Piping Plover. 
     
    

    
     Dr. Miller, Dr. Stephen Flemming, and Joanne Flemming have met with 
     
     plover monitors and Guardian coordinators to introduce the project. Mr. Sung 
     
     has commenced research at the P.E.I. National Park and other Island breeding 
     
     sites to test whether or not individual Piping Plover can be distinguished 
     
     using this technique. If this experiment is successful, tapes can be 
     
     compiled from across the breeding range and the movements of individuals can 
     
     be traced. 
     
    
   
   
    
     HAVE YOU SEEN THESE PLANTS? by Kate MacQuarrie & Mark Arsenault 
     
    
   
   
    
     Island Nature Trust has initiated a project to locate and conserve some 
     
     of Prince Edward Island's least common forest communities. To help gage how 
     
     unique a woodlot is, we are using a number of indicators including the 
     
     presence of rare plants. A spin-off benefit of this work will be the 
     
     creation of a rare plant database, with information on the abundance, 
     
     distribution and accurate locations of our least common woodland flora. 
     
    

    
     There are a number of sources that point to certain plants as rare in 
     
     Island woodlands: Day & Catlings Rare vascular Plants of P.E.I., Erskine's 
     
     The Plants of Prince Edward Island and Sobey's Analysis of the Ground Flora 
     
     and Other Data Collected During the 1991 Prince Edward Island Forest 
     
     Inventory I - Floristic Analysis to name just a few. We've chosen the latter 
     
     source as our primary list, and are hoping you may have seen some of these in 
     
     your travels about the Island. If so, please call us at 566-9150; when a 
     
     sufficient number of sites is known for a particular species, we'll be able 
     
     to create a detailed habitat description. It may be that some of these 
     
     plants aren't rare at all, we just haven't been looking in the right places! 
     
    

    
     The editor of Island Naturalist has generously offered space for us to 
     
     highlight some of the species we're seeking. If you know of a location for 
     
     any of these, please let us know. 
     
    
   
   
    
     1. Nodding trillium (Trillium cernum): This 
     
     beautiful member of the lily family is a 
     
     harbinger of spring, with flowers V 
     
     appearing in late April and early May. 
     
     Like the other Island trilliums (painted 
     
     and purple), this plant has three simple 
     
     leaves and a flower with three white (or 
     
     less commonly, pink) petals. The nodding 
     
     trillium is easily identified by the 
     
     flower which "nods", or curves down below mnum cmmm 
     
     the leaves (see illustration). 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Yellow and Showy Lady's Slippers 
     
     (Cypripedium calceolus and C. reginae): 
     
     These are not the same as our provincial 
     
     flower, the Stemless Lady Slipper (C. 
     
     acaule) which is quite common. These 
     
     orchids generally flower in June, with 
     
    
   
   
    
     8 
     
    
   
   
    
         
     
    
   
   
    
     CYPRIPEDIUM CALCEOLUS CYPRIP DIUM REGINAE