These wildflowers were photographed in the Skwaha Ecological Reserve, during a field trip with Botany BC on May 27, 2005. The reserve lies to the east of Botanie Creek, about 20 km north of Lytton, BC. The elevation rises from 1100 to over 1600 m. The tree line is about 1600m on this south-facing slope. The reserve provides one of the earliest shows of wildflowers in BC.
The hike begins on a left bend of the gravel road at N 50 23.67', W 121 31.68' (WGS84), about 1.5 km past the end of Botanie Lake. Follow an old road uphill to the east for 1.7 km to N 50 23.59', W 121 30.26'. Then head NE uphill into the meadows. Curve north as you get higher. It is best to come down the same way, to avoid bushwacking.
Anyone planning to visit the reserve should first obtain permission from the Parks staff in the Kamloops Water Air and Land Protection office, 1259 Dalhousie Drive, Kamloops BC, V2C 5Z5, Phone (250) 371-6200. In addition, you should seek permission from the Lytton Native Band, as the access goes through their reserve.
Many thanks to Sharon Godkin, Fulton Fisher, Bill MacMillan and Ksenia Barton for help in identifying the plants! In some cases, the species are hard to identify. Please let me know if there are some plants that are misidentified.
To view the flower in half size, move your mouse over the thumbnail. If you want the full size image (up to 2048 x 1536 pixels) or you want associated images showing the leaves or habitat of each plant, please email me.
The camera used is a 2002 Nikon Coolpix 885, typically in macro mode. The page numbers refer to "Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia", Parish, Coupe and Lloyd, Lone Pine Publishing, 1996, where the plants are described.
Ian Cumming, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UBC
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