Landowners Bill and Jack Balkwill know the trees and herbaceous plants of their natural areas well as they have studied their woodland for over thirty years. When it was suggested that a plant inventory should be conducted, Bill Balkwill got the process underway by examining a Pelee Island plant list compiled by Natural Heritage Information Centre's staff person Mike Oldham. Bill's preliminary plant list was lengthy but incomplete as the identification of sedges posed a problem.
Luckily, Consulting Ecologist Gerry Waldron was able to spend the morning of August 6, 2005 walking through the Balkwill woodland, identifying various sedge species and collecting samples of other sedges that he would take to botanist Tony Reznicek at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor for positive identification.
As of December 5, 2005, the Balkwill plant inventory numbers 293 species.
Some highlights of this inventory are summarized below.
Abbreviations:
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Family | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carex bromoides | Sedge | CYPERACEA (Sedge F.) | - | Confirmed by Tony Reznicek |
| Carex cristatella | Sedge | CYPERACEA | - | Confirmed by Tony Reznicek |
| Carex gracilescens | Sedge | CYPERACEA | RO (S3) | - |
| Carex muskingumensis | Muskingum Sedge | CYPERACEA | RO (S2) | - |
| Carex squarrosa | Squarrose Sedge | CYPERACEA | RC, RO | - |
| Carex tribuloides | Sedge | CYPERACEA | - | Confirmed by Tony Reznicek |
| Erythronium americanum | Yellow Trout-lily | LILIACEAE (Lily F.) | - | Found in three colour morphs: yellow, yellow with crimson, and creamy-coloured |
| Corallorhiza maculata | Spotted Coral-root | ORCHIDACEAE (Lily F.) | RE | - |
| Carya glabra | Pignut Hickory | JUGLANDACEAE (Walnut F.) | RO (S3) | - |
| Carya laciniosa | Big Shellbark Hickory | JUGLANDACEAE | RO (S3) | - |
| Quercus velutina | Black Oak | FAGACEAE (Beech F.) | - | Single individual |
| Quercus palustris | Pin Oak | FAGACEAE | RO (S3) | - |
| Quercus shumardii | Shumard Oak | FAGACEAE | RC, RO | - |
| Lindera benzoin | Spicebush | LAURACEAE (Laurel F.) | - | Two individuals |
| Sassafras albidum | Sassafras | LAURACEAE | - | Within Old Logging Road |
| Heuchera americana | Alumroot | SAXUFRAGACEAE (Saxifrage F.) | RO (S2) | - |
| Crataegus dilatatae | - | ROSACEAE (Rose F.) | RO (S1), RE | Within Old Logging Road |
| Geum vernum | Spring Avens | ROSACEAE | RO (S2), RE | Throughout woodland |
| Rosa setigera | Climbing Prairie Rose | ROSACEAE | SC, RO (S3) | Various locations |
| Staphylea trifolia | Bladdernut | STAPHYLEACEAE (Bladdernut F.) | - | Within Old Logging Road |
| Vaccinium augustifolium | Common Lowbush-blueberry | ERICACEAE (Heath F.) | RE | In shade in one location |
| Decodon verticillatus | Swamp Loosestrife | LYTHRACEAE (Loosestrife F.) | RE | - |
| Cornus florida | Flowering Dogwood | CORNACEAE | - | One individual |
| Viburnum dentatum | Arrow-wood | CAPRIFOLIACEAE (Honeysuckle F.) | RE | - |