Category Archives: Wild flowers of Manitoba

Why do we need a New Attitude to Nature?

This is a photograph of one of Manitoba’s lovely little orchids that are blooming right now. I am a wild flower guy. I hate what is happening to flowering plants, and other plants, around the world!

Some people don’t–no make that most people–don’t think we need a new attitude to nature. They are content with the current attitude to nature that is deeply embedded in western thought. Fundamentally, this is the attitude that we humans are not part of nature.  According to the conventional wisdom, we are separate from nature and in fact superior to it, so that we can do with nature as we please. Nature is just a resource. When Europeans arrived in New World, as they called, even though there was nothing new about, they brought this attitude with.  That is a pity because the indigenous people had an entirely different attitude which I will comment on soon.

This is the western attitude to nature in a nutshell which has been with us for millennia and is supported by Christian scripture, though fortunately, some modern Christians are trying with heroic efforts to turn that ship around. I wish them luck.

There is some very recent history to support my contention that current attitudes have got us in big trouble. Recent studies have shown that pollution caused by humans is killing 9 million people a year around the world.

The recent study is based on data from the Global Burden of Disease Project.  That study found that air pollution caused 75% of those deaths. That means that air pollution is responsible for 1 in 6 deaths around the world!

 

The study was published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health and it said that toxic air and contaminated water and soil “is an existential threat to human health and planetary health.” According to the Guardian Weekly review of that research, “The death total dwarfs that from road traffic deaths, HIV/Aids, malaria, and TB combined!”

Of course, pollution is produced by humans the greatest serial killer on the planet. Humans produce it because they don’t care about nature.

Another recent study has shown that 80,000 plant species world-wide are currently categorized as “heading for extinction because people do not need them!” Many of these are flowers which as a flower child I lament of course, with special feeling.

And for those who don’t care about wild flowers or even nature, but care about money, and that includes a lot of people, here are the economics: “The researchers calculated the economic impact of pollution deaths at $4.7 tn., about $9m a minute.”

That should get their attention.

And in a nutshell, that is one reason why we need a new attitude to nature. But there are many.

Crocuses in Steep Rock

Every year’s in spring I rush out to photograph crocuses, not because they are Manitoba’s official flower, but because I think they are one of our prettiest flowers.  This year I drove 3 hours to photograph flowers I can find within 20 minutes of home. Is that rational?

This day I joined the Native Orchid Conservation Inc. group on a field trip to Steep Rock.  Chris thought I was nuts for driving so far However, I was keen to go on a field trip. I was also keen on seeing Steep Rock again.  It is located on the shores of Lake Manitoba on wonderful limestone cliffs.  I always feel like I am on the east coast of Canada when I there.

Steep Rock is one of the most scenic spots in Manitoba. It feels like you are at the east coast.  Where else in Manitoba can you see such limestone cliffs beside a massive lake?  Nowhere of course. Steep Rock is special.

 

After spending about 20 minutes on the beach our faithful leader Megan led us along the beach toward the cliffs that in some places could be climbed quite easily. Megan is a dedicated leader. Once she saw me clambering up a cliff in search of a good spot to photograph flowers and quickly encouraged me to come down to safety. I realized I was taking a foolish chance and did not argue with her. Slipping and falling there even though not very high would have been at least very unpleasant and perhaps worse.  I promised her I would not be so foolish again. I am normally quite timid of dangers, but sometimes in pursuit of a photograph I take risks that I normally would not take.

Once we climbed up to the land adjacent to the beach we were met with glorious crocuses.  First, we saw a few crocuses and then hundreds!  This might be the best place in Manitoba for crocuses. At least I have never seen better. This was well worth the trip. Great scenery and a hundreds of crocuses. What could be better? I was very happy I had come on this trip. I tried my best to get some photographs of crocuses on the edge of the cliff with the lake covered with ice in the background.

There were a couple of fields with tons of crocuses, often in lovely clusters. Life was good today

 

Dragon’s Mouth

 

There are some spectacular beauties in the bogs of Manitoba.  One of them is an orchid called Dragon’s Mouth.

