Botanical Inventory

Our botanical survey has barely begun - ferns and mosses in particular need attention - and interesting discoveries are anticipated. Volunteer botanists are welcome! We are also trying to compile local Labrador names for the plants listed and eventually have an illustration and/or photo to accompany each listing. Please contact Betty Anne with suggestions.

Trees and Shrubs of NFLD and Lab Illustrations provided with our plant list are from the Native Trees and Shrubs of Newfoundland and Labrador by A. Glen Ryan, published by Parks and Natural Areas division, Department of Tourism, Culture, and Recreation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, 1995 and from publications #10 and #13. Thank you to Mr. Ryan and the Natural Areas Division for kind permission to make use of these materials for educational purposes.

About A. Glen Ryan

As a child growing up in Birchy Cove, Bonavista Bay in the 1950's and 60's, A. Glen Ryan developed an early curiosity about his natural surroundings and an eye for details which he expressed in drawings and paintings of plants, birds, and animals. His strong desire to learn specific information about local flora and fauna, however, was frustrated by an absence of reference materials in his two room school. A Peterson Field Guide to the birds, which he acquired, became a source of information.

Later at Memorial University, while studying biology, Glen realized that there existed a severe shortage of identification texts applicable to this province. Upon graduation he set out to remedy this situation by producing a series of publications on birds, butterflies, flowers, and shrubs for the Parks Division of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Native Trees and Shrubs of Newfoundland and Labrador, from which our illustrations are borrowed, was compiled in 1978 and has since become a standard handbook for amateur botanists.

A. Glen Ryan is presently manager of the Natural Areas Program for the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Recreation. He continues his interest in local natural history study with a special focus on birds and plants. He is an avid birdwatcher and nature photographer.