Distribution of plants at Mer Bleue
Preparation:
Familiarize yourself with the sampling sites and the plant species by reading carefully
this document, the list of dominant plants at Mer Bleue and the prelab presentation.
Online observations of plants
• Photos of various plant growing at the Mer Bleue site are posted on Brightspace
(follow link in the Mer Bleue module).
• Photos are organized in observation stations where they were taken. Visit all 5
stations.
• Observation phase: In each observation station, record what species from the
plant list below you can identify on photos.
• Record your data using the online data entry form. This will combine your
observations with those of the other students’ in your group.
• If you haven’t yet, follow the link located in the Module 1 to find out what plant
species you have been assigned for your lab report.
• Once all students have recorded their observations, download the group data
pertaining to your plant (the one you’ve been assigned for the report).
• The combined data corresponds to the observations of your own lab section
plus the observations of 3 or 4 other sections = groups. This will simulate the
conditions of the other years’ field trips when several groups of students were
going to Mer Bleue at the same time, and it increases the number of
observations.
• Use the combined data for your plant to write your report.
• Read the Instruction file for more information about the report and due dates.
• Submit your online report using the link in Module 1.
• Links to all documents and tools described in this document are available below
in the Module 1.
• Contact your TA during your section’s Live Sessions if you have questions.
Adapted from a laboratory created by Antoine Morin
1
,Module 1 - Distribution of plants at Mer Bleue
List of Mer Bleue plants (description in next pages):
Categories Name Note
Tall Trees
Red maple Acer rubrum
Sugar maple Acer saccharum
Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis
Paper or white birch Betula papyrifera
White ash Fraxinus americana Compound leaves
Tamarack or larch Larix laricina needles
Black spruce Picea mariana needles
Red pine Pinus resinosa needles
White pine Pinus strobus needles
Trembling aspen Populus tremuloides
Black cherry Prunus serotina
Basswood Tilia americana
American elm Ulmus americana
Small trees and shrubs
Speckled alder Alnus incana
Alternate leaved dogwood Cornus alternifolia alternate leaves
Red-osier dogwood Cornus stolonifera / Cornus
Glossy buckthorn Frangula alnus
Black chokeberry Photinia melanocarpa
Staghorn sumac Rhus typhina L. Compound leaves
Willow Salix sp.
Smaller shrubs and bushes
Raspberry Rubus idaeus thorns
Blueberry Vaccinium myrtilloides
Various small plants
Wild sarsaparilla Aralia nudicaulis Compound leaves
Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca Large fruits
Heart-leaved aster Aster cordifolius Flowers*
Leatherleaf Chamaedaphne calyculata alternate leaves
Bunchberry Cornus canadensis
Round-leaved sundew Drosera rotundifolia Carnivorous plant
Woodland horsetail Equisitum sylvaticum
Cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium fruit
Sheep laurel Kalmia angustifolia 3 leaves opposite
Ground pine Lycopodium obscurum
Purple loosestrife Lythrum salicaria
Ostrich fern Matteuccia struthiopteris Fern
Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis Fern
Bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum Fern
Labrador tea Rhododendron groenlandicum
Black eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta flowers
Maiden’s tears Silene vulgaris flowers
Golden rod Solidago species Flowers possible
Sphagnum moss Sphagnum spp.
White meadowsweet Spiraea alba var. latifolia
Cattail or Bulrush Typha latifolia
Cow vetch Vicia cracca Flowers possible
*Flowers = you may see flowers on these species in September
2
, Module 1 - Distribution of plants at Mer Bleue
Dominant plant species at Mer Bleue
Plant descriptions were adapted from: Forest plants of Ontario - Chamber and
Bentley, 1996.
Category: Tall trees
Figure 1.
Acer rubrum
Red maple - Érable rouge
• Medium-sized tree, reaching 25 m in height.
• Young bark is smooth and grey. With age it becomes grey-
brown, divides into crests that are sometimes free at the
edges.
• Leaves with 3-5 lobes, having a distinct V-shaped notch
between them (sugar maples have a U-shaped notch). Upper
surface is light green. The petiole is often red.
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A.
Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and
Canada. Vol. 2: 495
Figure 2. Acer saccharum
Sugar maple - Érable à sucre
• Large tree, attaining 35 m in height.
• Young bark is smooth and grey. Mature bark has vertical
ridges curled outward along one side.
• Leaves with 5 lobes with long blunt-pointed tips, a few
irregular teeth, having a distinct U-shaped notch between
them (red maples have a V-shaped notch).
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A.
Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and
Canada. Vol. 2:496. A
Watch colour pictures of the Mer Bleue
plants on the lab website
3
Preparation:
Familiarize yourself with the sampling sites and the plant species by reading carefully
this document, the list of dominant plants at Mer Bleue and the prelab presentation.
Online observations of plants
• Photos of various plant growing at the Mer Bleue site are posted on Brightspace
(follow link in the Mer Bleue module).
• Photos are organized in observation stations where they were taken. Visit all 5
stations.
• Observation phase: In each observation station, record what species from the
plant list below you can identify on photos.
• Record your data using the online data entry form. This will combine your
observations with those of the other students’ in your group.
• If you haven’t yet, follow the link located in the Module 1 to find out what plant
species you have been assigned for your lab report.
• Once all students have recorded their observations, download the group data
pertaining to your plant (the one you’ve been assigned for the report).
• The combined data corresponds to the observations of your own lab section
plus the observations of 3 or 4 other sections = groups. This will simulate the
conditions of the other years’ field trips when several groups of students were
going to Mer Bleue at the same time, and it increases the number of
observations.
• Use the combined data for your plant to write your report.
• Read the Instruction file for more information about the report and due dates.
• Submit your online report using the link in Module 1.
• Links to all documents and tools described in this document are available below
in the Module 1.
• Contact your TA during your section’s Live Sessions if you have questions.
Adapted from a laboratory created by Antoine Morin
1
,Module 1 - Distribution of plants at Mer Bleue
List of Mer Bleue plants (description in next pages):
Categories Name Note
Tall Trees
Red maple Acer rubrum
Sugar maple Acer saccharum
Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis
Paper or white birch Betula papyrifera
White ash Fraxinus americana Compound leaves
Tamarack or larch Larix laricina needles
Black spruce Picea mariana needles
Red pine Pinus resinosa needles
White pine Pinus strobus needles
Trembling aspen Populus tremuloides
Black cherry Prunus serotina
Basswood Tilia americana
American elm Ulmus americana
Small trees and shrubs
Speckled alder Alnus incana
Alternate leaved dogwood Cornus alternifolia alternate leaves
Red-osier dogwood Cornus stolonifera / Cornus
Glossy buckthorn Frangula alnus
Black chokeberry Photinia melanocarpa
Staghorn sumac Rhus typhina L. Compound leaves
Willow Salix sp.
Smaller shrubs and bushes
Raspberry Rubus idaeus thorns
Blueberry Vaccinium myrtilloides
Various small plants
Wild sarsaparilla Aralia nudicaulis Compound leaves
Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca Large fruits
Heart-leaved aster Aster cordifolius Flowers*
Leatherleaf Chamaedaphne calyculata alternate leaves
Bunchberry Cornus canadensis
Round-leaved sundew Drosera rotundifolia Carnivorous plant
Woodland horsetail Equisitum sylvaticum
Cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium fruit
Sheep laurel Kalmia angustifolia 3 leaves opposite
Ground pine Lycopodium obscurum
Purple loosestrife Lythrum salicaria
Ostrich fern Matteuccia struthiopteris Fern
Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis Fern
Bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum Fern
Labrador tea Rhododendron groenlandicum
Black eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta flowers
Maiden’s tears Silene vulgaris flowers
Golden rod Solidago species Flowers possible
Sphagnum moss Sphagnum spp.
White meadowsweet Spiraea alba var. latifolia
Cattail or Bulrush Typha latifolia
Cow vetch Vicia cracca Flowers possible
*Flowers = you may see flowers on these species in September
2
, Module 1 - Distribution of plants at Mer Bleue
Dominant plant species at Mer Bleue
Plant descriptions were adapted from: Forest plants of Ontario - Chamber and
Bentley, 1996.
Category: Tall trees
Figure 1.
Acer rubrum
Red maple - Érable rouge
• Medium-sized tree, reaching 25 m in height.
• Young bark is smooth and grey. With age it becomes grey-
brown, divides into crests that are sometimes free at the
edges.
• Leaves with 3-5 lobes, having a distinct V-shaped notch
between them (sugar maples have a U-shaped notch). Upper
surface is light green. The petiole is often red.
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A.
Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and
Canada. Vol. 2: 495
Figure 2. Acer saccharum
Sugar maple - Érable à sucre
• Large tree, attaining 35 m in height.
• Young bark is smooth and grey. Mature bark has vertical
ridges curled outward along one side.
• Leaves with 5 lobes with long blunt-pointed tips, a few
irregular teeth, having a distinct U-shaped notch between
them (red maples have a V-shaped notch).
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A.
Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and
Canada. Vol. 2:496. A
Watch colour pictures of the Mer Bleue
plants on the lab website
3
