Betty Learmouth
Twenty-seven friends and members of the Canada South Land Trust gathered at the Essex Civic Centre on December 7, 2006 for a buffet supper, followed by a slide presentation. CSLT members Marie Deneau, Shirley Grondin, Helen Moore and Patricia Rhoads arrived early to set up the buffet tables and to prepare the silent auction and bucket raffle displays.
Buffet dishes included Cannelloni with Tomato Eggplant Sauce, Mushroom and Artichoke Lasagna, Tomato Mushroom Lasagna, David Ainslie’s fabulous bread, and Chinese and Greek Salad. Desserts included a choice of Figgy Orange Streusel Cake, Grandma’s Cinnamon Apple Cake or Chocolate Marble Cake.
Allen Woodliffe, Chief Ecologist for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for an area that extends from the Detroit River almost to the Grand River, had accepted the Land Trust’s invitation to be guest speaker at the evening’s event, selecting the topic A History of Prairies in Southwestern Ontario.
Allen began his presentation by stating that when early settlers arrived in North America, they colonized the eastern coastal areas, eventually making their way westward across formidable mountains. A few hardy souls made their way to expanses of grassy meadows with Blazing Stars. The open grasslands were confusing to those intent on settling. The settlers reasoned that if there were no trees growing on these expanses of grassland, then the lands must be infertile, thus the settlers moved on.
Allen showed us a map of North America’s mid-continental prairies with its triangular alignment in a north to south direction. This map showed a “prairie peninsula” extending into Michigan, with no indica- tion on this map of prairies within our province. Allen showed us a slide of a postcard dated 1909 which depicted a prairie-forest in our border region.
A number of persons have left written records of their sightings and impressions of prairies in Southwestern Ontario. Antoine Laumet de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, arriving in Detroit in July 1701, with his group in 75 canoes, remarked on the fine lands beyond the banks of the Detroit River. Edward Talbot commented on the prairies in the Brantford area in 1824. About 1836 both Catharine Parr Trail and Samuel Strickland wrote of the Rice Lake prairies. In 1842, William Pope wrote about the prairie patches at St. Thomas. Patrick McNuff mentioned in 1892 the prairie on the north side of the Thames River. Upon his visit to the Ojibway Prairie in 1893, Dominion botanist John Macoun recorded his thoughts on this prairie.
With guidance from these historical records, Allen showed us a revised map of the mid continental prairies, now with a few black marks to indicate our Ontario prairies.
Sadly, in North America, we have lost much of our prairie habitat to agricultural development in- cluding the cultivation of corn, wheat, soya beans and even sunflowers, all of which are in the same fami- lies as the prairie species which the cultivated crops have replaced.
Today some of the best prairie sites are found around pioneer cemeteries. Other sites are located along interstate highways. Luckily, the Ojibway and Walpole Island prairies have survived representing several hundred hectares of this rare habitat. Walpole Island prairies are under threat as space occupied by Walpole prairies is needed for other things. To illustrate his point, Allen showed a slide of a prairie with Blazing Stars in bloom that had been partially plowed, then abandoned.
Allen stated that prairie is a fascinating ecosystem which must tolerate cold dry winters and early spring dry seasonal weather . These conditions allow for an early spring hot fire which is absolutely neces- sary as fire kills woody vegetation on the prairie. The fire recycles plant material as fertilizer after the hot burn. If the thatch from unburned plants is allowed to accumulate, this material insulates the surface of the soil, preventing the warming of the soil. With a bit of rainfall, growth on the prairie quickly takes place. This is a good time to search for Sessile-leaved Bellwort on the Ojibway Prairie. Patches of Interrupted Fern appear at this time. On the Walpole Island prairies, the Small White Ladies Slipper may be found, just one of three sites in Ontario.
Allen then showed a series of slides depicting prairie plant species that may be observed in Southwestern Ontario, including our Ojibway Prairie, with comments including the abundance of particular plants. Habitat on prairies may range from prairie to savanna to oak woodland. Prairie may be defined as a habitat with less than one tree per acre. Savannahs include habitat of more than one tree per acre, up to fifty percent tree cover with woodlands consisting of a greater concentration of trees. Debate continues as to the exact definition of these habitats in relationship to prairies.
Subnational Ranks (SRanks) indicate the relative abun- dance of a species on a provincial scale. S1 indicates a species is critically imperiled with 0 to 5 occurrences. S2 indicates a species is imperiled with 6 to 20 occurrences. S3 indicates a species is rare, or vulnerable to extirpation, with 21 to 100 occurrences.
