Plants of the North Shuswap.

After you alerted me to the ivy, I did a search and discovered that this plant shouldn't be burned for the reason you stated. I rather expect that it might be prevalent all along the lakeshore. Next visit to the Provincial Park at St. Ives, I will check there as well, but I won't be touching it!

 

For years, I relied on my Pojar & McKinnon "Plants of Coastal British Columbia" until it finally fell apart and I had to put it in a small 3-ring binder.

Now I turn almost exclusively to E-Flora BC to help me not only identify plants but also to tell where they grow, habitat preferences, etc. There are comprehensive lists of orchids or ferns or noxious plants for example and many, many photos of each plant. It is continually updated too so, in my opinion, the best go-to reference about BC native plants available.

E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia

 

(ÉDIT - i added your two pix Keith to clarify which images I am replying too — these are cheerful and common - they are in the book I suggest earlier today. )

I would look further at « annual hawksbeard »

Crepis tectorum

 

I agree Margot - I was thinking of a field guide — for when you’re out of cellular (or saving battery for emergency only) — a good ol’ book gets an outing too! :)

 

ROSEMARY - growing in the park - does it really have the culinary scent of rosemary — it must be very hardy to live in the Shuswap winter climate

It will be interesting to observe thru the seasons

 

I would find it too cumbersome to be a field guide - another alternative would be to take photos or a bit of leaf or flower to bring home and research there.

 

You’re making so many new flora kingdom friends !

The photos in your original post show a pine and what I think is an interior Douglas fir (close cousin of our coast Douglas fir)

Thé « key » to pine trees is the grouped needles (see below) and how many needles in each group - it looks like 3 on your juvenile pine with nice fresh « candles » — and I would guess it is a very young Ponderosa —- a real treasure anywhere in Thompson Okanagan
(Mature Ponderosa bark is quite rust orange color & has a scent of vanilla on hot days)
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The next tree looks like it is a very tolerant Doug fir (looks like humans have removed branches etc over the years)

The cone in your hand (nice photo of scale size) shows a distinct 3-prong bract and the way I recall is a park ranger told us a long time ago that it is like a little mouse running up in to the cone to hide fr predator — so the longest bract is tail and each side is a hind leg.

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Here is a handy guide LINK BELOW with a really helpful introduction - like a flow chart (if yes, then ...) to narrow down choices while out in the field - and you don’t even have to get in car to have it handy today

One aspect of the introduction I appreciate (and had forgotten or didn’t previously understand) is it details some aspects to look for if taking photos to identify later at home or in the forums - so I suppose instead of printing off the entire book one could just take along the first few pages to get some identification pictures with your phone etc - reminds me of science labs!


https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/treebook.pdf

ÉDIT - i am a bit mixed up which tree is where - I read somewhere in here where the large tree is likely a spruce of some sort that had been pruned (lower branches? ) over its lifetime

I have incl a couple of your Keith original pix below to make it clear which post I was replying to

 

As you may have noted, Daniel thinks it is a willow of some kind. And honestly, who would I be to argue? As for the smell, well, yes I thought so. And incidentally, when I was at the Celista Hall property two days ago, there was a similar looking plant, but when I rubbed the leaves there was no smell at all. That particular plant appeared to have been there for some time, as it had spread over an area of several square feet, and much of it looked quite dead.

So on the next trip to the park, I will be getting more photos, along with photos of many, many other plants that are growing in the park. It's not a very big area, but the terrain is anything but smooth. I'm not the steadiest on my feet, so there are some spots that really are out of reach to me. But I shall do my best.

These are the only two photos I took of the plant at the Community Hall. Not the best, that's for sure.



For a quick comparison, these are the only two photos that Val took with her phone of the plant at the park.

 

I'm definitely a book lover, so I don't mind picking up one of those field guides. But of course, I can take thousands of photos essentially at no cost at all and then compare them later. I will probably do both. Either way, I'm sure that I will be very busy for some time to come.

 

I think Keith you suggest « from seed » for this tree that I think is Quaking aspen

Populus tremuloides

While in certain cases it may well be Seed - thé common way i know of is It spreads from runners underground - and gosh does it spread -

Just like any poplar or willow, NEVER let this near your septic system or your foundations or the fresh water pipes coming in to your house (or to a swim pool etc)

Some people say quaking aspen is the largest single living organism
Pando (tree) - Wikipedia


So when you look up on the talus rock slopes above Coquihalla freeway (esp south side across the valley) and see big patches all bright fall foliage golden yellow - it could well be one plant (even tho it might be thirty or so tree trunks) (talus = Geologic units containing Talus. )

The unique feature of aspen is the leaf stem junction (tech terms?) and that special design of nature allows it to make the distinct soft rustling rattling sound effect - and fluttering appearance when viewed from 20 yards (meters)

I like this excerpt from the aforementioned BC Forestry handbook. I can agree! :)

https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/treebook.pdf

Image below
(Plus a screen image of a USA postage stamp circa 2006)

 

Maybe « willowherb »

A nickname due to resemblance of leaves to some willows (Salix)

Epilobium ciliatum

We have it in south Okanagan in disturbed moist patches

Look for a small pink flower

ÉDIT - yes do go back and see if flowering - it also looks like Pearly everlasting — which may have a kind of sour almost sagebrush scent - yes, like some daisies
Look up Anaphalis margaritacae
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The OTHER photo you’ve posted on here recently - i think you took pix at community hall - it looks like a non-native- a popular plant called Lavender —- again - go and have a look when it blooms soon - and its pretty scent when you squish a blossom in your fingers

 

Hello Keith - I am attaching a screen image of your initial enquiry below

I think this is in Mustard category (genus?)

