Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Native Summer Wildflowers

It's true -- spring DOES give a better wildflower show down on southern Vancouver Island than summer. But July and August are not without their beauty on low and mid-elevation cliff, meadow, and forest.

These images showcase a few of the native summer blooms found in and around the wilderness areas close to Victoria BC.


Hypericum scouleri ssp. scouler
St. John's Wort
Hypericum scouleri ssp. scouler . A lovely grouping of St. John's Wort on the western slopes of Jocelyn Hill.


Harvest Brodiaea
Harvest Brodiaea
Brodiaea coronaria ssp. coronaria is common on southern Vancouver Island. I love seeing it peek out from the golden grasses. Ants seem to love it.



Oceanspray
Oceanspray
Holodiscus discolor is in full bloom at this time of the year. The flowers on this graceful shrub become lacy seed pods in the late summer and fall. They can be seen right through the winter, until the spring brings new growth.


Manzanita berries
Manzanita
Not a flower at this stage, but Arctostaphylos columbiana berries are still interesting to examine. These tiny fruits look like small apples. The word manzanita is the Spanish diminutive of manzana (apple). A literal translation would be "little apple".


Tiger Lily on Wood
Tiger Lily
Lilium columbianum looks so bright and perky in the dark green forests of Vancouver Island. I enjoy seeing their flashy spots of colour on our summer hikes.