After visiting the Brokenhead ecological reserve where I am not allowed to get off the trail, in order  to protect the flowers of course,  I went to another spot nearby where I had no such restrictions. Only fools go to such places. People like me. This allowed me to get very close to a spectacular Manitoba orchid—Dragon’s Mouth (Arethusa bulbosa). This year, the one’s in the reserve were not close enough to the boardwalk to photograph. Some years they have been much closer.

 

The Genus Arethusa to which this flower belongs is named after Arethusa of Greek mythology. Arethusa was a river nymph in the service of Artemis, goddess of the moon, and patroness of unmarried girls and  chastity. This gave her awesome responsibilities of course. One day when Arethusa was bathing in the river she was spotted by the river god Alpheus who naturally pursued her. This required her god Artemis to change into a spring to rescue her from her distress.

This is an interesting genus because there is only one species in the genus bulbosa is it. Sadly, like so many of our orchids these are declining in numbers because the wetlands in which they live are constantly being drained in the name of progress. Can you imagine a world without these gems? It would certainly be much poorer. Is that progress?

According to William Petrie’s Guide to Orchids of North America, “the flower gives the impression of being alive and listening  and reminds one of a small creature with erect ears and drooping tongue.”  I think this is a lovely description of this beautiful plant, except that it suggests the flower is not alive. It is certainly alive. Only a cretan would deny that.

 

Thinking of my mother on a jaunt to the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve

In June this summer, I went to the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological  trail (one of my favourite places) in search of Spotted Coral Root (Corallorhiza maculata) and met with great success. At a place where I had never seen these little gems before, right near the beginning of the trail I found a great plant. Not only that but the flowers were right beside the trail, before the boardwalk even began, so I did not have to succumb to temptation and go off the trail, which we are urged never to do. As my mother taught me, it is always best not to expose myself to temptation.  She knew me. Today there was no issue as  they were right where I needed them to photograph them.

Today there was no issue they were right where I needed them to photograph them. These are very unusual flowers since they belong to the Genus Corallorhiza or Coral-roots.  These flowers are mycoheterotrophs which means they are not able to produce chlorophyll and hence must obtain their nutrition from other plants by way of specific mycorrhizal fungi in the soil.  Orchids often have a mutualist relationship with fungi and this is one  orchid genus that has that. These orchids spend most of their time underground and appear above ground only briefly, since in the absence of chlorophyll they don’t require sunlight which they are not able to use to produce food . The only “leaves” they have are actually scales. That means they have no green on their bodies at all. So instead of producing sugar as food, as most plants do from sunlight, they have a special relationship with these fungi who supply food to them. Sort of like the relationship we have with our mothers.

These are very small orchids and I can only photograph the tiny but beautiful flowers with a macro (close-up) lens. Even then, it is impossible to get more than one flower in focus at one time.  Yet, I think it is worth the effort to catch these gems and this was probably the best opportunity to capture them on camera I have ever had. The word “maculata” is Latin for spotted. It is not immaculate in other words. Which is fine with me. I prefer spots and have no longing for the immaculate.

Since I am a wild flower guy and not just an orchid guy, I also paid attention to other beauties namely, Smooth Fleabane (Erigeron glabellus). Though common these flowers certainly merit some attention too.  

These flowers have a lovely flower head of ray flowers (the bigger outer flowers) that range in colour from near white, to blue, and purple. The much smaller inner disk flowers are yellow.  I find the combination of the two stunning.

The name Erigeron come from the Greek word “eri”  which means early  and “geron” which means ‘old man.’ These flowers appear fairly early in the year and then produce fluffy grey seed clusters, hence its name. I find it appropriate that I like this flower as I was prematurely grey and now am sadly bald. Life is hard.

 

 

With two lovely flowers like these and a few others I have not included in this post, I must say it was a great day.  My mother would have quoted her favourite Bible verse, “This is the day the lord has made.” And I would have agreed with her.

 

Tangled Up in Blue

 

This odd combination of  2 blue flag Iris flowers intrigued me. At first I thought it was one very odd flower.  In time I realized it was 2 flowers that had been growing so close they became intertwined.  I solved this mystery. Another one I could not solved.

