Chilling in the Bruce, Part 3

Red elderberry blooms in the woods.

Driving up a steep curve, we explored the Edmonston Side Trail. The variety of plants made this wet wood a most beautiful wild garden: long spurred violets (Viola rostrata), possibly white trout lilies (the flowers were long-gone), foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia), wild ginger (Asarum canadense), and miterwort (Mitella diphylla) carpeted lush woods with red elderberry and alternate-leaved dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) in the understory.

Long-spurred violet (Viola rostrata)

White Trout lilies seeding? (Erythronium americanum)

Edmonston Side Trail

Violets and ferns

Foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia)

Maidenhair ferns, ostrich and sensitive ferns, the rare hart's tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrum), northern holly fern (Polystichum lonchitis) and ebony spleenworts (Asplenium platyneuron) hid in crevices among the mossy rocks.

Holly fern (Polystichum lonchitis)

Alternate-leaved dogwood

Hart's tongue fern

Northern maidenhair ferns (Adiantum pedatum)

Ebony spleenwort

A gorgeous clump of yellow lady slipper orchids decorated one place on the trail! 

At some point along the way it began to drizzle, but I was so absorbed in taking in the wealth of flora surrounding us that I didn't notice it until we were about to return to our cars. I quickly drew out my raincoat from my pack and put it on. 

Morels

As we were walking along the road back to our cars, one young lady in our group came across a huge morel (Morchella esculenta) by the side of the road and gathered it--they are fair game to pick though this is a nature preserve. I figured where there was one, there might be more and began looking closely at the ground. About twenty feet farther along the road ditch, I came across three more, a bit smaller, and gathered them. I'd never tasted one, and was curious to know if they were as delicious as their reputation has it. It kept in the refrigerator of our cottage for a few days until I was able to get our chef to cook them for me with my breakfast--they were well worth the wait!