Wildflowers

Aquatics

Common Mare's Tail
(Hippuris vulgaris)
The leafy stems of this aquatic/amphibious, hairless perennial, stand 5 to 30 cm tall. The leaves stand stiff above the water, but are limp (approximately 6 cm long) underwater. The flowers are tiny and inconspicuous. The common mare's tail is found in ponds, lakeshores, stream banks and mudflats.

Marsh Cinquefoil
(Potentilla palustris)
The reddish stems of this perennial stands 20 to 60 cm tall. The oblong, coarsely toothed leaves are pale green above, and whitish underneath. The reddish purple flowers occur in loose clusters at the stem tips. The plump, smooth, brown fruits are oval to egg shaped. The marsh cinquefoil can be found by swamps, marshes, wet meadows and lake edges.

Small Yellow Pond Lily
(Nuphar variegatum)
The floating leaves on this aquatic perennial are heart shaped, and are 10 to 30 cm long. The yellow flowers occur at the end of long stalks that rise above the water. This perennial is found in ponds, lakes and slow moving streams.

Water Arum
(Calla palustris)
The leafless stems of this perennial stand 10 to 30 cm tall. The egg to round, heart shaped leaves are 5 to 10 cm long. The egg shaped white bract (a specialized leaf) contains a short, greenish yellow cylindrical spike. The berry-like fruits are red in colour. The water arum is found in marshes, ditches and shallow water. It is widespread across the boreal forest.

Buckwheat Family

Western Dock
(Rumex occidentalis)
This perennial stands 0.5 to 1.5 m tall, and has a hairless, often red-tinged, stem. The leaves are simple, and few near the top of the stem, oblong-lance shaped lower down, and heart-shaped at the base. The flowers range from greenish to reddish, and are found in dense clusters on the upper 20 to 50 cm of the stem. The western dock is found in marshes and wet meadows.

Buttercup or Crowfoot Family

Prairie Crocus; Pasque Flower
(Anemone patens)
This tufted perennial stands 10 to 40 cm tall. The leaves are covered with silky hair, and appear after the flowers. The blue, purple, or nearly white flowers have hairy backs, and are 2 to 4 cm long. The prairie crocus is found in dry open woods and parklands.

Yellow Marsh Marigold
(Caltha palustris var. arctica)
The flower with five shiny yellow petals occurs at the tip of trailing, nearly leafless stems. Leaves attached to the base are kidney or heart shaped. It occurs in wet marshy places and in shallow water. Young tender leaves can be eaten only if cooked; they are poisonous if not cooked. Flowers July to August.

Crowberry Family

Crowberry; Blackberry
(Empetrum nigrum)
A heath-like plant, the trailing dwarf shrub has tiny needle-like leaves along its branches. The flowers are tiny pink bells. The black berry has lots of seeds. It flowers in late June and July.

Daisy Family

Alpine Arnica
(Arnica alpina)
This plant has a large, bright yellow solitary flowering head. One to three paired leaves occur along a tall stem. It is found on sunny slopes, and flowers in July and early August. The flowering stem is 10 to 30 cm high.

Common Blue Lettuce
(Lactuca tatarica)
This pale bluish green, hairless perennial stands 20 to 60 cm tall. Its leaves are usually linear-lance-shaped, often with backwards pointing triangular lobes. Its flowers are showy, and have blue to purplish heads that are nearly 25 mm across. It is located in moist woods and clearings.

Common Yarrow
(Achillea millefolium)
The stems of this aromatic perennial stand 30 to 70 cm tall. The leaves are fern-like. The white, rarely pink or reddish, flowers occur in a round-topped cluster. The common yarrow is found in woods, clearings and disturbed ground.

Evening Primrose Family

Arctic Fireweed: Broad Leaved Willow Herb
(Chamaenerion latifolium)
This perennial stands 0.3 to 2 m tall. The sprawling, leafy, blue-green and purplish flowering stems with fleshy leaves bear showy flowers with dark, thin purple sepals and four purple petals. The seed capsules split when ripe, releasing seeds with silky hairs that are carried by the wind. The flowers and young leaves can be eaten raw; leaves can be boiled in water and eaten. It is found on disturbed sand and gravel river bars and on scree. It flowers in July and August. Flowering stems are 15 to 50 cm high.

Dwarf Fireweed; Broad-Leaved Willow Herb
(Chamaenerion latifolium)
This perennial stands 15 to 70 cm tall. The greyish green leaves are oval shaped. The pink to purple flowers form in leafy clusters. The dwarf fireweed is high in vitamins A and C, and it can be eaten raw or served as a herbal tea. It is found throughout the mainland and some of the arctic islands.

