Gully: Plants

Mammals

Birds

Amphibians/Reptiles

Arthropods

Bryophytes/Lichens

Giant wildrye

Giant wildrye is a perennial grass that forms large clumps 1-2 m high. The broad, grayish-green leaves are very tough, smooth and wide. The flowerheads are tall spikes that rise above the leaves.

Giant wildrye grows at low to mid-elevations in areas where there is moisture just below the surface. First Nations used the plant as a decoration in woven baskets, for lining cache and cooking pits and to cover the floors of their dwelling places.

Sticky geranium

Sticky geranium is a perennial plant growing from 40 to 90 cm tall. Basal leaves are on long stalks and are deeply divided into five lobes. The stems and leaves are all covered with sticky hairs. Flowers that range in colour form lavender to magenta are located at the tips of branches, forming hairy seed capsules with a long "beak" that looks like a crane or stork’s bill.

Saskatoon

This is a deciduous shrub, one to six metres tall with smooth stems and dark grey to reddish bark. Thin, oval leaves are alternately arranged along the stem and have jagged leaf tips. Saskatoon has showy white flowers that bloom in April and May. Soon after flowering, edible red to black fruits appear. This shrub often forms dense colonies that grow from a creeping underground root system.

Saskatoon provides important fall and winter browse for ungulates, such as deer, moose and elk. The fleshy and tasty saskatoon berries are an important food for many birds, small mammals and black bears.

Want to find out about species at risk in gullies?
Go to Species at Risk

Here are some other representative species in gullies:

Forbs:
Compact selaginella
Small-flowered penstemon
Star-flowered false Solomon’s seal
Western meadowrue
Grasses:
Bluebunch wheatgrass
Blue wildrye
Kentucky bluegrass
Rough fescue
Spreading needlegrass
Stiff needlegrass
Shrubs:
Chokecherry
Nootka rose
Soopolallie
Water birch
Trees:
Douglas-fir
Paper birch
Trembling aspen

Illustrations:
J.L.Janish Reprinted with permission by the University of Washington Press

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