Wild Orchids of Alberta Canada on Display at the MacEwan College's South Campus

"26 or more - grow wild... in Alberta, a good number of them just outside Edmonton.The Wagner natural area is a haven for orchids, says Ben Rostron, an associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at the University ofAlberta. He'll be talking about those orchids and how to find them at the Orchid Society of Alberta's annual show and sale this weekend at theMacEwan College's South Campus.About 16 different varieties of orchids can be seen at the Wagner natural area, located along Highway 16, just east of Spruce Grove. A 1.5-kilometretrail with a boardwalk over the wet areas provides great viewing.The best time to see the orchids is around the end of May and beginning of June, says Rostron. Yellow Lady's Slippers are easy to spot from the trail,with their small, yellow, slipper-shaped flowers...the striped coralroot orchid, with its pinkish-orange stripes, or pink lady's slippers, which grows around Fort McMurray. The bog candle orchid can grow one metre tall, with white flowers that smell like cloves...Many of the orchids found in Alberta are boreal plants that have found their way down from the Arctic Circle and originally came across [walking ?/ smile...] the land bridge from Asia, he says. In Alberta, one can find orchids in Elk Island, Banff and Jasper national parks."URL :http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=b8005eab-3ecc-4e77-a36c-8019fa6795d0&k=32331

Enjoy,
Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com