Marsh Willow Herb
(Epilobium palustre)
This perennial stands 10 to 60 cm tall. The stems that are near the top of the perennial are densely hairy. The leaves are flat, and can range in shape from linear to lance. The pink or whitish flowers occur in a cluster at the stem tip. The marsh willowherb can be found in marshes, fens, ditches and pond edges.

Fern Family

Rusty Woodsia
(Woodsia ilvensis)
This is a densely tufted perennial. Its leaves are oblong-lance-shaped, and are 5 to 20 cm long and 10 to 35 mm wide. The leaves are dark green and aromatic. It is found in rock crevices across the boreal forest.

Figwort Family

Common Red Paintbrush
(Castilleja miniata)
This 20 to 60 cm tall perennial has a woody base, and hairless to short-hairy or somewhat sticky-hairy stems that are erect or ascending. Its hairless to fine-hairy leaves are either linear or lance-shaped, and are usually smooth-edged. The bright red to pink tipped flowers form in dense spikes at the stem tips. It is found in open woods, gravel bars and roadsides, and flowers in July.

Yellow Rattle; Rattlebox
(Rhinanthus borealis)
The leafy stems of this annual stand 30 to 60 cm tall. The finely toothed, hairy leaves are lance shaped. The showy yellow flowers occur in spike-like clusters at the stem tips. The yellow rattle is found in open woods, roadsides and moist clearings. When the Yellow Rattle dies, it turns black and dries. When you shake the plant, you can hear the seeds rattling inside, hence the name Yellow Rattle.

Heath Family

Alpine Bearberry
(Arctostaphylos alpina)
This matted dwarf shrub has late falling, leathery, net veined leaves, which turn bright red in late summer. Small, white-bell shaped flowers appear before leaves. Fruits are large black shiny berries with large seeds. It is found on acidic soils, and flowers in late June, July.

Lapland Rosebay
(Rhododendron lapponicum)
This trailing and semi-erect dwarf shrub is very branched. Small oval leaves, evergreen, have rusty hairs on underside. Flowering branch 5 to 30 cm high. One to five flowers in cluster at the tips are pink-purple and very fragrant. It occurs on damp, sheltered soils, and tolerates weakly alkaline soils as well as acidic ones. It flowers in late June, July.

Northern Labrador Tea; Small Hudson Bay Tea
(Ledum decumbens)
This woody, low shrub has leathery, narrow green leaves, with rusty red wood beneath. A cluster of small, white flowers occur at the tips of branches. It is found on damp, acidic soil, and can be used as tea or marinade for meat. It flowers in July, and has a flowering branch that can reach a height of 5 to 20 cm.

Horsetail Family

Common Horsetail
(Equisetum arvense)
The stems of this perennial are quite unusual. The un-branched, thick, succulent fertile stems are brownish to whitish in colour, and appear first in early spring. The green, slender, bottle-brush like sterile stems stand 10 to 30 cm tall, with leaves that are fused into sheaths around the stems and branches. The sheaths of fertile stems have 8 to 12 large, pointed teeth, while the sterile stems have 10 to 12 brownish or blackish teeth.

The common horsetail is found in moist to wet woods, swamps, roadsides and other disturbed sites.

Woodland Horsetail; Wood Horsetail
(Equisetum sylvaticum)
This slender perennial has two types of stems. The grey to green fertile stems begin un-branched, but later have mostly compound branches. The green sterile stems are highly branched, and have 10 to 18 minutely spiny ridges. The leaves are fused into sheaths around the stems and branches. The sheaths of sterile stems are 3 to 12 mm long, and are green below and brown upwards. They also have 3 to 5 brown teeth, joined into several broad lobes. The sheaths of fertile stems are similar to, but much larger and looser than those of the common or meadow horsetails.

The woodland horsetail is found in moist, open woods, and is widespread across the boreal forest.

Mint Family

Marsh Skullcap
(Scutellaria galericulata)
This herbal perennial stands 10 to 60 cm tall. The leaves are 2 to 5 cm long, and can range from being lance-shaped or oblong egg-shaped in appearance. The flowers usually come in pairs, and are blue or pink-purple, streaked with white. The fruits are yellowish and warty. The marsh skullcap is found in wet meadows, streambanks, lakeshores and roadside ditches.

Wild Mint
(Mentha arvensis)
The hairy stems of this aromatic perennial stand 15 to 50 cm tall. The lance to egg shaped leaves are saw toothed. The pink to pale purple or white flowers occur in dense clusters at an angle between the leaf and stem of the perennial. The wild mint is found around streambanks, lakeshores, and clearings.

