Walkingthe trails, I have recently noticed two species of bog plants that are often overshadowed by the bigger and more showy ones.

Bog Blueberry grows low to the ground and the leaves are quite round and have a slightly blueish tinge. These are the blueberries that would have been collected by First Nations people when they used to come to Lulu Island for the summer. Although the domestic blueberries - that nonetheless grow wild in the bog - have been in leaf and flower for a few weeks now, we are only just starting to see evidence of the native variety near the bog floor.

The other nearly eclipsed plant is the Bog Rosemary. It is difficult at first glance, to distinguish the leaves from the Labrador Tea and Bog Laurel  amongst which it hides, but last Fall, Joanna noticed what we thought was a late-flowering Laurel. Except that the flower, instead of the pink parabola, was a pink bell. She checked and realised that this was Bog Rosemary. Since then, we have noticed a few around the trails. Now, with the flowers once more appearing, as so often happens, once you have seen one, you realise you can pick out several. 

The diversity of the bog can be found in the recently published Bog Report, available at the Nature House, and soon to be published as an online report, but more information can be found on the old webpages, created by the UBC Geography Department .