Fruits of October

Prairie spikemoss (Selaginella densa), showing sporangia (spore-bearing capsules) in axils of leaves of a reproductive spike. Not technically a fruit, but the sporangia contain the spores that will be the source of new plants. Gibbons Badlands Prairie, 2024-09-22. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Star-flowered false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum), Edmonton river valley, 2024-09-25. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Western false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum amplexicaule), Lloyd Creek Natural Area, 2024-09-30. Photo: M. Parseyan.

Rough-fruited fairybells (Prosartes trachycarpa), Lloyd Creek Natural Area, 2024-09-30. Photo: M. Parseyan.

Clasping-leaved twisted-stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius), Lloyd Creek Natural Area, 2024-09-30. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Sparrow’s-egg lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium passerinum), Whitemud Park North, 2024-09-27. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), non-native escape in the Edmonton river valley, 2024-09-25. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Western mountain-ash (Sorbus scopulina), Lloyd Creek Natural Area, 2024-09-30. Photo: M. Parseyan.

Common juniper (Juniperus communis), Edmonton river valley, 2024-09-25. Photo: P. Cotterill.

American green alder (Alnus alnobetula subsp. crispa), Lloyd Creek Natural Area, 2024-09-30. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Wolf willow or silverberry (Elaeagnus commutata), Whitemud Park North, 2024-09-27. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Western snowberry or buckbrush (Symphoricarpos occidentalis), Whitemud Park North, 2024-09-27. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Woods' rose (Rosa woodsii), Lloyd Creek Natural Area, 2024-09-30. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Shining-leaved meadowsweet (Spiraea lucida). A western species that does not extend farther east than Saskatchewan. Lloyd Creek Natural Area. 2024-09-30. Photo: M. Parseyan.

Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa). A native species, it seems to occur mainly in areas that have been influenced by humans. Whitemud Park North, 2024-09-27. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Woodland agrimony (Agrimonia striata), Whitemud Park North, 2024-09-27. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Northern bedstraw (Galium boreale), Edmonton river valley, 2024-09-25. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Smooth aster (Symphyotrichum laeve), garden, 2024-09-26. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Fringed brome (Bromus ciliatus), Lloyd Creek Natural Area, 2024-09-30. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Purple oatgrass (Schizachne purpurascens), Lloyd Creek Natural Area, 2024-09-30. Photo: P. Cotterill.

Green muhly (Muhlenbergia racemosa), Edmonton river valley, 2024-09-25. Photo: P. Cotterill. 

Green needle grass (Nassella viridula), Edmonton river valley, 2024-09-25. Photo: P. Cotterill.