The Bruce Peninsula Part II: Singing Sands of Dorcas Bay

 *Part I* *Part II* *Part III* *Part IV* *Part V* *Part VI* *Part VII*

Recently, I've had the pleasure of talking to a number of people who've taken the time to compliment this blog. It always means a lot to hear someone say such positive things about the countless plants, places, and topics I've shared on here for nearly six years. But that praise is almost assuredly followed with the regret that I'm barely active on here anymore. Believe me when I say no one understands that more than your blogger. It seems just about every post I've managed to get on here the last couple years is prefaced by more or less the same message of "not enough free time and energy", which is Nature's honest truth but getting a bit old to type. I'll never post on here like I did back in the first few years but it's nice to know this blog is always waiting for new adventures to be shared.

And new adventures will be shared, indeed! Starting with my long overdue series on my botanical whirlwind tour of Ontario's Bruce peninsula back in early June 2015. Devotees may remember my intro piece from last summer that was the planned starting off point but never went any further. Until now! The Buckeye Botanist is back to take you vicariously along to one of eastern North America's most incredible displays of botanical and geological wonder. If you'd like to read the intro, which I encourage you to do, you can click this link here to do so.

Limestone cobble and alvar shorelines of the Singing Sands at Dorcas Bay

My intrepid group of botanists/naturalists and I visited so many wondrous spots on the Bruce that it's difficult to know where to begin. However, when one really thinks about it there's no wrong answer so it might as well be the picturesque shorelines of Dorcas Bay. I'll warn you ahead of time this is a lengthy post but more in pictures than anything. So read it all, peruse the photos only: just have fun and enjoy!

Sprawling shoreline fen complex near the shores of Lake Huron

This parcel of Bruce Peninsula National Park known as the Singing Sands sits near the northern tip of the peninsula on Lake Huron's western shores. It's home to a nice array of both wetland and forested habitat with the likes of alvar, shoreline fen, and mixed coniferous woodland all merging together in a tapestry of diversity.

Scarlet Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea) on the limestone cobble shorelines

The Singing Sands allegedly gets its moniker from the eerie howl the sand makes as its blown over the limestone cobble shorelines and alvar. It's true the wind is nigh on always whipping about at this site and it is one of the only sandy beaches on the northern end of the Bruce, so I guess we can let our imaginations do the rest. Due to the western shores of the Bruce constantly battling the unbroken fury of Lake Huron its landscape is much more flat and topographically docile than the eastern shores as you'll come to see in this series.

Odd yellow colored form of the scarlet paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)

Odd yellow colored form of the scarlet paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)

One of the more common and delightful denizens of Dorcas Bay's wet, open shorelines is the scarlet paintbrush (Castilleja conncinea). It's certainly hard to miss when aglow in its traditional red garb, but an uncommon lemon yellow color form was even more conspicuous. However, my friends and I did not come to swoon over the paintbrushes but rather a rare, elusive orchid that haunts the adjacent woodlands.

Ram's Head Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium arietinum)

During my initial foray on the Bruce back in 2011, I was just a bit too late to see the ram's head lady's slippers (Cypripedium arietinum) in their prime. It was a bittersweet thing to be so close and yet too late for the plant you came so far to see. So this time around I made sure to adjust our arrival to coincide with their brief peak bloom schedule.

Ram's Head Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium arietinum)

Ram's Head Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium arietinum)

Perfection! I dare say Dorcas Bay could not have put on a nicer show of these miniscule orchid wonders if it tried! Literally hundreds of them peppered the ground in the best spots and brought a literal tear to this orchid nut's eye. Ram's heads are a globally rare species largely restricted to sandy upland conifer woods characterized by hemlock, cedar, and pine with an association of limestone beach cobble. That's some habitat specificity right there and the Singing Sands has it in spades. It's little wonder then the Bruce is one of the continent's last strongholds for this disappearing orchid. Climate change is not doing this northern boreal species any favors.

Ram's Head Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium arietinum)

Ram's Head Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium arietinum)

The spectacular snow white labellum of this lady's slipper is marked with a rich purplish-crimson reticulate venation that jumps out at you from the surrounding emerald vegetation. Its striking color and architecture is equally matched by its diminutive size. None of the other eastern Cypripediums are this small and a large specimen can fit on your thumbnail. It really takes seeing them in person to understand how truly tiny they are!

