Flowering plants of Gunnison National Forest, Colorado

Even though my summer field season has finished, I still have three blog posts about Colorado in draft mode that I want to share.  Here is one about most of the flowering plants that I photographed during the summer (and then I will post photos of insects and birds).  I have arranged these images mostly by the time I saw the plants (i.e., phenology) and/or genus.

One of the earliest flowering plant that I saw.  I couldn't identify it at the spot, but it is in the Parsley family (Apiaceae).

Field course in Algonquin - Part 4

Friday (June 21st) was our last full day here in Algonquin.  The students presented their results in the evening, test on Saturday morning, and then we came back in Peterborough on Saturday evening.

In the morning, we asked the students (those that felt comfortable with their presentation) if they would like to go for a walk at the Beaver Pond Trail. 

Towards the middle section of the trail, we actually stumbled upon a beaver (Castor canadensis) on the trail gnawing on a low branch.  Just a few moments ago before seeing the beaver, the students were talking about a man-killing beaver (news here), and so the students were startled (to say the least) when they saw the actual animal.  Long story short, the beaver paid no attention to the shrieking students and left, while the only photo I could get was above.

Good start to June - flowers, insects, and birds.

Came to school today to do some work.  Along the way, I saw this single yellow iris among the grasses next to the Otonabee River.  Strange place for a garden plant to be.

Very pretty nonetheless.

Wandering around MBG

We learned the different types of floral advertisements that attract pollinators, ranging from vision, olfactory, nectar, texture, chemosensory, thermosensory, and timing.

In the afternoon, we were asked to collect flowers (given permissions) from the botanical garden and learn some techniques back in the lab.

I took some photos as I go along collecting flowers that interest me - mostly small or dioecious flowers, since my project focuses on Shepherdia canadensis.

Green Frog