General – – shrub or small tree up to 4 metres (13 feet) high; branchiets light reddish-brown, hairy, not sticky; older twigs dark brown to purplish-black, hairless, dotted with conspicuous light warty dots, pith 3-sided; often growing in clumps or thickets, hummock-forming. Speckled Alder Leaves – Leaves – alternate; egg-shaped or broadly oval, rounded to … Read more
Distinguishing Features – Leaves: 6 – 13 cm long; narrow, lance-shaped, with pointed tips, saw-toothed; colouration: dark green above and whitish to gray underneath. Bark: gray; rough, thick, deeply grooved. Branchlets: yellowish-green to brownish; slender, unbranched, drooping Flowers: borne on catkins 1 – 2.5 cm long; greenish; on the ends of short leafy twigs; appearing … Read more
General – perennial with rooting, horizontal stems creeping on or near ground surface, up to 1 m long; erect-ascending stems, whitish green, much branched, 5 – 30 cm tall, flattened (cedar-like). Leaves – in 4 vertical rows, sharp-pointed, partially fused to a stem, in 3 forms; largest on upper side, with elevated base; smaller on … Read more
Distinguishing Features – Length: 13 – 15 cm; Tail: 2 cm; stout bodies, thick fluffy fur, small ears, very short tails, and long claws. Habitat Tundra, grassy land of northern Scandinavia and western Russia. Diet Diet consists mainly of grass, little shrubs and above all, moss; also avaiable insects in summer. Notes The noticable marked … Read more
Distinguishing Features – Overall colouration, reddy-brown above with grayish or brownish underparts. Snout, long; legs, short; feet, clawed. Size 7.11 – 10.4 cm (2.8 – 4.1 in) Habitat Common throughout Northwestern Ontario in mixed wood environments, bogs and wet fields. Diet The pygmy shrew feeds mainly on insect larvae, beetles, spiders and carrion. Notes The … Read more
Although they are called by different names in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia, most northern wolves are considered to be a single species of Gray wolf Canis lupus. The gray wolf is the largest living member of the family Canidae. Largest individuals tend to occur in the northern forests of North America, with weights of … Read more
In the uppermost Northern Hemisphere, North America, Europe, and Asia have significant expanses of land. The boreal forests ring the regions immediately south of the Arctic Circle in a vast expanse that easily rivals the rainforest regions of the world. The northern boreal ecoregion accounts for about one-third of this planet’s total forest area. This … Read more