Large Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium pubescens)

Speaking of lady's slippers, I'd be remiss if I didn't throw a shout out to the Bruce's 'weed' of an orchid in the large yellow lady's slipper (Cypripedium pubescens). Yes, I did in fact say weed and you'll see and read what I mean in posts to come. As pretty as the pair is in the photo above, I'm much more interested in the colony of familiar looking leaves at their feet...

Federally threatened dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris)

Federally threatened dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris)

At first glance any Ohioan might see this majestic little iris and scribble the name dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata) into their notes but remember we're not in Ohio anymore. This iris is much, much more special and another of the Bruce's most rare specialists. The dwarf lake iris (I. lacustris) is so rare that it's listed as federally threatened in both the United States and Canada. It's endemic to the limestone shorelines of northern Lake Huron and Lake Michigan along the Niagara Escarpment and found nowhere else on the planet. Although, in certain spots such as Singing Sands you'd never know it was so globally scarce. The Bruce is one Canada's best strongholds for the dwarf lake iris and easy to spot, especially when in bloom. The photos do nothing for scale but the word dwarf is very accurate in this plant's case as the flowers are only the size of a silver dollar!

Shoreline flora awakening as summer appears on the horizon

Not to be outdone by its aforementioned brethren, the blue flag iris (I. brevicaulis) was beginning to unfurl its purple tepals in the marshy areas between the lake and wooded dunes. Notice the pink flower buds of the tuberous Indian-plantain (Arnoglossum plantagineum) among the iris, too. It's a rarity back in Ohio and even more rare further north in Canada where it's restricted to high-quality fen complexes as well.

That gang exploring the cobble shorelines of Dorcas Bay

When I say that Dorcas Bay may be one of the most magnificent beaches I've yet experienced it's truly through the eyes of a botanist and ecologist. I'm not sure many beach goers would agree after looking out across a landscape of bare rock, muck, and vegetation. They prefer their sand and palm trees with towering concrete behind and I say they can keep it!

Northern Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) 

Perhaps the neatest plant to call the rocky shorelines of Dorcas Bay home was the peculiar and always exciting northern butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris). This oddball of an insectivorous plant thrived in a seemingly sterile environment in specialized areas where water seeped out from the bedrock and formed mucky pools along the forest's edge. The butterworts are much more diverse along the coastal plains of the Atlantic and Gulf states with this lone species making due in the north.

Northern Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris)

Northern Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris)

There's certainly no mistaking this plant for anything else with its insidious highlighter yellow leaves. While greasy and slick to our touch, these conspicuous leaves are the things of insect nightmares. Each leaf produces two types of glands: one that secretes a sticky substance for nabbing its prey; and another that secretes a digestive enzyme that helps break down the helpless insects into a more usable form. The butterworts were in full bloom during our visit and are adorned with blue-purple flowers quite reminiscent of a violet in my opinion.

Great Lakes Bulrush Sedge (Carex scirpoidea subsp. convoluta)

If you've been a follower of this blog and my botanical adventures for a while you know without a doubt I'm head-over-heals for sedges. A self-diagnosed sedgehead and I'd have it no other way. The Bruce is well known for its diversity of photogenic plants like ferns and orchids but it's a sedgehead's dream, too! Honestly, I could do a whole post on sedges but I'll let you off the hook with a handful of photos of my favorite species. The one featured above, the Great Lakes bulrush sedge (Carex scirpoidea subsp. convoluta) gets special mention as a globally rare endemic of the Great Lakes limestone shorelines and alvars; it's other more common subspecies spread throughout the western states.

Buxbaum's Sedge (Carex buxbaumii)

Mud Sedge (Carex limosa)

Hair-like Sedge (Carex capillaris)

Pale Sedge (Carex livida)

Sedges come in so many different shapes, colors, sizes, patterns etc. that it makes them hard to not love and appreciate when you realize just how wonderful they are. The Bruce is home to over 150 different species from the sedge family (Cyperaceae) and during my group's week we saw nigh on 30 different taxa.

A cool, foggy mist blowing off Lake Huron

Singing Sands attempted to somewhat live up to its name during our time there when Lake Huron blew in a bank of cool fog. It was awesome to watch it race across the waters, up onto the beach and envelope us all in a very refreshing wave of mist. It went as quickly as it came and I have no idea what caused it to develop but it certainly made for a unique experience that I won't forget anytime soon.