The image brought to mind one of Bob Dylan’s classic song, “Tangled Up in Blue” . it is a deeply mysterious song from a classic album “Blood on the Tracks”. I always loved that song particularly the refrain of the words “Tangled up in blue” at the end of each verse. Yet I always had a very hard time trying to figure out what Dylan was getting in the song. What was tangled up in blue?

 

in the song he talks about meeting a woman at a topless bar.  It is sort of a love song. But not really. They don’t last together for long.

At one point she picks up a book of poems:

“Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century
And every one of them words rang true

And glowed like burning coal
Pouring off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you
Tangled up in blue”

 

In New Orleans where they met Dylans sings:

“I lived with them on Montagüe Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafés at night
And revolution in the air

Then he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up inside

And when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keeping on like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue”

 

Everything about the song is mysterious to me.  Who was the 13th century poet?  Dante was born in the 13th century but straddled the 14th century. Once Dylan said it was Petrach but that can’t be right. I am not sure it matters. I think the references to revolution and slavery suggest freedom but I am not sure how that fits in. If you know more let me know. Enlighten me a lowly pilgrim seeking light.

What is blue? The dress of his mother in the song?  Once he said he was thinking of Joni Mitchell’s also classic album “Blue” that came out in 1971. Amazingly I was actually listening to a radio documentary about the record on CBC radio at the time I was shooting the images of this blue flag iris. What an incredible coincidence? It was almost supernatural.

The song is still mysterious but I like it. The flowers I saw were just about as mysterious. When I untangled them to realize they were two flowers, that made them a little less mysterious. But no less beautiful.

A Royal Lineage

Jack Saunders pointed out in his book The Secrets of Wildflowers, that the name “iris” comes from the Greek goddess Iris who sat on top of Mount Olympus and acted as a messenger between humans and the other gods who also sat on top of the mountain. It was said that wherever she went a rainbow followed her. The Greeks said the rainbow in the sky was a sign that the goddess Iris was delivering a message. One of the duties of the goddess Iris was to guide the souls of the dead to the afterworld and so many Greeks planted the iris flowers next to their graves.

Saunders says this about its regal history:

“The ancients considered the iris a symbol of power and majesty. Egyptian kings used the design of the blossom on their sceptres and placed it on the brow of the Sphinx, believing its major petals to be symbols of faith, wisdom, and valour.  Modern use of the iris as a royal symbol may trace back to Clovis, a sixth-century king of the Franks. According to one legend, a large force of Goths trapped his army, with his back against the Rhine River near Cologne. As he searched for a way to escape, Clovis noticed in the distance a large colony of golden irises extending far out into the river. He realized this was a sign that the water was shallow enough there for his troops to cross.”

As a result Clovis men escaped. I had a short visit to Cologne

King Louis VII of France selected the iris as his house emblem when he was a young crusader and in time it became the famous fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-luce, all o of which are corruptions of ‘flower of Louis.’ Some people say the blue flag iris got is name because kings like the Louis’ of France frequently employed the design on the flags and banners of the monarchies of Europe. Others suggest that the leaves of the iris look like reeds, and the Middle English word for reeds is flagge. The wild blue flag is the official flower of Quebec

All of this is interesting (to me at least) but I admit I love them for their outstanding beauty alone. What more is needed? Irises bear a resemblance to orchids and I have had people ask me if the blue flag is an orchid. It is not, but perhaps it should be adopted into the family.

Blue Flag Redux

 

This year my botanical goal was to find and photograph the Blue Flag iris. They are not orchids but they sure are beautiful.  I have missed them for a couple of years and it is time I returned to their splendour in the grass. Well, splendour in the reeds actually. These flowers like to have wet feet.

I actually found and photographed those flowers earlier in the year but my computer program disgorged the images without me knowing it until it was too late. But it was not too late to try again.

I returned to municipal road near Labroquerie Manitoba and found them in abundance. I was well rewarded for my diligence with many  blue flag iris flowers.  This is a stellar place for blue flag iris. I had seen them before here but never like this. I had a great time. Life was good. I even let heretical thoughts enter my mind such as considering that perhaps the lost images were worth the loss! How could that be possible?

