Originally published in the July 2022 issue of the WildFlower News By Patsy Cotterill. Photos by author unless otherwise noted. This article will be dedicated to some of the common non-native, weedy grasses that frequent our area, most of which flower in mid to late summer. For more information on these species and images, please consult the excellent online resources. One native weedy grass is mentioned. Smooth brome, Bromus inermis This tall perennial, strongly rhizomatous

Originally published in the August 2022 issue of the WildFlower News By Patsy Cotterill In this session I will take a look at some of the grasses that occur in our badland habitats, geological formations of clay and sand that have been formed by erosion of geological strata by rivers. They provide an opportunity for the expression of a grassland flora that is more characteristic of the southern prairies, and that is more particularly confined to clays slopes. I’ll make partic

Originally published in the August 2022 issue of the WildFlower News by Patsy Cotterill. Photos by author unless otherwise noted. In the July issue of WN, a population of Arnica in photos taken in Nisku Prairie was wrongly identified as shining arnica, A. fulgens. In fact, it appears that the populations of Arnica in Nisku seen so far are all leafy or Chamisso’s arnica, A. chamissonis. There has been some confusion between the two species, including plants that have been tran

Originally published in the August 2022 issue of the WildFlower News by Hubert Taube. All Photos by author. In the September 2021 issue of the Wildflower News I reported on my observations of three native bedstraw species: Galium boreale, G. triflorum, G. trifidum and the non-natives G. verum and G. mollugo, the last one being a tentative identification. I can now add the non-native cleavers bedstraw, G. aparine, and the native Labrador bedstraw, G. labradoricum, to my lifeli

Originally published in the August 2022 issue of the WildFlower News by Kathleen Mpulubusi The Gibbons Badlands Prairie is located on the west bank of the Sturgeon River, opposite the town of Gibbons. It is about a 1km stretch of native prairie grassland with exposures of the Edmonton formation which is the same rock seen in the Badlands further south. It’s a little slice of Badlands here in the Edmonton area which makes it very unique and special. The trip leaders were mysel

Originally published in the August 2022 issue of the WildFlower News By Liz DeLeeuw On Sunday, July 10th Cherry Dodd and myself, Liz Deleeuw, led a walk of about 8 people to Everything Prairie which is located east of Fort Saskatchewan. Everything Prairie is one of a number of prairie remnants found within sight of a rail line. These remnants likely survived because of the rolling terrain, the sandy soil, and their proximity to the rail line. The area has a lot of oil field a

Originally published in the October 2023 issue of the WildFlower News By Cherry Dodd Editor’s Note: In this second instalment, Cherry resumes her Bunchberry Meadows diary. Her story indicates the hard work involved in creating a native plant garden, but also what fun it is to do so in a nature reserve. I am so envious of her sighting of pocket gophers! I have a soft spot for them; I regard them as free roto-tillers, and the mounds of fine soil they create are perfect for the

by Kate Wilson Saskatoon berries, roots and branches sustained Indigenous peoples and settlers over harsh winters, the fruit is full of magnesium, iron, calcium and vitamins, and is delicious. It has even been called a super food. Yet an informal survey of city yards indicates saskatoons are an uncommon occurrence. Residents growing this bountiful plant seem rare. This article hopefully inspires gardeners to consider this versatile shrub when you’re thinking of what to add t

The 2025 Vascular Flora of Alberta: An Illustrated Guide and its earlier editions have now become the standard textbook for university students taking botany courses and for serious botanists. It is a much-needed update (albeit without descriptions) from the 1982 Flora of Alberta by E.H. Moss, edited by J.G. Packer. While I recommend that everyone should try using them, keys can be difficult and frustrating to use, especially without access to magnification or comparison mate

By Kate Wilson Silver buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) in fruit. Note the grey stems and thorns. Sandy Point Park, Alberta, 2007-08-19. Photo: P. Cotterill. Do buffaloberries elude notice by gardeners and native plant growers? A 2002 bulletin by the Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada may offer a clue, with its title Poorly Known Economic Plants of Canada (1). Yet buffaloberries are excellent nitrogen fixers, an important food source for w