Great Lakes Sand Cherry (Prunus pumila var. pumila)

Scattered about Dorcas Bay's rocky shorelines was scads of the regional endemic Great Lakes sand cherry (Prunus pumila var. pumila) in picture-perfect bloom. This straggly shrub never attains much size and is happy to grow in tangles about its prime beachfront property. Its confined to the beaches and dunes of the northern Great Lakes with its narrow leaves and glabrous twigs excellent ID characters. Unfortunately, this species has long been extirpated from Ohio's extremely limited lake shore habitats, so I always take immense pleasure in seeing it while up north.

Immense expanse of shoreline fen at Dorcas Bay's Singing Sands

I'll wrap up this marathon of a post with another of Singing Sands signature rare habitats it protects in the immense expanses of shoreline fen meadow. Unlike the small, isolated fens that pocket west-central and northeast Ohio, the Bruce's can stretch for as far as the eye can see and contain hundreds upon hundreds of acres of graminoid-dominated goodness. Their species assemblages and associations are quite similar but their hydrology differs in adjacent Lake Huron's water levels playing a key role.

Northern Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea var. purpurea)

Slender-leaved Sundew (Drosera linearis)

One of the first things you'll notice when exploring these shoreline fen complexes is the overwhelming abundance of insectivorous plants. This habitat is naturally low in nutrients and plants have evolved to combat that by attaining these much-needed items by outside means. Literally thousands upon thousands of northern pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea var. purpurea) dot the fens, which happened to be just a week or so away from flowering during our visit. At their bases in the saturated muck is thousands more of the alien-like slender-leaved sundew (Drosera linearis) waiting for a passing insect to meet its sticky demise.

Green-keeled Cotton Sedge (Eriophorum viridicarinatum)

I can't help but go back to the world of sedges in order to share one of the fen's most iconic and beautiful of scenes. Hundreds of green-keeled cotton sedge (Eriophorum viridicarinatum) plants waving their namesake cotton-like perianth bristles in the cool breeze never fails to put me at peace and in a mood of tranquility. A sapphire blue sky above can only make it better, eh?

Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)

Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)

Of all the things I love about the northern woods its plethora of woody wetland shrubs may take the cake. Dozens of species occur throughout the region's diversity of habitat and the two featured above are arguably the best, at least in my opinion. Both the bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) and labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) are extirpated from Ohio and more commonly found in acidic boggy habitats, but select areas of fen meadow can have peat accumulations that turn the pH low enough for these gorgeous Ericaceous shrubs to occur and persist. Bliss!


With that I do believe I'll give my keyboard a rest and continue my series on the ever-fascinating Bruce peninsula at a later time. I certainly have the desire to get to it much sooner than later but I've learned it's best to not make any hard promises. I hope you've enjoyed this look at the Singing Sands and its incredible wealth of plant life and look forward to more. Please leave your thoughts and comments below and I thank you for your time!


- ALG -

Ram's Heads on the Singing Sands (Bruce Peninsula)

My first full day of exploring the Bruce had finally arrived.  I walked out the door and into the morning sunlight where I was immediately greeted by American Redstarts and Black-throated Green warblers filling the air with their song.  A perfect way to start the day if you ask me.  I spent part of my evening the night before pouring over some maps and information on the area in an attempt to decide where I should start my dissection of this botanical wonderland.  I concluded on an area along the western shores of Lake Huron at Dorcas Boy known as the Singing Sands.  Singing Sands got its name from the sound of the sand blowing over the dunes and alvars.  This is one of the only sandy beaches on the northern end of the Bruce.  Most are dominated by huge boulders and slabs of the limestone bedrock as you will eventually see.