Mustard Family

American Winter Cress
(Barbarea orthoceras)
The greyish green stems, usually many branched, of this annual weed stand 20 to 100 cm tall. The leaves are greyish green, and have fine hairs. The flowers, which can be yellow or whitish, form in clusters at the stem tips. The fruits are slightly curved. The American winter cress is distributed throughout the mainland.

Hairy Rock Cress
(Arabis hirsuta)
This is a biennial or short-lived perennial herb that has one to several hairy, un-branched, slender stems. It can range in height from 20 to 70 cm. Its short stalked leaves, which often have a purplish underside, form a rosette at the base of the stem. The white to somewhat greenish or pinkish flowers can occur in simple or branched clusters at the stem tips. It is mainly found in disturbed sites, dry rocky banks, and open woods.

Northern Tansy-Mustard; Flixweed
(Descurainia, sophioides)
This biennial first forms a fern leaved rosette. As small pale yellow flowers appear the second year, the flowering stem may elongate from 10 cm to 1 m. Fruit are 2.5 cm long. It is found in disturbed damp places and gravelly river bars. It flowers in July and August, producing flowers until killed by frost.

Orchid Family

Hooded Ladies' Tresses
(Spiranthes romanzoffiana)
This is a stout perennial plant that stands 10 to 40 cm tall. Its leaves are long and narrow, with the largest forming at the base and the smaller, bract-like, occurring at the top.

The flowers form in a dense spike-like cluster at the tip of the stem. They occur in three spiraling rows, and their colour can range from white or creamy to greenish white. The petals form an upwards-arching hood.

Hooded Ladies' Tresses can be found in damp or wet areas, and flowers in late July and August.

Northern Green Bog-Orchid; Green-Flowered Bog-Orchid
(Habenaria hyperborea)
This perennial has a slender to stout stem, which is also hairy and leafless. It stands between 20 to 60 cm tall. Its leaves alternate from lanceolate (lance-shaped, several times longer than wide, with the broad end basal) to oblanceolate (lance-shaped with the broad end distal). The leaves become bracts at the upper part of the stem.

The flowers form in loose to dense clusters at the tip of the stem. Their colour can be either green or yellowish green.

Northern green bog-orchid can be found by the riverbanks, lakeshores, and moist coniferous woods. It flowers in late June to August.

Round-Leaved Orchid
(Orchis rotundifolia)
This perennial plant stands 10 to 20 cm tall. It has no leafy stem, and single leaves occur at the base of the stem.

The flowers cluster in a group of two to eight at the stem tip. Their colour is can range from white to pink, with purple spots..

Round-leaved orchids can be found on calcium-rich soil, in moist woods, wetlands, and well-drained streambanks. It flowers in late June and July.

Pea Family

Arctic Lupine
(Lupinus arcticus)
Silvery green, palm-shaped leaves radiate from a woody base. Large purple-blue flowers form a pointed cluster on a stem 12 to 60 cm tall. Seeds are poisonous. It is found on moderately drained soils, and it flowers in late June and July.

Canadian Milk Vetch
(Astragalus canadensis)
This is a robust, showy perennial that stands 40 to 100 cm tall. Its simple, stout stem branches more towards the top. The leaves can range from being elliptic to oblong, usually hairless above and sparingly hairy below. The flowers form in a dense cluster, which can range from 30 to 100, at the stem tip, and can range in colour from greenish yellow to white. The fruit are hairless and somewhat woody. The Canadian Milk Vetch is found in moist open woods, banks and shores. It flowers in late June and July.

Mountain Locoweed: Alpine Milk Vetch
(Astragalus alpinus)
This plant has matted, trailing branches with leaves of paired small oval leaflets, 10 to 20 pairs per leaf. Flowering stems are 5 to 20 cm tall, with a pyramid of white and lavender, purple-edged flowers. It is found on turf, gravel and scree and on disturbed areas. It flowers in late June and July.

Pink Family

Long-Leaved Chickweed; Long-Leaved Starwort
(Stellaria longifolia)
This perennial stands 10 to 40 cm tall. Its slender stems are weak and hairless. The leaves are hairless (sometimes have hairy fringe at base) and lance shaped. The small white flowers form in open groups at the stem tips. This plant is found in moist woods and shores.

Long-Stalked Chickweed; Long-Stalked Starwort
(Stellaria longipes)
The hairless stems of this perennial stand 10 to 20 cm tall. The shiny leaves range in shape from linear to lance, and are 10 to 25 mm long. The white flowers appear in loose clusters. The long-stalked chickweed can be found in dry to moist areas.

Moss Campion
(Silene acaulis)
Densely clustered grey-green, wooly leaves have numerous paired leaflets. The flowers are a cluster of showy blue-purple and are strongly scented. The fruit is olive green, sickle-shaped, beaked pod. It is found primarily on alkaline soils and flowers in July. Flowering stems are 5 to 10 cm in length.

