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Monday, December 3, 2018

Winter Walk Species Identification


Our Tiny Trekkers discovered some great stuff this morning and we just wanted to share the names and some info on a few things we found.




Running Cedar - this is a member of the clubmoss family and like other mosses, this plant produces spores in order to reproduce. It gets its name from the cedar bough like appearance of the plant. This evergreen was once used as Christmas decoration but so much of it was used, the plant was almost wiped out. 



Pipsissewa - also known as striped wintergreen. Its round, white, drooping flowers appear around late July. Indigenous tribes used this plant to treat gall stones, rheumatism and as a poultice on wounds. 

 

Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar - the caterpillar is covered with many tufts of fine bristles that can be white, yellow or orange. They also have longer "pencil hairs" at the front and back ends. The adults (moths) eat decaying plants with high alkaloid content which gives them a strong chemical defense against predators.