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A botanical survey of Chaleur Bay–Ristigouche shoreline vascular plants
A new chapter has been added to our compendium of knowledge on Quebec flora with last year’s publication of the Florule des plantes vasculaires sur le littoral de l’estuaire de la Baie des Chaleurs-Ristigouche.
Appearing in Documents floristiques (no. 7, 2006) of the Louis-Marie Herbarium at the Université Laval, this new Quebec botanical survey is a detailed inventory of the plants growing in a narrow, 330-km strip of shoreline on both sides of the Chaleur Bay estuary (Quebec and New Brunswick). Funded in part by the St. Lawrence Plan, the survey is primarily the work of Benoît Gauthier, who spent several weeks exploring the area between 2001 and 2004. Benoît Tremblay, botanical consultant, and Jacques Labrecque, from Quebec’s ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs, also contributed to producing the survey.
The list of identified plants comprises 393 taxa (species, sub-species and varieties) in 223 genera and 81 families. What is striking at first glance is that introduced plants make up more than 30 percent of the flora (118 taxa) studied. Of particular interest are 16 rare taxa, while 8 taxa are additions to the vascular flora of the Gaspé peninsula or, in some cases, north-easterly range extensions.
This inventory will enable scientists to draw up the main phytogeographic divisions for the Chaleur Bay–Ristigouche River estuary, the second most important estuary in eastern Canada. The survey’s primary author, Benoît Gauthier, has already begun that project.
For information:
Information Centre
Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs
Telephone: 418-521-3830 or 1-800-561-1616 (toll-free)
Fax: 418-646-5974
E-mail: info@mddep.gouv.qc.ca
Website: www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca
Date modified: 2008/06/19 – Important Notices