A huge fen complex along Lake Huron at Dorcas Bay

Singing Sands is home to many varying habitats and ecosystems within its section of Bruce Peninsula National Park.  One of the most inspirational and influential of Mother Earth's disciples and personal hero of mine, John Muir, visited the Bruce numerous times during his two year stay in Ontario in the 1860's.  Of the Bruce John said, "Are not all plants beautiful?  Would not the world be poorer for the banishment of a single weed?"  I don't think John ever met the Asian Lonicera shrubs but his point is very valid!  Upon arriving to Dorcas Bay it's hard not to notice the gargantuan fen complex stretching as far as the eye can see all around.  Hundreds and hundreds of acres of wet sedge meadow with pockets of White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis), Black Spruce (Picea mariana) and Tamarack (Larix laricina) scattered about was an unbelievable sight!  Coming from Ohio, most fens pale in comparison to Dorcas Bay's.  I was a couple weeks too early for the Dorcas Fen orchid fireworks show.  Thousands of pink specks of the Rose Pogonias (Pogonia ophioglossoides) and purple Grass Pink (Calopogon tuberosus) dot the fen in dizzying densities in late June and early July.

Sarracenia purpurea

Drosera linearis

 



However, there were thousands upon thousands of N. Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia purpurea) in full bloom out in the sedge meadow.  This is the same species found in the northeastern bogs and fens of Ohio but their leaves were quite a bit smaller and the flowers on shorter stalks up here.  Unlike most fens, including Ohio's that rely on ground/spring water, these shoreline fen complexes rely on close by Lake Huron for their water source.  Spring rains and higher lake levels flood the fens during the 'wet season', which was nearing an end during my time up there.  A carnivorous plant species first-timer for me was the cousin to our round-leaved Sundew, the Linear-leaved Sundew (Drosera linearis).  Essentially the same in habitat and functionality, the obvious difference is its leaves which are long and narrow versus rounded.  With the amount of mosquitoes, midges, black and biting flies I don't see how these plants, as many as there were, could go hungry.

Singing Sands beach at Dorcas Bay on Lake Huron

 
The biggest reason for wanting to do this hike first was in high hopes of seeing my most anticipated plant species and reason numero uno for coming up to the Bruce, the rare and elusive Ram's Head Lady's slipper (Cypripedium arietinum).  Even before I was really into botany or plants in general I had always heard of the Lady's slipper orchids and thought how cool and interesting they looked.  I guess it's only appropriate that they are one of my favorite genera of plants in our flora.  A major life goal of mine is to see all 12 Cypripedium species indigenous to North America in their native habitat.  There are three accepted varieties to C. parviflorum and a handful of naturally occurring hybrids as well.  With the addition of the Ram's Head I'm now batting .500, having seen C. acaule, C. candidum, C. kentuckiense, C. parviflorum, C. reginae and now C. arietinum.  I'll be packing my bags and exploring the northern Rocky Mountains, California and Alaska to complete the set but that's for another time and story.

Cypripedium arietinum done blooming

Already done for the season

I began walking very slowly through the mixed conifer woods a couple hundred yards in from the shore with my eyes peeled sharply to the ground, looking for a green stem with three to five leaves alternately arranged and topped with a tiny, marble-sized red and white slipper.  After nearly 30 minutes of careful scanning I finally picked out of the corner of my eye a suspicious plant.  As I moved closer it became evident this was the very plant I'd come all this way to see and...it was all but spent.  One after another, the Ram's Heads unveiled themselves to me but all were brown and shriveled, papery excuses of their former grandeur.  My stomach slowly sank as I found plant after plant further down the trail with the same results.  It really was a punch to the gut and soul to have daydreamed the whole ride up of seeing this amazing plant only to see it just days past prime condition.  I knew I was cutting it close by coming in mid-June when the Ram's Heads peak bloom is late May to early June.  They are a very short-lasting lady's slipper, with each flower rarely lasting more than a few days in prime condition.  Maybe next time I thought as I sulked down the trail but still keeping a lookout.  Good thing I kept going because just around the bend....

Ram's Heads under the Hemlocks

Ram's Head Lady's slippers

After observing so many past bloom plants, I took note of what specific niche in the habitat they were growing in.  Throughout its range it can be found in both dry conifer forests as well as wet, swampy woods and acidic bogs.  At Singing Sands they grew as solitary plants or loose clumps just underneath or along the Hemlock and Jack Pines on raised, mossy hummocks.  It was more a matter of looking for that kind of situation first, rather than looking specifically for the plants.  The first two I happened across still in bloom were just under the lowest bough of a Hemlock and were even better than I had imagined.