By Kathleen Mpulubusi Photos by K. Mpulubusi and P. Cotterill What are Catkins? When the Spring Equinox arrived in Edmonton on March 21, winter still held its grip on the land. The first signs of spring are fleeting but slowly new life does start to re-appear. One of the first signs is the appearance of catkins on the branches of some deciduous trees and shrubs. From the soft, fuzzy catkins of “pussy willows" to the long, often woolly strings hanging from branches of poplars,

On March 25, 2026, Dr. Ashley Hillman, from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences - Renewable Resources Department, gave a presentation to the Alberta Native Plant Council's Central Alberta Plant Study Group. In this presentation, she gave an introductory lesson on identifying common sedges (Carex species) found in Alberta uplands, wetlands, and peatlands. With permission from the author, we have here reproduced the slides from t

By Patsy Cotterill Prairie crocus ( Pulsatilla nuttalliana ) and three-flowered avens ( Geum triflorum ) are both spring-flowering grassland plants with a number of features that make them welcome in the native plant garden. Although they belong in different families, prairie crocus in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and three-flowered avens in the rose family (Rosacea), they have similar flowers with a simple, radially symmetrical arrangement of sepals and petals. They

By Patsy Cotterill The Binomial System Being able to name a plant or animal is the first step in getting to know it. One can observe and become familiar with an organism without knowing its identity, but knowing a name, especially if it is a scientific name, allows you not only to communicate about that organism but also gives you access to all the information, beyond your personal information, that has been accumulated about that organism. All living things that are known t

By Terra Albers My interest in native plants began with a simple observation in my own garden. I had plenty of beautiful (to me) non-native ornamental plants, but very few bees and birds, while mosquitos, ants, and wasps seemed to be thriving. That led me to start asking questions about what was missing. As I learned more, I began to see gardening differently. It wasn’t only about arranging plants to look a certain way; it was about participating in an ecosystem. When we work

By Liz Deleeuw Editor’s Note (by Patsy Cotterill): Fall is the time when ENPS members start cleaning and packaging the seeds that have been collected throughout the season. I was once asked “What is the best time to collect seeds?”, the questioner obviously looking for me to name a date, but I said “When they are ripe.” This isn’t entirely true. The seeds of some species can be taken off the parent plant before they are ripe and they will subsequently ripen. (Beaked hazelnut,

By Patrick Kyle My interest in native flowers started by taking photos of native flowers in the National Parks and then looking up the names of these flowers in the many books I have acquired over the years. I am an amateur photographer and amateur naturalist. I was born and raised on a southeast Saskatchewan farm where some native prairie surrounded the farm thanks to road allowances and some pasture land where native flowers grew. I worked for Environment Canada Weather Se

By Patsy Cotterill Understory: An Ecologist’s Memoir of Loss and Hope , by Kevin Van Tighem, 2025. Rocky Mountain Books Ltd. , rmbooks.com Albertan nature writer, Kevin Van Tighem, has published his latest book, Understory , a candid and self-reflective memoir of his life and career as an ecologist and administrator in the mountain national parks. It is probably his best exposé yet of what it is like to be a conservationist in present-day western Canada. Both background and

By Patsy Cotterill The genus Ribes The currants and gooseberries belong in the genus Ribes, the single genus that constitutes the family Grossulariaceae. It is primarily a Northern Hemisphere group, with some 150-200 species, of which we have 13 in Alberta. Of these, seven are common locally in the Parkland, and all prefer habitats with an adequate supply of water, from moist woodlands and meadows to the shores of wetlands and creeks. Ribes species are ecologically importan

By Patsy Cotterill On January 20, the City of Edmonton’s Administration requested City Council’s Urban Planning Committee to repeal both the Ribbon of Green Concept Plan, which had been in existence since 1990, and the Master Plan of 1992, and replace them with a new model, the Ribbon of Green Strategic Plan of 2025. The Committee councillors complied. Like the previous plan, the new one uses land management classifications that specify different levels of ecological protecti