Banff and Jasper; then we proceeded more or less north, to the Columbia Icefield (end of this set) and on to Jasper...
mostly the second photo, where you see some red trees, is an area where they did controlled burns last year..
much of the road follows a river valley at modest elevation, until before the icefields there is a dramatic climb, and the snowline is nearly at road level...
full set, more and larger photos, at:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/cactuscactus/AlbertaRockyMountainsJune262010E#

[cohan]

next stop--the Columbia Icefields;
full album at:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/cactuscactus/AlbertaRockyMountainsJune262010F1#
 the glacier looks lovely nestled in the high peaks, and quite fascinating, but i see enough of ice and snow over the year! my interest is in the plants  down among the moraines and the sheltered niches between them;
the ice has retreated 1.5km over the last 125 years, and the plants are slowly creeping in to cover all the bare stone and gravel (and fine clay, no doubt, but you don't see much of it in the spots i was in this time, its had time to filter down below the surface, i guess...
last time here i'd noticed the best colonies of plants were a bit farther back from the base of the glacier where they've had longer to establish, and that's where i stayed this time; being a bit earlier in the year, i caught more things in flower..

1 toward the glacier;
2-3 not surprisingly, the greatest number of plants grow first in the miniature valleys between the mounds of gravel and stone--these areas would be most sheltered, and no doubt hold moisture more than the exposed sides of the ridges.. further, there is no humus here apart from what these plants are creating themselves, and the wind would concentrate any movable debris in the low areas...
4,5 typical mix of Dryas, Salix, Hedysarum (pink masses), Arctostaphylos, etc (closer pics in later posts)
6 the longer an area has been free of ice, the more thorough the plant cover...i think next time i need to wander up to the green area just below where the trees start..its farther than it looks... note the spruces starting to grow here, putting more growth horizontally at the bottom!
7 who says you can't put the biggest rock at the top of the rock garden?

[Stephenb]

Great pictures, Cohan! The Hedysarum looks as though it's almost hugging the ground. Is this because of the exposed location - they are quite a tall plant here (in the garden).

[PaulM]

Hi Cohan ! You wouldn't happen to have Cirsium undulatum or Cirsium scopulorum or C. foliosum or C. hookerii growing in your vicinity. Would love to grow these thistles.

[cohan]

Hi Cohan ! You wouldn't happen to have Cirsium undulatum or Cirsium scopulorum or C. foliosum or C. hookerii growing in your vicinity. Would love to grow these thistles.

hi paul--a glance at my (incomplete) book shows that i might encounter C flodmanii (syn nebraskense/oblanceolatum), or possibly hookerianum.. undulatum looks to be farther south/east..
there is some thistle that i am protecting from the mower in my yard--i think it has grown too near the forest edge, and because of the shade is developing slowly, but one rosette now is farther out and i think it will flower, so i will be trying to figure out what it is--the basal leaves are quite fuzzy and purplish, i don't know if its native or weed!

[cohan]

Great pictures, Cohan! The Hedysarum looks as though it's almost hugging the ground. Is this because of the exposed location - they are quite a tall plant here (in the garden).

thanks, stephen-- i haven't had a chance to try to grow these down here to find out how much is genetic and how much is environmental--this is H boreale- lori last year mentioned a possible subspecies for these higher altitude plants (was it mackenzii? listed as synonym in my book); they do seem to have more decumbent flower stems, and possibly some foliar differences (i'll be posting some closer pics, i will see if i can compare different forms from this high site and some lower ones).. H boreale is listed as 20-60cm, they are probably at least up to 20 at this site;

lower down (even around here, at least for alpinum) there is H alpinum and H sulphurescens, which are considerably taller plants..

[Afloden]

PaulM,
 
 PM me. My Cirsium undulatum from central Kansas is almost done flowering. It really is a stunning species with little tubers, silver leaves, and pink to white fragrant flowers.

 Aaron

[cohan]

still at the icefield site; this time focussing on Dryas;
full album:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/cactuscactus/AlbertaRockyMountainsJune262010F2Dryas#

1 a brave mat colonising an exposed moraine side..
2 Dryas drummondii much more common at lower elevations, is present here, as is
3-5 Dryas octopetala, but beyond that it gets fuzzy--you can see several floral variations amongs the white flowered plants, as well as leaves more or less recurved; i didn't photograph any untoothed leaves to confirm D integrifolia, but there are certainly significant variations:
6 with  Hedysarum boreale; more experienced eyes than mine would have to say whether this is a variable population of octopetala, or whether integrifolia and or hybrids? are also present...
7 Potentilla sp

[cohan]

on to the peas..
full album, slightly larger images at:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/cactuscactus/AlbertaRockyMountainsJune262010F3Hedysarum#
as mentioned, the
1Hedysarum boreale -or subspecies thereof,
were very common at this site, from bare ridge tops by themselves, 2,3
to the tangled mixed species mats in the sheltered places 4,5;
a lovely sight to see those swathes of pink (brighter and pinker than they appear in my images) on the barren moraines..
there were other peas-
6 unidentified; a low, sprawly plant with lovely pale flowers and lightly hairy foliage; very few at this site
7 also uncommon, another unidentified sp, this one forming tiny clumps only a few inches across; i missed flowering, just some remnants of blue/purple and lots of forming seedpods; they must have put on quite a show!
8 a non-pea- Antennaria sp
fairly common at the site,but mostly small patches compared to what you'd see at lower elevations; lovely white form..

[christian pfalz]

hello cohan,
the white and the blue plant with seed is astragalus.....if you have seed from this species it was wonderful


best regards my friend
chris

[cohan]

thanks, christian, that was my feeling, but my current reference is not adequate so i haven't really tried to name them;
no seed yet, at least--i may not be there again when seed is ripe, and this is a protected national park, where collecting is not allowed; i've tried to find out if there is any permit available to collect a few seeds, but so far i have found no information, and had no answers from anyone i asked....

[christian pfalz]

thanks a lot, cohan....you must drive to arizona or utah  , so you can find a lot of seed 
cheers my friend, have a nice day

chris