Prickly Wild Rose – Rosaceae (Rose Family)

General – bushy shrub, 0.3-1.5 m tall; stems stout, usually densely covered with many straight, weak bristles and straight slender thorns. Leaves – alternate; compound, 3-9 oblong leaflets (usually 5), each 2-5 cm long, (usually 3-4 cm), sharply double-toothed, usually somewhat hairy beneath. Flowers – single, on short side branches; pink, showy, 5-7 cm across; … Read more

Stair-step Moss – Hylocomium Splendens

General – olive green, yellowish or reddish green; stems creeping, 2 – 20 cm long, stems and branches reddish, often with branches on branches; current year’s growth arises from near middle of previous year’s branch, producing feathery ‘fronds’ in step form; forms springy mats. Stair-step MossLeaves – 2 – 3 mm long, oval, smooth-edged, wide … Read more

Russian Flying Squirrel – Pteromys Volans

Distinguishing Features – Soft, silky pelage. Overall colouration, pale olive-brown; lighter buff-coloured underparts; tail flattened ventrally and densely haired; eyes large and luminous; skin membrane extends along flanks between wrists and ankles. Habitat Inhabits boreal coniferous forests of Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia and as far east as Northern Mongolia, Central and North-eastern China. Prefers dense forests. … Read more

Common Shrub Species – Northwestern Ontario Forest

Table of Contents Acer spicatum – Mountain Maple – “White Maple” Alnus crispa – Green Alder Alnus rugosa – Speckled Alder Amelanchier bartramiana – Mountain Juneberry Amelanchier humilis – Shadbush Amelanchier sanguinea Saskatoon – “Red-twigged Serviceberry, Juneberry” Andromeda glaucophylla – Bog Rosemary Arctostaphylos uva-ursi – Bearberry Chamaedaphne calyculata – Leatherleaf Chimaphila umbellata – Pipsissewa – … Read more

Understanding Silviculture – Tree Planting

To understand silviculture, one must first understand silvics. Silvics involves understanding how trees grow, reproduce, and respond to environmental changes. Some tree species thrive in shade – sugar maple, red maple, hemlock and basswood are good examples. These species can live, grow, and reproduce in shade and semishade conditions. Many tree species prefer or require … Read more

Pine Marten – Martes Americana

Distinguishing Features – Overall colouration, lustrous fur, varying from pale buff to dark brown; underparts paler brown. Ears, pale with whitish edges. Body, long; feet, dark brown; claws, semi-retractable. Size Male: .54 – 63 m (1.8 – 2.1 ft) Female: .48 – .6 m (1.6 – 2 ft) Habitat Throughout Northwestern Ontario, preferring mature coniferous … Read more

Meadow Horsetail – Equisetum Pratense

General – Green, bottlebrush-like perennial, from spreading rhizomes; stems annual, erect, hollow, slender, 10 – 50 cm tall, 1 – 4 mm thick, die back each year; fertile and sterile stems dissimilar; fertile stems unbranched at first, later develop many whorls of branches; sterile stems mostly single, whitish green, with 10 – 18 minutely roughened … Read more

Woodland Horsetail “Wood Horsetail”- Equisetum Sylvaticum

General – slender perennial from deep, creeping rhizomes; stems die back each year, erect, hollow, 15 – 60 cm tall; 2 markedly different stem types; fertile stems unbranched at first, later have mostly compound branches, green to tan; sterile stems much branched, usually single, green, with 10 – 18 minutely spiny ridges; many branches, again … Read more

Siberian Chipmunk – Tamias Sibiricus

Distinguishing Features – The Siberian chipmunk’s body length is 12 – 17cm, two-thirds of its total length. Like other chipmunks, it has brightly colored fur, dark stripes, and large cheek pouches. Its ears are small and slightly rounded at the tips. The fur on the back is brown-gray to ocher yellow, depending on the origin … Read more

Great Bustard – Otis Tarda

Distinguishing Features – The Great Bustard is one of the largest birds capable of flight. Weight: males up to 17 kg, females up to 8 kg; length: male may be 1.2 m long with a 2.4 m wingspan. Habitat The Great Bustard is a vulnerable species. It is distributed throughout many countries in Europe, Russia … Read more