SPECIES GROUPS COVERED IN E-FLORA BC

Mountain harebells (Campanula lasiocarpa), photo by Virginia Skilton.

From Mushrooms to Mosses: 'Plants' are Wilder than you Think!

Vascular Plants

When we think of plants, most of us think of the colourful wildflowers that are distant relatives of our garden plants--species such as wild lupines, wild roses and wild delphiniums. In British Columbia, these are plentiful, especially in the alpine meadows of the province where dozens of species turn our mountain slopes into natural gardens in mid-summer. Or perhaps we think of the equally colourful weeds that line our roadsides--species such as wild chicory, common dandelion, ox-eye daisy or the particularly colourful purple loosestrife that is found in many wetlands in the southern part of our province. Some of us will think of the great towering trees that BC is known for, species such as Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, western hemlock, big-leaf maple or garry oak. These are the trees that make up the forests that harbour many of our most interesting wild plant species. E-Flora includes these species--the vascular plants--and provides atlas pages for each species found in the province. In our vascular plant atlas pages, we bring online the Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, an 8-volume work by George Douglas, Del Medeinger, Jim Pojar and Gerald Straley. We also include atlas pages for species new to the province since the publication of their work.

Read our introduction to vascular plants prepared by Dianne Humphrey and Anna Colangeli.

View our vascular plant photo gallery.

Giant Cow-parsnip (Heracleum mantegazzianum), photo by Brian Klinkenberg.

Non-Vascular Plants

The plants of BC, however, include more than wildflowers and trees. E-Flora also covers the non-vascular plants. These are the mosses, liverworts, hornworts (the bryophytes) and algae. And then there are the fungi...

Bryophytes

The bryophytes are those familiar small plants that we find on rocks, on tree trunks, and sometimes on the soil. They include mosses, liverworts and hornworts. At the moment, we provide atlas pages for the common mosses of BC and fifteen species of liverworts--both based on work by Wilf Schofield. Photos are slowly being added for all species in the photo gallery. Read our introductions to the bryophytes of BC and to the liverworts of BC prepared by Wilf Schofield.

View our moss photo gallery.

View our liverwort and hornwort photo gallery.

Algae

The algae are a large and diverse group. E-Flora presently covers the macroalgae of Brtish Columbia. That is, the seaweeds that we find along the ocean coast. The seaweeds include members of the green, red and brown algae. Atlas pages are provided for common seaweeds in BC, based on work by Sandra Lindstrom and Rita O'Clair, and photos are slowly being added for all species to the photo gallery.

Read our introduction to the macroalgae of BC prepared by Colin Bates.

View our algae (mostly seaweeds) photo gallery.

A list of the freshwater algae of British Columbia is currently in preparation by Janet Taylor.

Chicken-of-the-Woods (Laetiporus conifericola), photo by Rick Kwitkoski.

Special Groups on E-Flora BC

E-Flora also covers two special groups: the fungi and the lichens. Fungi are not plants, and lichens are a combination of a plant (an algae species) and a fungi).

Fungi

Fungi are special because they are not plants but are in their own Kingdom--the Fungi Kingdom. However, fungi have traditionally been grouped with plants, and fungi specimens are kept in plant museums. In E-Flora BC, we presently cover the macrofungi of BC. These are the larger, more easily seen species that include the mushrooms and bracket fungi. The atlas pages are prepared by Ian Gibson, who is also the author of Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.

Read our introduction to the macrofungi of BC by Michael Beug.

View our fungi photo gallery.

Lichens

Lichens are also special because they are composite organisms, made up of an alga (a plant) and a fungus. On E-Flora BC, we present a preliminary list of the lichens of British Columbia prepared by lichenologist Curtis Bjork. This list will be finalized based on work on the lichens of BC that is in preparation by Curtis, and lichenologists Trevor Goward, Toby Spribille, Irwin Brodo, and Tor Tønsberg.

Read our introduction to the lichens of British Columbia.

Read more about the complexities of lichens on Ways of Enlichenment, a web site on the lichens of northwest North America by Trevor Goward, Curtis Bjork and Jason Hollinger.

View our growing lichen photo gallery.

Monk's hood (Hypogymnia physodes), photo by Curtis Bjork.