Have a look at Pennsylvanian Bitter-cress

Cardamine pensylvanica

And also Shepherds Purse (capsella bursa-pastoris)

We have a similar « weed » on old range land nr Penticton

 

I find this a puzzle - perhaps there is more than one type of plant showing in the photos

In any event - start with « sambucus »

Aka « elderberry »

We commonly have the blue berries in Penticton and red berries at coast

One detail that puzzles me - no berries (or maybe they are still very small green and I can’t see them

The overall shrub shape (habit) looks elderberry-ish

Yet another project on your list ! :)

I think your observations will work out - I know for us it took a few years and SEASONS to figure out a myriad of wild plants and birds let alone butterflies and Columbia squirrels etc in Okanagan .

First two images belong to Keith to connect this post to his original post

Next photo is from eFlora website with a helpful dog who apparently is in charge of his own leash to stay legal :)
(Plus he’s showing scale)

 

Interesting that you suggest aspen.

When we were driving in to Kamloops recently, we kept noticing what we considered was a very different tree. And now that I think about it, it looks very much like the ones on our lower lot. The colour of the leaves in the breeze is what makes it stand out.

They were growing over a very extended area, probably well over a mile, generally close to the South Thompson river and always close together. So the idea of being spread by runners makes perfect sense, just as it is doing here. While anything toward Kamloops is outside my immediate area of interest, I thought it interesting that the trees were so similar. I will be keeping my eyes open for more of these aspen stands.

 

As far as I could tell, all these photos were of the same group of trees. As you can tell from the photos, there were many of the small trunks coming out of the ground. The leaves from one end to the other all looked similar.

As for the "no berries" I didn't see any, or otherwise I would have taken their portrait. But don't forget that we are probably behind most of the southern areas of the province here, and with a week of forthcoming sun, things might speed up considerably. I will certainly return soon for more - and better - photos.

 

Made a brief trip to the park at St. Ives this afternoon, and spotted a few different plants.

I think this one is called Orange Hawkweed, hieracium orantiacum and I saw perhaps a couple of dozen plants hiding where one wouldn't normally tread. Except I was going after some photos of another plant entirely. I see that it is considered an invasive plant even though it looks quite nice. The flowers are very small. I will have to add a ruler to my toolkit in future so I can make notes of the various sizes.

 

I haven't tracked this one down yet, so I am showing a number of photos. The bush is about six feet tall growing right at the edge of the lake. The roots must be in very wet ground.

I should note that after all the rain we have had lately, that the lake is higher than it was during our last trip. Over the next few months the lake level will fall considerably.

The red branches were quite attractive, but as I was taking the photos the sun repeatedly did a disappearing act which caused me to have to wait until the offending cloud had passed by.

 

Last trip to the lake I don't remember if we took photos of the roses or not. But now, the bulk of the flowers are gone, with just a couple of exceptions. But the spikes are still there! The colour of this last rose is quite different from the norm and it was the only flower like this.



The more usual colour is like this one.

 

Now as for this one, perhaps these photos will help with a better ID. I must point out that this one has an extreme minty smell to it when rubbed. Second photo shows a flower forming. Maybe in another week or more it will be open. We are expecting decent weather after all the recent rains. Last photo is another plant, same minty smell. There's quite a few of them there.

 

Tried to get the whole tree in one picture, but I would have been in the lake to do that!

 

Red twig dogwood

ÉDIT - i have attached your photos to this Keith to relate it to your question


It’s common in the Okanagan too in damp locations

Osier dogwood is another name people call it

One can purchase it at garden stores, too — I have one at coast called « arctic fire »

The reason I like it is because it has leaves in summer then really bright red twigs in winter

Red Osier Dogwood - Okanagan Xeriscape Association

 

That's really beautiful

I have attached your photo below Keith to relate it to your post

It’s not every day we see the orange version on Okanagan (yellow version seems more common sighting for us)

That said - some do consider it invasive - I have never seen a pasture covered in it but than again I don’t depend on pasture / range to feed cattle.

Orange Hawkweed - Invasive Species Council of British Columbia

 

If you can believe this, I read the entire book last night. Very interesting. Now all I have to do is to remember what I read.....

 

There are literally thousands of these plants scattered all over the countryside here. I expect they are all Oxeye Daisy, leucanthemum vulgare and of course, they are invasive. This one, along with many others, was at St. Ives today.

 

This is the plant I was trying to get at when I was sidetracked by the Orange Hawkweed. It reminds me of sweet peas just before they open right up. I haven't found it yet, but I will keep on looking.

Actually more than one plant. The last photo looks as though it is more advanced.