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Voyageurs National Park (9)
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Plants
Most of the land area in Voyageurs National Park is heavily forested. The forest in the area is typical of the subarctic coniferous forest of North America and Eurasia, also known as the southern boreal forest. The most distinctive tree in the forest is probably the white birch. The forests also contain willows, aspens, white spruce, and red and white pine.
Trees, flowers, plants, and other vegetation are abundant in Voyageurs National Park. One of the common flowers visible in the park is the Lady's Slipper.
The lady's slipper is in fact the state flower of Minnesota. Also called the Moccasin Flower, and indeed it does resemble a moccasin, this member of the orchid family blooms in wooded area early in the summer.
A wide variety of wildflowers which can be seen in the summer within the park add considerably to the natural beauty.
The winter is long and hard in the north country, and it takes many plants a while to return to growth in the warmth of the summer. Many wildflowers begin blooming about May.
The wild iris is one of the loveliest flowers of the north woods area. This one was found along the Oberholtzer Trail near Black Bay. Sometimes called the Blue Flag, this flower is commonly found in swamp or wetland areas or along the shores of lakes. There is plenty of this sort of habitat in this park!
Although the park is heavily forested and covered with natural vegetation, the park area is not really fertile. The topsoil is exceedingly thin, usually no more than a few inches or a few feet deep, as the glaciers which covered the area scoured it and moved the soil south to the Great Plains.
This cluster of yellow flowers is probably the marsh marigold, a wildflower which as its name suggests is found in wet or swampy areas.
In the shade of the forest the fern is plentiful.
The growth beneath the canopy of the forest can be fairly heavy in places.
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- All photographs ©Patrick Holleran, Shannon Digital Imaging, 1994-2012
- Commercial use of the images contained in this document without express written consent is strictly prohibited.
- Comments and other remarks can be sent via e-mail to parkvision@shannontech.com
