Narrow-leaved Cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium) creates a sea of white in the meadows of Strathcona Provincial Park.

Fall hiking in Paradise Meadows on Vancouver Island, British Columbia provides an excellent opportunity for one last glimpse at late blooming flowers and the seed heads from plants that flowered earlier in the year. By far the most obvious plant in seed in the meadows right now is Narrow-leaved Cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium). This sedge produces achenes which are surrounded by long white bristles, creating a sea of white. On a windy day like yesterday the seeds stream out like flags, ready to be transported to a new location.

The white bristles on the achenes of Narrow-leaved Cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium) create a soft cotton-like fluff.

Narrow-leaved Cotton-grass can be found in wet meadows, bogs, and fens at all elevations in coastal British Columbia. It is a beautiful sedge, easy to identify, and a sure sign that fall is on its way!

The inflorescence of Narrow-leaved Cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium) is a loose cluster of 2 to 8 spikelets.

The line of spines down the midrib of this Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola) leaf is an obvious field mark.

An initial look through Pojar and MacKinnon’s Plants of Coastal British Columbia turned up a couple of possibilities but nothing really fit. I thought that the flowers sort of looked like they belonged to the hawkweeds (Hieracicum sp.) but the leaves didn’t fit with any of the common plants in this genus. Instead, I thought that the leaves looked more like sow-thistle leaves (Sonchus sp.) but the flowers didn’t work with any of those species. I’m not great at keying plants out (my wife Jocie has much more patience for it) but thought that I’d try our copy of the Illustrated Flora of British Columbia but was quickly overwhelmed.

Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola) flowers lack disk flowers.

Back to the photographs. I looked at the shape of the leaf and tried to ignore the nasty looking spines down the rib of the leaf and had a thought – the leaf sort of looked like Wall Lettuce (Lactuca muralis) in shape. I returned to Plants of Coastal British Columbia and read through the notes  for this species (often similar plants are described in this section even though an image isn’t usually provided). Sure enough, one of the species described was Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola)! A quick check of eFlora, British Columbia’s on-line database of plants confirmed that my aster was indeed Prickly Lettuce – mystery solved!

The pinnate lobed shape of the leaf of Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola) is somewhat similar to the leaf of Wall Lettuce (L. muralis).

This distinctive looking plant is one more introduced species from Europe that can be found at the Courtenay Airpark Lagoon. The leaves have a network of veins with a very noticeable line of spines down its midrib. The yellow flower consists of ray flowers only – no disk flowers are present. While Wall Lettuce is considered edible, if bitter, I’d have serious doubts about trying Prickly Lettuce!

A mix of intertidal sponges can be found on exposed rocks at low tide.

Around the front of the island a series of large rocks on which multitudes of Purple Stars, Green Surf Anemones, Mussels, Gooseneck Barnacles and much more are easily accessible at low tide. Each rock is surrounded by sand so it is possible to view these fascinating intertidal organisms without harming them or stepping on other creatures.

The last time I visited Schooner Cove I thought I would check out the second island in the cove. Viewed from the south end, it doesn’t look like much but I discovered that the north side of this second island is very interesting. It is carved into a series of surge channels which host walls of intertidal life. At that time, it was already well past low tide and it wasn’t ideal (or very safe) to explore. I made a mental note to return and this past week both tides and days off coincided to allow a second visit. On this visit to Schooner Cove I arrived about 15 minutes before the low and the narrow sandy channels were accessible although some care was required to monitor wave action.

Sea Pork (Aplidium sp.?) and Purple Intertidal Sponge(Haliclona permollis?).

One of the things that was most noticeable was the large patches of sponges that covered the walls of these narrow channels. At least three different species were visible ranging in colour from a rich purple to bright red to green to a slimy gelatinous looking orange/yellow.

I was interested in learning a little more about Pacific Northwest sponges and found some excellent information in Stefani Hewlett Paine’s book Sea life of the Pacific Northwest which has a great section on sponges (as well as the life histories of a variety of other intertidal organisms).

