General – a perennial from slender, creeping rhizomes; flowering stems stout (appear before leaves); growing up to 50 cm tall. Sweet Coltsfoot Leaves – round to heart- or kidney-shaped at stem base. 5 – 20 cm wide, deeply divided (more than halfway to centre), into 5 to 7 toothed lobes, green, essentially hairless above, thinly … Read more
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
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
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
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
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
General – smallish evergreen fern of rock crevices, 10 – 25 cm high; fronds form a network of spreading, mat-like rhizomes. Leaves – single; leathery, green, erect or spreading; blade elongated, tapering to a pointed tip, deeply cut almost to the central axis; leaflets almost altemate, hairiess, margins entire or shallowly toothed, blunt-tipped; central axis … Read more
General – dark green, robust, unbranched, 4 – 15 cm tall or more; single-sexed, males have enlarged heads at plant tips, females produce sporophytes; lower portion covered by grey rhizoids. Leaves – 6 – 10 mm long, lance-shaped, sharply pointed; spread at right angles when moist, erect-flattened and rolled when dry; membranous, sheathing base; edges … Read more
Distinguishing Features – Non-venomous. Overall colouration, light brown to black with two alternating rows of black spots. Three longitudinal stripes run length of body; dorsal stripe is usually yellow. Lateral stripes are cream to yellow and are located on the second and third scale rows. A row of black spots usually occurs below the lateral … Read more
The balsam poplar is the northernmost North American hardwood. Other names are tacamahac, cottonwood, or heartleaf balsam poplar. General – medium to large-sized, averaging 23 – 30 m (75 – 100 ft) high, broadleaved hardwood. Crown narrow, pyramidal with thick, ascending branches. Branchlets moderately stout, round, shiny reddy-brown, orange lenticels, buds are reddish-brown to brown, … Read more