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Early Spring Blooms in the Red Deer River Basin

This short key is provided to help the amateur naturalists become acquainted with some common spring blooms. It will not identify every plant you may come across. For other plants, please refer to some of the excellent books available at your local bookstore and at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre. 

 
Early Spring Blooms Identification Key
Red Deer Region

Instructions

  • Read the pairs or triplets of statements and select the best one.

  • Go to the place in the key indicated by the number in the second column.

Please Note : this Identification Key is based on enquiries from the public that have been received by Red Deer College instructors over many years.

  1. Flowers white or colored- recognizable as flowers

  1. Flowers not as above, in a dangling catkin form		 5.

2.		  

  2. Catkin 1-2 cm long, found with red-pink female flower

  2. Catkin 3-7.5 cm long, appearing before leaves

 Hazelnut

3.
Hazelnut

  3. Catkin pussy willow-like, leaves long and narrow

 
  3. Catkin usually longer, leaves round or ovate (oblong)

 Willow species

4.


Pussy Willow (male)
  4. Catkin 3-7.5 cm, male catkins a deep red color

 

  4. Catkin 3-6cm, male catkin gray and wooly		 Balsam Poplar


Aspen Poplar
Balsam poplar Aspen poplar
  5. Flowers white

  5. Flowers colored		 9.

6.

 
  6. Flowers brown/yellow, leaves with orange dots on underside

 
  6. Flowers not yellow brown		 Canada Buffaloberry

7.


Buffaloberry
  7. Flowers urn shaped, whitish with pink rim

  7. Flowers not urn shaped, blue or purple in color		 Bearberry

8.


Bearberry
  8. Flowers blue, 4 petals, plant vine like (twining)

 








 8. Flowers blue or pale blue, 5 petals, hairy stems		 Purple Clematis









Crocus
Purple clematis
 
       Crocus
  9. Flowers minute, borne in candelabra-like umbel, basal rosette of leaves

 








 9. Flowers minute, greenish-white, in a ball-shaped cluster



9. Flowers larger than 2 mm in diameter		 Pigmy Flower










Wild Sarsaparilla


10.
 


Pigmy flower

 
WIld Sarsaprilla
10. Flowers in dense rounded terminal cluster, in wet area before leaves appear

10.Flowers not as above		 Coltsfoot


11.		  
11. Flower petals 3 mm long, fruits found down stem, coin shaped




11. Flower petals up to 6mm long, fruits down stem triangular in shape
 		 Penny Cress




Shepherd's Purse


Shepherd's purse