Fireweed Seedhead 2006, Photo by Calvin Wong

Seedpods are the future generations of native plants.  Many native plants are relatively easy to grow from propogated divisions of established plants however, quite often when trying to reclaim an area, especially a large area, seeds are our only option.  In addition, when rescuing the genetic stock from a region, we are often limited by the time of year and may not be able to retrieve plants.

Most native plant guides have only photographs of  flowers and occasionally foliage although most have nice pictures of grasses, the seedheads of forbs are often neglected even though they are a useful tool in identifying species during non-flowering times of the year (spring, autumn).

We are compiling a photographic catalogue of seedheads of plants of the aspen parkland region to aid conservation stewards in identifying native plants by their seedheads so appropriate species may be collected.

In addition, we hope to provide some interest to gardeners who would like to see what their plants look like during non-flowering times which in our region can be quite extended.

One important note, we would like to remind individuals about guidelines put out by the Alberta Native Plant Council on collecting in the wild. Details are here

www.anpc.ab.ca/assets/researchers_students.pdf

Taking seeds from natural areas should be done with minimal damage to those areas, which means not removing more than one needs and not removing seeds from endangered or extremely rare plants. The future health of these natural areas depends upon the seeds. In addition, many small birds, and rodents depend upon seeds for their food.

 If you are interested in assisting with this project please email engvolunteer@gmail.com.