PEI’s late summer landscape belongs to the Aster Family: yellow Goldenrods, purple Asters, and – one of my personal favourites – pink Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum). There are five Joe Pye species in North America, but Spotted Joe Pye Weed, shown here, is the only one we have on the Island. This plant can be found across the province, though I see it far more commonly in Prince County, where it grows in damp roadside ditches, meadows, and coastal areas. Spotted Joe Pye

The Mi’kmaq have a name for each full moon of the celestial calendar, with August’s being the Berry Ripening Moon (Kisikewiku’s, pronounced gis-ig-ay-we-goos). This is indeed peak berry season on PEI, with SO many wild fruits on offer right now. But there’s one you may have overlooked: Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina). Staghorn Sumac is native to the Island, and was also used as an ornamental, meaning it can be found around towns, cities, and rural homesteads. It’s a beautiful

I would have liked a better-composed and more in-focus photo of today’s PEI animal, but I was under attack by a hoard of these fierce creatures. If you’ve met them, you know what I mean: these are Horse Flies (Tabanus nigrovittatus or similar). The names Horse Fly and Deer Fly are often used interchangeably for any large, biting fly, but they are two different, albeit related, beasts. Horse Flies and Deer Flies are in the same family (Tabanidae), but Deer Flies (Chrysops sp

Today’s PEI plant epitomizes the saying ‘big things come in small packages’. Meet Goldthread (Coptis trifolia). Goldthread is a member of the Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and is common, though often overlooked, in mossy woodlands across the Island. Its delicate white flower (inset photo) – just a centimetre across and appearing for short time in May – is easily missed. Even the small, three-parted leaves usually go unnoticed unless you’re specifically looking for them,

One of PEI’s most common woodland plants is often overlooked, occasionally misidentified, and fruiting now. Meet Sarsaparilla (pronounced ‘sass-parilla’, Aralia nudicaulis). Sarsaparilla is about 30 to 45 centimetres (a foot to 1.5 feet) tall and is divided into three branches, each with three to five leaflets (main photo). Those leaflets are often reddish when they first appear in spring, and they turn red again in fall. This, coupled with the old saying “leaves of three,

As fields of grain ripen across PEI, you may have noticed a similar, though smaller, plant growing along roadsides, coastlines, and trails. Although this plant hangs out in human habitats and looks like it may have escaped from farms or gardens, it’s actually a native species: meet Foxtail Barley (Hordeum jubatum). Like our agricultural grains, Foxtail Barley is a member of the grass family (Poaceae). It’s in the same genus as the commercial Barley you may enjoy in breakfas

There are certain, shared experiences that unite those of us who grew up on PEI. For example, getting storm-stayed in winter, going to the beach in summer, and having annual run-ins with Jellyfish! There are at least three species of Jellyfish in the waters around PEI: the Lion’s Mane (Cyanea capillata), shown here, the smaller and more cinnamon-coloured Atlantic Lion’s Mane (Cyanea fulva), and the white Moon Jelly (Aurelia aurita). Of the three, the Lion’s Mane is the most

PEI has wildflowers that are beautiful, edible, and ecologically important. Today we have an example that’s all three, and flowering now: Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium)! Fireweed can be found across the Island, blooming in vacant urban lots, along rural roads and fields, and among forests impacted by 2022’s Hurricane Fiona. While it gets its name from an ability to recolonize land following wildfire, it doesn’t need fire to appear: any disturbance will do. Fireweed i

We humans tend to divide insects into two camps. There are those we don’t like (Earwigs, I’m looking at you!), and those we do, with no better example than Fireflies. I captured this lone Firefly’s flash at my home in central PEI recently and thought it’s time we took a closer look at these interesting insects! Fireflies are beetles, not flies, and not all have ‘fire’ – many species are daytime-fliers that use pheromones, rather than light, to communicate. The night-flying,

When we think about wildflowers, coastal areas often get overlooked in favour of fields, forests, and roadsides. But that means missing some of PEI’s loveliest native plants, including Starry False Solomon’s Seal (Maianthemum stellatum). Starry False Solomon’s Seal is a relative of Wild Lily-of-the-Valley, which I introduced you to earlier this spring. If you guessed these plants are members of the Lily Family (Liliaceae), you’d be sensible, but wrong! The genus Maianthemum

