Summary (ZL): During late summer in 2007, and again in 2008, a 14-day field survey for plants and invertebrates was organized by the Friends of the Green Horse Society with funding provided to the FGHS by ExxonMobil Canada, Ltd. The survey work was conducted by Paul Catling, Zoe Lucas and Bill Freedman, and reported eight species of vascular plant that are additions to the inventory of Sable Island’s flora:
Speckled Alder (Alnus incana subsp. rugosa)
Wrinkle-leaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
Oysterleaf (Mertensia maritima)
Smooth Black Sedge (Carex nigra)
Spiny Spore Quillwort* (Isoetes tuckermanii)
Fall Panic Grass (Panicum dichotomiflorum)
Glossy False Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)
Greater Butter-and-eggs (Linaria vulgaris)
The quillwort was particularly interesting because of the large number of individual plants occurring in a single location—a freshwater pond 1-2 m deep. In this one location (Gallinule Pond), the quillwort was abundant and dominant, and based on the size of this pond, it is possible that >100,000 plants were present. Some of the plants were unusually large with leaves 20-25 cm in length. Although abundant at this location, this species may have been overlooked in previous vegetation surveys due to its inconspicuous occurrence in relatively deep water.
*In this report, the common name provided for this species is incorrect—the correct name is Tuckerman’s Quillwort.
