Small Jewels Beside the Runway

    We often walk our dog up and down the runway at the McBride airfield.  I always have my eyes open for unusual and interesting plants and yesterday I spotted these two.  The white flower above is called Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris) and despite the name is not a grass, but a Saxifrage.  It generally grows in wet seepy places like river flats, so I’m not sure what it is doing beside the tarmac.

    The violet and yellow flower in the photo below is called Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) and it is not a grass either, but does grow atop a grass-like stem.  It is part of the Iris family.  It normally grows in damp sub-alpine meadows, but it seems to be doing well beside the runway.

You can see my paintings at:  www.davidmarchant.ca