Sponges are very primitive animals that are essentially a collection of unorganized cells – there are no specialized tissues, no organs, no nervous system, no sensory cells, or even a mouth. The structure of a sponge is based on a simple form; a vase-like structure that is attached to something solid at one end and open at the other. Water is drawn into the sponge through very small openings by means of the beating flagella of collar cells which line the interior of the vase. Minute food particles in the water are taken in by individual cells and nutrients are distributed by bodies called amoebocytes. Waste water exits via a larger opening (that often looks like a small volcano) called an osculum.

Yellow-Green Encrusting Sponge (Halichondria panicea) was common at Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Note the volcano-like oscula.

Amoebocytes also play a part in providing the sponge with structure, forming spicules (slivers of glass, calcium or fibre) that keeps the sponge from collapsing and closing off the water canals and cavities. They also play a role in reproduction, producing both eggs and sperm that are released into the water. The timing of the release of gametes is staggered to ensure that cross-fertilization occurs. In addition to reproducing sexually, sponges are also able to reproduce asexually and have a remarkable ability to regenerate. They are able to reform into a complete sponge even if the individual cells of the animal are separated when strained through a fine mesh silk!

Purple Intertidal Sponge (Haliclona sp.) is one of the common intertidal sponges.

Sponges have few predators, probably due to the unappealing texture, the spicules, and the foul smell of some species. However, some nudibranchs do prey on sponges and sea lemons, for example, prefer to eat Haliclona sp.

The slimy texture and orange/yellow colour give Sea Pork (Aplidium sp.) its common name.

Sponges are definitely interesting organisms to look for in the intertidal zone. If you can get past their gross, slimy appearance they really are quite fascinating!

If you’ve enjoyed these close up photographs (and who can’t look at a gooey sponge without wondering if there is anything else worth looking a little closer at) check out Macro Monday for more great images of the small and curious.

Other similar or entirely different spineless organisms can be found at Circus of the Spineless, this month hosted by Hectocotyli.

My destination was the far island on this hike. I usually focus on island that is the first one encountered when entering the bay but on a previous visit I had checked out the second island and thought that it was well worth a closer look. The south side of this island (which is what one sees when entering the cove) is unremarkable. The north side is very interesting. Wave action has carved a series of narrow channels through the rocks making access to walls of marine life very easy. The bonus is that it is possible to explore these channels without stepping on organisms since the bottoms are covered with hard packed sand. One must be extremely cautious of what the tide is doing and the condition of the surf since these surge channels can also concentrate water movement so that waves move quickly up them.

A trio of Monterey Sea Lemons (Doris monteryensis) sit next to their ribbon like egg masses.

Since the low was mediocre and the tide was turning I didn’t have a great deal of time. Among the many different forms of life living in these channels, a pair of Sea Lemons caught my eye. They were stuck tightly on the rock wall next to their ribbon-like egg mass. Sea Lemons do look a little like lemons – they are yellow and have a knobbly texture and are about the size of a large lemon.

I’m not 100% sure on the identity of these Sea Lemons. There are two very similar looking possibilities: Noble Sea Lemon (Peltodoris nobilis – also know as Anisodoris nobilis) and Monterey Sea Lemon (Doris monteryensis – also known as Archidoris monteryensis). According to the Sea Slug forum, the former has a white frill around the edge of the ring of gills at the back of the animals, while the latter’s gill colour matches the colour of the body of the animal. Looking at the picture, I think that the gills are more yellowish than white, suggesting that these are Doris monteryensis.

I didn’t have enough time to examine these beautiful dorids for long. The tide was on its way in and I managed to take only a couple of photographs before I felt it wasn’t safe to continue. In examining the photograph while processing it with Photoshop I realized that there actually appears to be three nudibranchs in the image – can you see all three?

For more photographs of British Columbia nudibranchs check out the Island Nature article “Madrona Point Nudibranchs” by Lisa Graham.

Tangled Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana)

I found these Bull Kelp stranded on the beach at Florencia Bay in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. I was fascinated by how intricately these kelps were intertwined, a fine tangled mess.

It appears that anchor that they chose just wasn’t heavy enough. Perhaps there’s a lesson here…