I am known as an orchid geek. There is good reason for that. I love orchids, particularly wild orchids. But when it comes to flowers I am promiscuous. Other favourites include cactus flowers, water lilies and others. I particularly like the Blue Flag Iris of Manitoba. It is an outstanding beauty.

Yet one of North America’s greatest naturalists was not bowled over by them. Henry David Thoreau said, “This is a little too showy and gaudy, like some women’s bonnets.” It has to be showy at the time it blooms because in June the competition to attract pollinators is fierce in Manitoba.

The blue stripes against a purple/blue background are thought to provide guidance to potential pollinators.

It is a large flower and hence attracts many visitors.  If you look closely to the flower above you can see an insect that might be a pollinator for Blue Flag iris. Unfortunately, some of the visitors are too small to much good when it comes to propagation. They drink the nectar but provide puny pollination services in return. These insects include butterflies and moths that really are too small to gather or deposit pollen. Thank goodness, as Jack Sanders said in his delightful book, The Secret of Wildflowers, “the iris has plenty of nectar to go around, and perhaps it is no accident that the blue flag iris is a denizen of wet places, swamps and moist fields—making production of large amounts of nectar easy.”

The leaves are nicely designed for life in tightly packed bogs or ditches. The leaves are thin and grass-like allowing sunlight to penetrate through the mass of vegetation., As well, unlike most broad leafed plants, the leaves can assimilate sunlight on both sides and not just the upper. Sometimes it pays to be AC/DC.

Sadly, Blue flag Iris is not as plentiful as it once was because so many wetlands in places like Manitoba have been drained for the “progress” of residential subdivisions and shopping malls. They can however form into impressive colonies. We once had an impressive colony near our cottage at Buffalo Point but it had to give way for the “progress” of a  sewer line for a proposed hotel that never appeared. That phantom hotel was considered  more important than flowers.

 

Irises like to find a place where their feet can be wet most of the year. The blue flag iris is a stunning flower and even that curmudgeonly Thoreau admitted, “It belongs to the meadow and ornaments it much.” I can’t disagree with that. According to Saunders, “the iris has a lofty and regal history.” American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow could appreciate these flowers for he wrote fondly of the blue flag iris:

Born in the purple, born to joy and pleasance

Thou dost not toil nor spin

But makest glad and radiant with thy presence

The meadow and the lin.

 

Queen of the Bog: Showy Lady’s-slipper

 

 

The showy lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium reginae) is the largest of our Lady’s-slipper. Some say also the most beautiful. This really is the queen of the bog as its scientific name suggests. When I saw it in the Woodridge bog, it was standing out in the bog with pink, yellow, and white finery. The pink can be anything from a deep rose to pale white with a few streaks of pink. She was indeed royally adorned and a humble pilgrim like me could do nothing but pay obeisance.

 

Sometimes the flower is completely white. This year in particular because it has been so hot and dry many of the plants have refused to produce colour. It must be their form of rebellion. Perhaps the flower is focusing on survival rather than attracting pollinators. Life  before beauty? This dry hot year my friends have seen more white flowers than ever before. I have not noticed any.

 

This is not a large bunch. Just the best I found this day. If you ever see these flowers in a large bunch you might end up falling to your knees. That is the right response. They are that magnificent. They are pollinated by bees who enter at the bottom of the beautiful pouch and then struggle absurdly out the top. It sometimes seems pitiful to see the bee struggling and sliding to get out. Of course, as they fight to get released from the flower they drop their pollen from the last flower visited, performing their important reproductive service to their queen. Yet as is so often the case with great beauty, one must be careful around it. Some people can develop a rash after the touching the hairs on its stems and leaves. As the Sergeant on Hill Street Blues used to warn his police officers every morning before they headed out on their beats, “Be careful out there.” Sometimes, as Yeats said, beauty is like a bended bow.

