K & P Flora - PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE Traditional Cache
K & P Flora - PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE
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We so enjoyed putting out the K & P Ticket and Fauna series, that we thought we would continue along the trail. This time, the theme is the FLORA. If you see any of the trees or flowers mentioned, please feel free to take pictures and post them at the appropriate cache – but please, NO PHOTOS OF EACH CACHE (sure, the log if you have to).
BIKING is possible for the whole trail. This trail is NOT recommended for thin tires! Puddles may need to be crossed after wet weather.
If you don’t see any flora, then you are caching way too fast and not seeing the trees for the forest! Enjoy the ride and enjoy the diverse plant life.
PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE - Lythrum salicaria
Purple loosestrife grows to 5 feet tall. The alternate leaves are about 1 inch long. There are 4–6 purple flowers, sometimes more, along the upper third of the stem. The sepals form a short tube for the blossoms, which open out into 6 soft petals, 3/4–1 inch across (248).
This wetland perennial has a woody taproot and a branching fibrous root system. It grows up to2 metres in height. It has a stiff, four-sided stem with opposite or sometimes whorled stalkless leaves and its purple flowers form in dense terminal spikes. The flower itself is quite colourful and a field of Purple Loosestrife in full bloom is an eye-catching sight. A single plant can produce over 2.5 million seeds annually. And herein lies the problem. This plant is so prodigious and so intrusive in wetlands that it has two nasty characteristics. One, it eradicates all other wild flowers around it; two, it eliminates those wetland areas by depleting the ground water, thus altering the biosphere and habitat for resident birds, plants and insects. Unfortunately, it has no natural enemies being alien to North America, brought here by early settlers from Europe. Recent efforts to control its growth and spread have included mass root pullings by thousands of volunteers and land owners, as well as the controlled introduction of natural predators upon this plant. Beetles imported from Europe will feed upon the plant and ongoing studies in the field have proven effective and environmentally friendly. There was some initial concern that the beetles would not adapt well to our severe Canadian winters but this problem seems to have been dispelled as the vast majority of the beetles have over-wintered successfully.
PARKING: One or two cars can park where the trail intersects roads, but pay attention to NO parking signs so as to not block entrances. A nice place to leave your car in Calabogie is at the end of the trail (N45 17.916 W76 43.033) which is at the local beach and Tourist Information spot. You may want a quick swim?
Additional Hints
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