The tutor shares a nice woodland find from the weekend.

For a naturalist, this time of year is amazing. Every week, new birds are evident. Plants that, a month ago, were hard to identify – or even notice at all – are now in leaf, perhaps even flowering.

In the woods a few days back, I spotted the very showy, white-flowered western trillium in full bloom. It’s a plant of threes: three petals, three sepals (that seem opposite the petals instead of supporting them), and, further down the stalk, three large leaves. The flowers I saw were one per plant. The blooms are large; I didn’t have a ruler with me, but I’d say 5cm across.

After noticing one western trillium, I began seeing them commonly on either side of the trail. They were on high ground, on slope, and even on the stream bank. While the habitat seems quite welcoming to them, they don’t grow in clusters; rather, I saw one, then another about fifteen paces away, then the next another 10 paces further, and so on. You might say the forest floor is dotted with them.

While it’s hard to imagine missing such obvious blooms, I can’t recall seeing them before, though I’ve visited those woods for years.

I’ll be sharing other field guide identifications:)

Source:

Pojar, Jim and Andy MacKinnon. Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver:
   Lone Pine Publishing and BC Minstry of Forests, 1994.

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.