 

Recovering from Photographic Disaster in the Woodridge Bog

 

This week I experienced a terrifying disaster.  I return to Adobe Lightroom the photographic editing program that I use. I discovered that more than 9,000 images were missing. How could that be?  It was impossible. So I thought. I had worked on those images and could not possibly have deleted them. Previews were available on my computer but that just meant I could see them. There was nothing I could do with them. I could not make copies, prints or slides from the previews. I could not share. I started to think of where the nearest bridge might be located so I could pitch myself over it. Suddenly all colour was drained from the world.

After initial panic I phoned the Adobe help line. They have wonderful support all the way from India. They had helped me through difficulties in the past. Surely they could do so again. Right?  Wrong!

After 2 days of “help” I reached the conclusion that the images were in fact gone. They had disappeared like South American rebels dropped from a government plane into the cold Atlantic ocean. They were officially disappeared!  Adobe blamed Nikon. Then they blamed me.  Unfortunately, is appears likely I was the culprit. Somehow I had mishandled them.

 

Then there was good news. About 8,500 images were merely on another hard drive. They were easily accessible. But I had lost all my images for the first 3 weeks of June when I had been on a number of vitally important photo jaunts. They were important to no one, but me. I could cry, but it did not seem disastrous enough anymore to go find a bridge.

Instead, I had headed out to the nearest bog to try and replace the photos I had negligently lost. In this case that mean the Woodridge bog. There I was not disappointed. First, I found the lovely Small Round-leaved orchid (Galearis rotundifolia). These are the gems of this bog. Conditions were perfect. No wind and no nasty sun that could penetrate the dark bog. Mosquitos were largely absent thanks to the extreme drought we have had in Manitoba this year.

These are very tricky flowers to try to photograph.  That is because the flowers are tiny and they are not flat. As a result with a macro lens the range of the flower that is in focus is extremely slim. You really have to pick the smallest aperture which necessitates a very slow shutter speed. That is why a lack of wind is essential. Then you have to choose what part of the flower that will be in focus. It is impossible to get it all in focus. So, like Sophie you have to choose which child to eliminate. That is not an easy task with such a gorgeous little flower.

The flowers were still in pretty good condition. They were just past prime. Sort of like the photographer. Or rather, no where near as past prime as him as evidenced by his gross negligence earlier. The bridge could wait for another day.

 

 

A Gem in the Bog: Well worth the trips

 

 

A couple of days after seeing Calypso in bloom, I found a window of opportunity just before impending rain for 7 days to return. I jumped at the opportunity and headed out to the Hadashville bog in search of calypso in bloom. Today I wanted the real thing, flowers in bloom. This was my 4th attempt to find these flowers in bloom this spring and I was finally lucky.

 

Calypso (Calypso bulbosa) is usually one of the first of Manitoba’s orchid to bloom each year and is also one of its most beautiful. Calypso is a tiny little flower and hence difficult to find. While the flower is slipper shaped it is not a member of the lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium) family (genus). It is a member of the Calypso genus. It is named after the sea nymph Calypso of Homer’s Odyssey who kept Ulysses hidden on her island for 7 years.

The Greek word Kalypso means “hiding.”  Presumably that refers to its habit. It likes dark bogs such as I visited today.  Not much light enters here so I needed a tripod to photograph it. I always prefer a tripod anyways for flower pictures to ensure sharp focus. That is very difficult to achieve because the range of focus for such small flowers is very narrow.

 

You can see the narrow range of focus on this photo. The second flower to the right is deliberately out of focus even though it is only inches farther away than the one to the right

There are a couple of odd things about this orchid, besides its stunning beauty. It does not have close relatives. In other words, it is the only member of its genus. How can you have a family with only 1 member? I am not sure how that works.

One other odd thing about this gem of a flower is it has only 1 leaf which appears in autumn then lies dormant under the snow all winter but remains green! Then in spring shortly after the flower appears, the leaf withers until the next fall.

I will never forget the first time I saw this flower.  I was stunned by a flower so small with so much beauty. How is that possible? It really needs a an extreme close-up, preferably with a macro lens. Nothing else will do it justice.

 

It was a great venture. This bog is a little more than an hour from my home and I had to make 4 trips to see these flowers. There were only 10 of them at the site. Well worth the trips.