Flowering Plants

Alopecurus carolinianus [Red-listed] Annual (or winter annual) tufted grass from fibrous roots; stems 10-30 (40) cm tall. Found in wet to moist vernal pools, roadsides and meadows in the lowland zone. Rare on South Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Marah oregana [Endangered/ Red-List] Gardeners will quickly recognize this rare plant’s place in the squash family and it’s unlikely to be confused with anything else.

Silene scouleri grandis [Red-Listed] An iconic rare species on the southern Gulf Islands, Coastal Scouler’s catchfly is known on Salt Spring Island only from one location.

Lomatium dissectum dissectum [Red-Listed] This rare desert parsley is always associated with Garry oaks at the few sites it’s known from on South Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Allium geyeri var. tenerum [Blue-listed] Unmistakable with tiny bulbs replacing some of the flowers, this rare onion employs two strategies to survive in it’s harsh environment, releasing both seed and small plantlets.

Carex feta [Blue-listed] This aptly named sedge occurs in a variety of wet habitats from ditches to vernal seeps, and has recently been planted as part of the Blackburn Lake wetland restoration project.

Allium geyeri var. tenerum [Threatened/Red-listed] On the Southern Gulf Islands, this plants best defence is its choice of habitat. Steep cliffs and protected grassland pockets keep away most of the browsing deer that target the young flowering stems.

Heterocodon rariflora [Blue-listed] Count yourself lucky if you come across the small, blue flowers on this tiny bluebell; most of the time it produces inconspicuous greenish flowers that self-pollinate.

Triteleia howellii [Endangered/ Red-listed] Known on Salt Spring Island from a single collection made in 1893, it still occurs nearby in Maple Bay and at scattered sites on southern Vancouver Island.

Viola howellii [Red-listed] Thirty years ago, this enigmatic violet was known from a dozen sites on Vancouver Island.

Pyrola aphylla [Blue-listed] True to its name, this conspicuous wintergreen was recognized by early botanists but later included within the variation of whiteveined wintergreen (P. picta).

Trifolium dichotomum [Blue-listed] An uncommon clover from scattered locations on the Gulf and San Juan Islands, usually on hot south-facing Garry oak outcrops.

Limnanthes macounii [Threatened / Red-Listed] Locally, these flowers are one of our surest signs of spring and in a mild year they can begin blooming at the end of February.

Hornungia procumbens [Blue-listed] This tiny annual mustard is more commonly found along the shores of alkaline lakes in the Okanagan Valley.

Corallorhiza maculata var. ozettensis [Red-listed] Though this orchid’s existence in British Columbia was known for many years, it was only officially added to the provincial checklist in 2014 and considered rare.

Cephalanthera austiniae [Threatened / Red-listed] This striking orchid completely lacks chlorophyll and instead makes it’s living sharing nutrients with fungi that break down organic matter.

Toxicodendron diversilobum [Blue-listed] A good rare plant to recognize so you can avoid it! Poison oak causes an itchy rash upon contact that is even worse than its close relative poison ivy.

Trifolium depauperatum var. depauperatum [Blue-listed] The strongly inflated flowers distinguish it from our other annual clovers that grow in wet areas and give the plant another common name, balloon clover.

Thysanocarpus curvipes [Blue-listed] At the northern extent of its range in BC, this annual mustard is known from a dozen sites on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Idahoa scapigera [Blue-listed] One of our earliest flowering plants with small white blooms in February, it’s easier seen later in the spring when the large circular pods develop.

Plagiobothrys tenellus [Threatened/ Red-listed] The British Columbia populations of this upland popcornflower are in decline and a number of occurrences are now no longer viable.

Glyceria leptostachya [Blue-listed] Slender-spiked mannagrass is similar to, and occasionally hybridizes with an introduced species, floating mannagrass (G. fluitans), luckily not yet reported for Salt Spring.

Allium amplectens [Blue-listed] At the northern extent of its range, this showy onion is known from scattered sites on South Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast.

Tonella tenella [Red-listed] Tonella was first reported in Canada from a private property on Salt Spring Island almost forty years ago.

Clarkia purpurea ssp. quadrivulnera [Red-Listed] At the northern extent of it’s range in British Columbia, winecup clarkia grows on hot, grassy slopes with some spring seepage.

Meconella oregana [Endangered/ Red-listed] One of our rarest and most threatened plants, this delicate annual is known from a half-dozen sites on South Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Piperia candida [Red-listed] Despite its broad range, Alaska to California, this rare orchid is still known from less than a dozen sites in British Columbia. On Salt Spring Island, it is so far only reported from one location where it occurs in a dry Douglas-fir and arbutus forest.

Viola praemorsa ssp. praemorsa [Endangered/ Red-listed] One of our rarest plants associated with the local Garry oaks, this violet shares the same threats as the oaks, primarily habitat loss through succession and development.