Poppy Family

Arctic Poppy
(Papaver lapponicum)
Long, linear, three-to-five lobed, hairy leaves radiate from a basal rosette. The hairy stem supports a large solitary flower that is made up of four petals formed in a cup shape. These flowers track the sun, focusing heat into the centre of the flower. It flowers mid-to-late June through August. Flowering stems are 10 to 15 cm high.

Primrose Family

Mealy Primrose
(Primula incana)
The leafless stems of this perennial stands 10 to 40 cm tall. The narrowly spoon-shaped leaves form a rosette at the base of the stem. The pale lilac flowers, with yellow centres, form a cluster at the end of the leafless stalk. The mealy primrose is found on moist ground, saline meadows and shores.

Rose Family

Arctic Avens; Mountain Avens
(Dryas integrifolia)
This woody, evergreen shrub, which is the Territorial flower of the Northwest Territories, forms mats of tiny spade-shaped leaves. Dead leaves remain attached for a long time. Flowers are white or creamy yellow with gold centres, and are borne on a hairy, short, 2 to 3 cm high stalk. Seeds are carried by wind by feathery attachments. It flowers in late June and July, and generally occurs on neutral to alkaline soil.

Cloudberry; Baked-Apple
(Rubus chamaemorus)
The large, leathery five-lobed leaves have a toothed edge. A large solitary white flower occurs at the tip of a 5 to 15 cm high stem. The fleshy fruit is red when young, yellow when ripe. It is a favourite edible berry of Inuit and other northerners. It flowers in July and ripens late July or August, and is rich in Vitamin C. It is found on damp, weakly acidic turf.

Dewberry; Trailing Raspberry; Running Raspberry
(Rubus pubescens)
The flowering stems of this trailing perennial can stand up to 30 cm tall. The pointed, sharply double-toothed leaves range in shape from diamond to oval. The colour of the flowers range from white to pale pink. The edible fruits are dark red in colour. The dewberry is found in rich moist woods and openings.

Saxifrage Family

Northern Grass of Parnassus
(Parnassia palustris)
This hairless perennial stands 1- to 30 cm tall, with many flowering stems. The leaves are found mainly at the base of each stem, and are more or less heart-shaped. The white flowers are single petals. It is found in wet, shady places, and flowers in July and August.

Prickly Saxifrage; Three Tooth Saxifrage
(Saxifraga tricuspidata)
It forms a dense matted cushion or has trailing branches with tufts of leaves with three sharp points at the tips. Leaves are either green or reddish. Creamy white flowers with orange dots occur in a terminal cluster. It flowers in July and August, and is found on dry, rocky, gravelly places, and near seashore. Flowering stems are 5 to 15 cm high.

Purple Saxifrage
(Saxifraga oppositifolia)
Matted trailing branches or dense cluster have small leathery leaves with bristle edges in four tight or loose rows along branches. Large purple flowers have short stems. Usually the first plant to flower, in early June. It is found on a variety of habitats, from dry to damp, generally on neutral to alkaline soil.

Yellow Marsh Saxifrage
(Saxifraga hirculis)
Solitary bright yellow flowers occur at the tip of 10 to 15 cm high leafy stems. Leaves are long and narrow. It occurs in wetlands, flowering in July.

Wintergreen Family

One-sided wintergreen
(Pyrola secunda)
The stems of this small, evergreen perennial stand 5 to 20 cm tall. The small-toothed to nearly toothless leaves are elliptical in shape. The pale greenish to white, bell-shaped flowers form in a narrow cluster. The one-sided wintergreen is found in woods and thickets.

Other Families

Bunchberry
(Cornus canadensis)
The stems of this perennial stand 5 to 15 cm tall. The 2 to 8 cm long leaves are green on top, and are whitish underneath. The flowers range in colour from greenish white to purple. The berry-like fruits are bright red. The bunchberry is found in moist woods and clearings.

Common Harebell
(Campanula rotundifolia)
The stems of this slender perennial stand 10 to 50 cm tall. The leaves that occur on the stem are linear or narrowly lance-shaped, while those that occur at the base are egg to heart-shaped. The corolla purplish blue flowers occur in loose clusters at the stem tip. The common harebell is found in dry, open sites in woods, meadows and streambanks.

Northern Bastard Toadflax; Northern Comandra
(Geocaulon lividum)
This 10 to 25 cm tall perennial, usually has un-branched stems. Its bright green leaves, often yellow streaked, are thin, oval and blunt-tipped. The 1 to 1.5 mm long, greenish purple flowers cluster in groups of two to four, but are usually inconspicuous The scarlet to fluorescent orange, berry-like fruits are not recommended for edibility. This plant is found in moist woods.