Finn Slough Heritage and

Wetland Society


This is a list of plants observed on a vegetation survey at Finn Slough and Gilmore Island, Richmond, British Columbia, June 9, 1994.

Survey graciously provided by Naturalist Terry Taylor.

(All photos by Ulrich Gaede)


Skunk Cabbage (Lysichitum americanum)

Physocarpus capitus / Ninebark, Rubus spectabilis / Salmonberry, Equisetum telmateia - var. braunii / Gaint horsetail, Festuca arundinacea / Tall fescue, Cornus stolonifera / Red osier dogwood, Symphoricarpos albus / Waxberry, Viburnum opulus / Guelder rose, Rubus laciniatus / Evergreen blackberry, Vicia gigantea / Giant vetch, Sorbus aucuparia / Mountain ash, Spiraea douglsaii / Hardhack, Holcus lanatus / Velvet grass, Equisetum arvense / Field horsetail, Athyrium filix-femina / Lady fern, Rosa nutkana / Nootka rose, Quercus robur / Pedunculate oak, Rosa sp. / Rose - a cultivated variety, Poa palustris / Fowl bluegrass, Polystichum munitum / Swordfern, Carex deweyana / Dewey’s sedge, Poa pratensis / Kentucky blue grass, Salix sitchensis / Sitka willow, Philadelphus sp. / Mock orange, Lysichitum americanum / Skunk cabbage, Lonicer involucrata / Black twinberry, Dactylis glomerata / Orchard grass, Ranunculus acris / Tall buttercup, Acer pseudoplatanus / Sycamore maple, Phalaris arundinacea / Reed canary grass, Salix lasiandra var. lasiandra / Pacific willow, Taraxacum officinale / Dandelion, Hedera helix / Ivy, Prunus avium / Sweet cherry, Hydrangea macrophylla / Hydrangea, Alnus rubra / Red alder, Agrostis sp. / Bentgrass, Symphytum officinale / Comfrey, Ranunculus repens / Creeping buttercup, Heracleum lanatum / Cow parsnip, Forsythia sp. / Forsythia, Robinia pseudoacacia / Black locust, Fritillaria camschatcensis / Black lily, Scirpus microcarpus / Small-fruited bulrush, Lythrum salicaria / Purple loosestrife, Sonchus arvensis / Perennial sow-thistle, Streptopus amplexifolius / Twisted stalk, Trifolium repens / White clover, Hypochaeris ladicata / Hairy cat’s ear, Equisetm fluviatile / Water horsetail, Malus fusca / Pacific crabapple, Corylus sp. / Hazelnut, Salix hookeriana / Hooker’s willow, Sambucus racemosa / Red elderberry, Alisma plantago - aquatica / American waterplantain, Oenanthe samentosa / Water parsley, Callitriche stagnalis / Pond water-starwort, Sium suave / Water-parsnip, Sagittaria latifolia / Broadleaf arrowhead, Caltha asarifolia / Western marshmarigold, Carex lyngbyei - var. robusta / Lyngby’s sedge, Rumex occidentalis - var. procerus / Western dock, Myosotis scorpioides / Common forget-me-not, Syringa vulgaris / Lilac, Hemerocallis fulva / Daylily, Ilex aquifolium / Holly, Convolvulus sepium / Bindweed, Epilobium watsonii / Watson’s willow herb, Aquilegia vulgaris / Columbine, Rubus discolor / Himalayan blackberry, Stachys cooleyae / Cooley’s hedge-nettle, Picea sp. / Spruce, Paeonia sp. / Peony, Crataegus douglasii / Black hawthorn, Sidalcea hendersonii / Henderson’s checker-mallow, Potentilla pacifica / Pacific silverweed, Typha latifolia / Common cat-tail, Lathyrus palustris / Marsh peavine, Aster subspicatus / Douglas aster, Phragmidium sp. / a rust fungus on Rosa nutkana, Populus trichocarpa / Black cottonwood, Myrica gale / Sweet gale, Salix scouleriana / Scouler’s willow, Iris pseudacorus / Yellow flag, Triglochin maritimum / Seaside arrow-grass, Juncus effusus / Common rush, Galium cymosum / Pacific bedstraw, Eleocharis palustris / Common spike-rush, Trifolium hybridum / Alsike clover, Carex stipata / Sawbeak sedge, Puccinella lucida / Shining alkaligrass, Mentha arvensis - var. glabrata / Field mint, Hypericum perforatum / St. John’s wort, Lycopus americanus / Cut-leaved water horehound, Solidago canadensis / Canada goldenrod, Juncus articulatus / Jointed rush, Scirpus validus / Softstem bulrush, Dicranoweisia cirrata / a moss, Cladonia sp. (probably C. macilenta) / a fruticose lichen, Polytrichum juniperinum / Juniper haircap moss, Juncus balticus / Baltic rush, Plantago major / Common plantain, Lathyrus japonicus / Beach pea, Cicuta douglasii / Water hemlock, Habenaria dilatata / White bog-orchid, Xanthoria polycarpa / a foliose lichen, Impatiens capensis / Orange balsam, Cotula coronopifolia / Brass buttons, Malus pumila / Domestic apple, Oemleria cerasiformis / Indian plum, Trifolium wormskjoldii / Springbank clover, Trifolium dubium / Least hop clover, Acer sp. (possibly A.glabrum) / Maple - exact sp. unknown, Lactuca muralis / Wall lettuce, Cardamine pratensis / Cuckoo plant, Dicranum scoparium / Birdbeak moss.

The Black lily (Fritillaria camschatcensis) is a rare species in the British Columbia Lower Mainland. It is an esturary plant which occurs, as far as I know, in 3 or 4 other sites near Vancouver, but this population may be the largest of them. The other 2 sites I have visited - in Port Moody and West Vancouver had fewer plants at the times that I looked at them, and occupied a smaller area.

The Henderson’s checker-mallow (Sidalcea hendersonii) is listed in The Rare Vascular Plants of British Columbia, by the National Museums of Canada. In this work it is rated as R2 - the second highest level of rarity on a scale of 1 to 4.

The Cuckoo plant (Cardamine pratensis) is also an interesting find. It occurs sporadically along the lower Fraser River, although none of the floras show it being this far south.

Finn Slough is occupied by a rich covering of estuarine plants, and there are dense populations of the estuarine Lyngby’s sedge (Carex lyngbyei) on the south shore of Gilmore Island.