In April of 2018 we stayed on South Pender Island. We kayaked and hiked both islands as part of a spring vacation. One of the hikes we did was in Gulf Islands National Park Preserve. We hiked up Mt. Norman to the lookout, then down trails to Beaumont (a marine campsite) and back.
Along the way we enjoyed the Gulf Islands forests, fauna, and other flora. We took some photos of the views, the trails, and some of the wildflowers, a few of which are shared here – blackberries (Rubus arsinis), salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis), miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), fairyslippers (Calypso bulbosa), chocolate lilies (Fritillaria affinis), blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora), broad-leaved stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium), spotted coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata sp.), field chickweed (Cerastium arvense), seablush (Plectritis congesta), and harsh paintbrush (Castilleja hispida).
All photos by the author. Click an image for a lightbox (larger) view and a caption/ID:
Some additional notes on these flowering plants:
- We hiked other trails there too, including Spalding Hill which has a south-facing aspect.
- The stonecrop were spotted on rocky bluffs not far above the harbour.
- We had some open hilltop areas too, which allowed more light for the sunny location species.
- We spotted short-spur seablush in a number of seaside locations over the rest of the week.
- An additional post on the wildflowers encountered on George Hill will follow.
