Flowers and Plants – Page 2

Gallery containing public domain photos of flowers and plants from the Canadian National Parks – Western Canada. From the warm, temperate broadleaf forests of southern Ontario to the frigid Arctic plains of Northern Canada, from the wet temperate rainforests of the west coast to the arid deserts, badlands and tundra plains, the biodiversity of Canada’s plants is extensive.

 

Amelanchier alnifolia (the saskatoon) is a shrub with edible berry-like fruit, native to North America from Alaska across most of western Canada and in the western and north central United States. With a sweet nutty taste, the fruits have long been eaten by Canada’s Aboriginal people, fresh or dried. They are well known as an ingredient in pemmican, a preparation of dried meat to which saskatoon berries are added as flavour and preservative. They are also often used in pies, jam, wines, cider, beers and sugar-infused berries similar to dried cranberries used for cereals and snacks.

 

Amaryllis is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of the Western Cape region of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest area between the Olifants River Valley to Knysna. They are widely sold in the winter months for their ability to bloom indoors. The species was introduced into cultivation at the beginning of the eighteenth century. They reproduce slowly either by bulb division or seeds.

 

Anapahlis margaritacea, commonly known as the western pearly everlasting, is a flowering perennial plant in the Asteraceae family. Since it is the only North American species it is often simply called pearly everlasting in the United States and Canada. However, it is also native to Asia and has been widely introduced in Europe.

The plant is dioecious. It prefers dry, sunny climates, although it is hardy to temperatures well below freezing; it is common throughout North America excepting states that border the Gulf of Mexico. The leaves and young plants are edible when cooked.

Allium aflatunense, native to Central Asia, is commonly grown as a garden plant. Growing to a 0.9 m bulbous perennial plant with basal, straplike leaves, and hollow, slightly ribbed scapes. The flower heads are dense, globular umbels, about 10 cm across, made up of numerous star-shaped, purplish-pink flowers. It flowers in May and June, with seeds ripening in August.