It’s great to see landscaping with native plants becoming mainstream. Many nurseries now carry at least some native species and seed mixes, while PEI’s Rural Beautification Society has added a Native Planting & Biodiversity category to its popular annual competition. The Island has many common, native plants that make beautiful additions to backyard gardens. One example: Alternate-leaved Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia). PEI has four native Dogwoods, which are all easy to spot

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. I’ve been receiving photos of deformed Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) flowers from around the Maritimes, including this one from Tara Matheson here on PEI. The cause is a fungus, Taphrina confusa. Let’s take a look! Normal Chokecherry flowers have five white petals and grow in finger-like groups, called ‘racemes’ (inset photo). Once pollinated, each flower will form an

Welcome to Insect Appreciation Days, celebrated from June 8 – 13th annually, thanks to the Entomological Society of Canada. And what better insect to profile than PEI’s most commonly-reported moth, the Virginia Ctenucha (Ctenucha virginica)! First, what’s up with that name? Ctenucha (ten-OOO-sha) comes from a Greek word for ‘comb’, and refers to the feathery, comb-like antennae of the male moths. (The individual shown here is a female, with more wiry, less feathery antennae

Right now, wildflowers are doing an amazing job of brightening up PEI’s spring landscape. Even bogs – habitats that go unnoticed most of the year – are putting on glorious displays of colourful Rhodora (Rhododendron canadense). Islanders are lucky enough to live in one of the few places in the world where we can enjoy Rhodora’s amazing spring show. While many of PEI’s native plants are also common in central and western Canada, or extend down the Atlantic coast of the US, R

Perhaps it’s because there are so few blue plants, animals, or fungi in nature that they seem to really catch our attention. That is definitely true of this beautiful Oil Beetle (aka Short-winged Blister Beetle, Meloe angusticollis), photographed in eastern PEI earlier this month by Carla McKie. Oil Beetles get their name from oily, orange droplets that ooze from their joints when the beetles are threatened. That substance is haemolymph (insect blood), and it also gives the

Late summer and fall may be peak mushroom seasons on PEI, but spring has fungi to find, too! While checking my go-to spots for Morels this week, I found lots of these Entolomatoid Mushrooms (Family Entolomataceae). I often ignore LBMs (little brown mushrooms) as being too hard to identify and above my skill level. However, as I gain experience in mushroom identification, I’ve started looking for clues that point to the Family. If you’ve attended any of my workshops, you’ll

They’re baaaack! Here in Central PEI, the first Hummingbird and the first June Bug arrived within a couple of days of each other last week. Most people look forward to seeing the tiny birds far more than they do the shiny insects, but what exactly are June Bugs anyway? Let’s take a look! “June Bug” is a general term used to refer to many different species in the Scarab Beetle Family (Scarabaeidae). The ones found most often on PEI are the native Phyllophaga anxia, although at

One of the nicest treats of a PEI spring is harvesting your own fresh, local food after a winter of stored root vegetables and imported fare. Fiddleheads, dandelions, cat-tails, dock, watercress, and magnolia – along with pheasant back and morel mushrooms if you can find them – are all in season right now. But if you’re looking for something new, give Wild Lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense) a try. Followers of my blog may remember that I introduced you to this plant

PEI has so many wild foods on offer in May: fiddleheads and nettle greens, burdock and primrose roots, morel mushrooms and pheasant’s backs, and so much more! Cat-tails (Typha latifolia) are versatile and easy to use, but it’s good to know how to tell them from a toxic plant of the same wet habitats: Blue-flag Iris (Iris versicolor). Cat-tails and Iris aren’t hard to tell apart in summer and fall, but it can be easy to confuse them where they grow side-by-side in spring (ma

There’s one PEI plant that most people are very familiar with, but few have seen growing in its natural habitat: Eelgrass (Zostera marina). This is how most of us know Eelgrass: washed up along the shore. Eelgrass actually grows in extensive beds offshore as well as in our bays and estuaries, and – despite what you may think – it’s a true flowering plant and not a seaweed. Eelgrass has roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and vascular tissue (structures that move water and nutr