By Tony Jovan
GENUS: Sassafras albidum is the only species of the genus sassafras native to North America. It belongs to the Lauraceae family, which is mainly tropical and subtropical. Other members of this family are Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), which is found in Ontario, Cinnamon Tree (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Camphor Tree (C. camphora), Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis), and Avocado (Persea americana).
By Catherine Macleod
Schizachyrium scoparium or little bluestem once flourished throughout North America feeding bison and other grazing animals. It is a major component of the grassland complex of this continent, especially the tallgrass prairies that once occupied over a million square kilometres (400,000 square miles).
By Catherine Macleod
The most breathtaking quality of Sorghastrum nutans — one of the most beautiful of native grasses in my opinion — is animation. In even the subtlest of breezes Indian grass, as it’s commonly known, creates a ballet of movement and sound.
By Jane Bowles
In May 1887 poet/naturalist Robert Elliot presented a specimen of a spectacular yellow-flowered poppy to the London chapter of the Entomological Society of Ontario. He had discovered wood poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) growing in a few isolated patches along the Thames River near his home in Plover Mills. A few more discoveries were made close by over the next couple of years and then there were no more reports of this plant for almost a century.