Have you seen these plants?

Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) featured left, and Sticky Purple Geranium (Geranium viscosissimum) featured right.

About

Explore rare plants in Southern Alberta and meet their fellow neighbors and pollinators! We are studying the community composition of two rare species important to people of the Kainai First Nation: Onnikiisaikimsskaan (Green Comet Milkweed) and Purple Geranium. Rare plant species often rely on positive relationships with other plants in their community. By recording traits of the neighboring plants that these species exist with, we hope to illuminate their critical habitat needs, and help inform future restoration projects in southern Alberta. See the Events section on the community science page for upcoming walks!

Get Involved

Join the Team for Plant Walks in Summer 2024 and…

Become a community scientist
Contribute to scientific research
Connect with local experts
Learn about the nature in your area
Improve your plant identification skills
Conduct patch surveys
Learn about the cultural importance of plant species to peoples of the Kainai First Nation and Blackfoot Confederacy
And more!

Walk Locations and Dates:

Lethbridge Indian Battle Park (May 4, 2024. 1-3pm) Event summary
Naapi’s Garden (June 1, 2024, 1-3pm) Event summary
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (July 20, 2024, 1-3pm) Event summary
Eagle Child Tipi Ring Site, Kainai First Nation (August 3, 2024, 1-3pm) Event summary

Upload your plant observations to our iNaturalist project

The Team

My name is Toryanse Blanchard and I am Ojibway from Batchewana First Nation. I am a master’s student at the University of Calgary and I am studying rare flowering plants and their plant communities. This project was built through partnership with Indigenous knowledge holder and artist Api’soomaahka (William Singer III) from Kainai First Nation. Our goal is that through this partnership, we can encourage knowledge exchange, connect with the land, and find out more about the habitat needs of these two rare plant species!

Stand Off, Alberta on Friday, July 24, 2020. Amber Bracken

Research

Green milkweed and Sticky geranium present two different classes of rarity. Green milkweed is known from 10 or fewer occurrences in Alberta, and Sticky geranium has over 100. The reason for their rarity in Alberta is currently unknown. Both Green milkweed and Sticky geranium are at the northernmost edge of their range in North America, however, range does not always determine a species rarity. Their relatively low abundance could be due to habitat pressures (such as climate, human footprint), lack of pollinators (both species rely heavily on Bumble bees for pollination), or being rare may be advantageous for them. This project will examine how their community composition is affected by human footprint, and how shared pollinators and flowering time may shape their community.

Interested in learning more about rare plants in Alberta? Visit the Alberta Conservation Information Management System (ACIMS) to learn about other vascular plants that are rare in Alberta.