Allen’s slide presentation depicted the following prairie species: Yellow Stargrass: S2 species Blue-eyed Grass Ohio Spiderwort: the slide Allen showed was a location domi- nated by hundreds of this plant, S2 species Hoary Puccoo Hairy Beardtongue Black-eyed Susan Butterfly Milkweed New Jersey Tea: this species is found in savanna or an oak forest edge Wild Lupine: associated with the Karner Blue butterfly Seneca Snakeroot Indian Paintbrush: found at the Pinery Provincial Park Birdfoot Violet: found on greater Turkey Point within sandy Oak Savanna Canada Anemone: a showy species which may be found on dunes Wood Lily: a savanna species Michigan Lily: this species is large and showy Two-flowered Cynthia: S2 species Climbing Prairie Rose: COSEWIC designated this species as a threatened species but it has been down listed as a species of Special Concern. This species is found in Essex County and Pelee Island as well as the western portion of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and southern Lambton County. Goat’s Rue: an endangered plant Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid Yellow Fringed Orchid: this species has not been seen for over a hundred years in Ontario. The photo- graph was obtained in Ohio. Colicroot: found on the Ojibway and Walpole Prairies; S2 species Wild Bergamot Prairie Thistle: the underside of its leaves are white and quite downy; S2 species Prairie Cinquefoil: this species is more common in eastern Ontario
Showy Tick Trefoil Culver’s Root: this species occurs on good quality prairie or savan- na such as on the Ojibway and Walpole Prairies; S2 species Missouri Ironweed: this species is the more common of the two Ironweeds; if more than thirty florets are counted in a cluster of blossoms, the Ironweed species is the Missouri Ironweed. If fewer than 30 florets are counted, then the species is the Tall Ironweed. Pink Milkwort: the only record of this species on the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve was provided by Dominion bota- nist John Macoun. Pink Milkwort was relocated 101 years to the day from the date of Macoun’s discovery. This fall Allen looked downon the Ojibway Prairie to find 14 or 15 specimens of this spe- cies. Pink Milkwort is more abundant on the Walpole Prairie. Pale Purple Coneflower: this species is found on the Dutton Prairie remnant in Elgin County where it may have been introduced from hay in railway cars or the railway may have passed through the original prairie. Whorled Milkweed: this milkweed species is found along Highway 401 and on Pelee Island’s Stone Road Alvar; S2 species Green Milkweed: found at Point Pelee National Park and Rondeau Provincial Park; S2 species Purple MilkweedSullivant’s Milkweed: found on prairies; S2 species Purple Milkweed: a savanna species Tall Green Milkweed: the latest discovery of this tall species was by Ojibway Nature Centre’s Karen Cedar Dense Blazing Star: COSEWIC has designated this species as threatened with a decline in the species dur- ing the last twenty years; S2 species Rough Blazing Star: a drier savannah species Cylindrical Blazing Star: a species of dunes; S3 species Prairie Dock: the leaves of this species are gritty like sandpaper Tall Sunflower: this species tends to occur on more disturbed sites Tall Coreopsis Flowering Spurge Round-headed Bush Clover Wild Indigo: a savannah species Gray-headed Coneflower Big Blue Stem: this species is sometimes called Turkey Foot; on good quality prairie, 60 to 70 % of the plant species are grasses Indian Grass Prairie Cord Grass Little Blue Stem Brome Grass Little Blue Stem: this species is found on drier sites of tallgrass prairies Winged Loosestrife Biennial Gaura: S2 species Fern-leaved False Foxglove: S1 or S2 species Smooth False Foxglove: S1 or S2 species Smooth Lettuce
Ohio Goldenrod Gray Goldenrod Rigid Goldenrod Riddell’s Goldenrod: S2 species Showy Goldenrod: restricted to two or three sites in all of Canada Canada Hawkweed: grows to one metre high Stiff Gentian: found on the Walpole prairie; S2 species Cream Gentian: found in the Peterborough region; 75 plants were discovered at Walpole in 1985 Bottled Gentian Sky Blue Aster Flat-topped White Aster Great Plains Ladies’ Tresses Slender Ladies’ Tresses: found in Lambton County Oval Ladies’ Tresses: found on Pelee Island’s Stone Road Alvar and four or five other sites; flowers late i the season
Butler’s Garter Snake is a reptile associated with prairies, a species that is more nervous than the Common Garter Snake. Eastern Hognose Snakes are known from prairies as are Henslow’s Sparrows an Northern Bobwhite. Prairies support many species of insects including Allen’s examples of a Yellow Cra Spider, a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly and a Great Spangled Fritillary. Unfortunately less that 1% of our landscape in Southwestern Ontario is prairie habitat.
Despite the great losses of prairie, discoveries of new prairie sites have occurred in the last few years. During the mid 1990s a site of five or six acres was found with 250 Eastern Prairie White Fringed Orchids in bloom. An estimate of the number of orchid plants at the site is thought to be 1,000 plants. A remnant prairie along a railway found recently contains Little Blue Stem and six or seven different grasses between rail tracks which extend for 300 metres.
The Dutton-Dunwich prairie located in Elgin County is a real success story with its adoption by the West Elgin Nature Club.
Thank you to Allen for a wonderful presentation celebrating prairie and prairie species in South- western Ontario.
The evening concluded with a hand painted teapot designed by Marie Deneau purchased through the silent auction by David Ainslie. Ten book winners were declared as the bucket raffle winners were drawn.