Size comparison

Such delicate beauties

I'd waited a long time to see these diminutive orchids and they did not disappoint in the slightest.  The spectacular snow white labellum is marked with purplish-crimson reticulate veination and densely pubescent along the rim of the mouth.  If the size and coloration of this Cypripedium doesn't sell its identity then the downward projection of the bottom of the lip sure does.  No other lady's slipper in North America has a similarly structured labellum.  Not only is this orchid striking in color and architecture but the sheer tininess of it as well.  It's certainly the smallest of the East's lady's slippers with even the largest flowers only being as big as my thumb nail.  While nowhere near as scented and sweet-smelling as the C. parviflorum var. makasin from my previous post, they do emit a pleasing and sugary aroma.

Ram's Head in typical habitat

Ram's Head in perfect condition

This lone plant was one of the few still in perfect shape on my hike.  The shots from above feature blooms that have already been successfully pollinated.  This is a fairly easy conclusion to surmise as the dorsal sepal ('petal' above the slipper) falls down over the mouth of the lip as if saying to its insect friends, "Sorry, closed for the season".  Botanist and orchid extraordinaire, Fred Case wrote that C. arietinum had a preferred habitat of conifer uplands in sandy areas characterized by Cedar and Pine, especially with an association of limestone beach cobble.  With that accurate observation it's no wonder the Bruce is one of the best areas within the entire range of the Ram's Head to see this increasingly rare orchid.  In the United States, this orchid is only found in the northern Great Lakes states as well as in northern New England.  With global warming and higher temperatures this northern, boreal species may become more and more rare within its U.S. range until disappearing completely.

Lake shore alvars

Ontario rarity Packera obovata

After spending more than enough time with the Ram's heads, I continued down the trail until it came to the lake shore where the forest gave way to large expanses of exposed limestone bedrock.  These areas of grooved and scraped stone are a globally rare habitat known as an alvar.  Only select areas within the Great Lakes basin (including Ohio's Kelley Island), Sweden and Estonia have alvars.  Created thousands of years ago when the mighty weight of the glaciers passed over the area, you can still see grooves and markings from where they scraped over the bedrock.  The yellow flowers scattered throughout the beach belonged to the Round-leaved Ragwort (Packera obovata).  While common in Ohio and found in a variety of habitats, the round-leaved Ragwort is quite rare in Ontario, growing predominately on the rocky shores of alvars; completely different than what I normally see.

Glacial groves on the limestone alvars

Iris versicolor

Water and small pockets of dirt gradually collect within the depressions and holes of the limestone bedrock.  This allows plants such as sedges (Carex spp.), spikerushes (Eleocharis spp.) and the photographed Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) to grow and survive in the harsh and punishing conditions of the alvars.  That reality of just how little life can cling to up here really became the reoccurring theme of the trip.  Amazing what life will do when given the chance.

Pinguicula vulgaris

Pinguicula vulgaris

For the return hike back to the car I decided to stick along the lake shore to see what different sights and species I could find.  My eyes were quickly attracted to a patch of lime green rosettes with small purple flowers dancing in the wind.  I instantly recognized them as another exciting and unusual species I had hopes of seeing!  This is the carnivorous plant known as Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris).  The lime colored and slimy rosettes attract insects which become stuck to the surface and are then digested.  The purple solitary flowers have a Penstemon or Viola-esque look to them in my opinion.  This plant is only found in a handful of northern states where it is rare in just about all of them.

Prunus pumila var. pumila

Glacial alvars along Lake Huron

As I got closer to the car I came across an area with some of the most obvious signs of glacial evidence.  The ground was one huge, flat and continuous piece of dolomite limestone bedrock.  It almost looked like nature was reclaiming an old airport runway or section of concrete highway.  This is all the Bruce is; one huge hunk of Silurian age limestone with life still fighting for survival all those millennia later.  Crossing over the sand dunes just before the parking lot I spotted a scrubby-looking shrub species still clinging to a few white blooms.  It was the waning flowers of the Great Lakes Sand Cherry (Prunus pumila var. pumila), which was collected only once in Ohio over 100 years ago and never seen again.  This uncommon shrub plays a vital role as a sand and dune stabilizer, using its roots to prevent sand from shifting and loosening.

After getting to the car I realized my stomach was growling and my taste buds were watering for an ice cold beer back at the pub.  I'd spent all day exploring this fascinating area of the Bruce and finding so much more than I could ever fit into one blog post.  I was still on a high from finding the Ram's head lady's slippers as I cruised through the back roads to get that beer but I couldn't help but already start to plan for tomorrow's adventure...