Living Landscapes

Endangered Species and Spaces

10.0 Plant Communities

Plant Communities are among the most endangered ecosystems both in the province and in the Columbia Basin. The table below presents the Rare Plant Community Tracking List for the Columbia Basin.

Table 10: Rare Plant Communities of the Columbia Basin

Common Name	Scientific name	Provincial Rank	Provincial List
Western Anemone - Black Alpine Sedge	Anemone Occidentalis - Carex Nigricans	S2	RED
Scrub Birch - Horsetail	Betula Glandulosa - Equisetum	S3	BLUE
Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley	Distichlis Stricta - Hordeum Jubatum	S1	RED
Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Junegrass	Elymus Spicatus - Koeleria	S2	RED
Idaho Fescue - Snowberry	Festuca Idahoensis - Symphoricarpos Occidentalis	S3	BLUE
Hybrid White Spruce - Gooseberry - Sarsaparilla	Piscea Englemanii x glauca - Ribes Lacustra - Aralia Nudicaulis	S3	BLUE
Ponderosa Pine - Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Junegrass	Pinus ponderosa - Elymus spicatus - Lupinus	S2	RED
Ponderosa Pine/Trembling Aspen - Rose - Solomon's Seal	Pinus ponderosa Populus tremuloides - Rosa woodsii	S3	BLUE
Black Cottonwood - Dogwood - Nootka Rose	Populus balsamifera ssp trichocarpa - Cornus stolonifera - Rosa nutkana	S1S2	RED
Douglas Fir - Snowberry - Balsamroot	Pseudotsuga Menziesii - Symphoricarpos Albus - Balsamorhiza Sagittata	S2	RED
Douglas Fir - Ponderosa Pine - Bluebunch Wheatgrass - Balsamroot	Pseudotsuga Menziesii - Pinus Ponderosa - Elymus spicatus - Balsamorhiza Sagittata	S3	BLUE
Antelope Brush - Bluebunch Wheatgrass	Purshia Tridentata - Elymus Spicatus	S3?	BLUE
Western Red Cedar/Hybrid White Spruce - Devil's Club - Horsetail	Thuja Plicata - Oplopanax Horridus - Equisetum arvense	S3	BLUE
Subalpine Fir - Black Huckleberry - Bear grass	Thuja Plicata - Vaccinium membranaceum - Xerophyllum Tenax	S3?	BLUE
Douglas Fir/Ponderosa Pine - Oregon Grape - Parsley Fern	Pseudotsuga Menziesii/Pinus Ponderosa - Mahonia aquifolium - Cryptogramma	S3	BLUE

Source: BC Cons. Data Centre - Rare Plant Community Forest District Tracking Lists

It should be noted that the status and distribution of rare species and plant communities is regularly reviewed and updated. Therefore, many of these plant communities may, over time, be deleted if they are found to be more common than expected, or upgraded if their status becomes more imperiled. Additional communities will doubtless be added as more research and surveys are conducted.

Wetlands and native grasslands are some of the most threatened plant communities in the Columbia Basin (Heather Stewart - pers. comm.). British Columbia grasslands are unique in Canada because they represent the northern limit of bunchgrass vegetation in North America and because they are dominated by species that occur only rarely east of the Rocky Mountains such as bunchgrass, and bluebunch wheatgrass (Pitt and Hooper, 1994). Grasslands occur in the dry interior regions of the province, most typically in the Bunchgrass and Ponderosa Pine biogeoclimatic zones. Annual precipitation is generally less that 500 mm and can be less than 250 mm in the driest parts. Bluebunch wheatgrass is the dominant species in the Bunchgrass zone, but often includes balsamroot, needle and thread grass, bluegrass and numerous other forbs (herbaceous plants other than grass) (Pitt and Hooper, 1994).

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