About This Guide

Oak & Meadow is a reference resource for native plant species identification across Canada's major ecological regions.

Purpose and Scope

This site provides descriptive and visual profiles of indigenous wildflowers, shrubs, and grasses found across Canada, organised by region and habitat type. The content is intended for naturalists, students, land managers, and anyone interested in understanding the native plant communities of the landscapes they work or walk in.

Coverage focuses on species with clear and reliable identification features that can be applied in the field. Where species require specialist expertise or present serious identification risks — such as plants that could be confused with toxic species — those cautions are noted explicitly.

The regions currently covered are the Great Lakes basin, the Canadian interior prairies (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta), and the coastal zone of British Columbia. Additional regions may be added over time.

Content Standards

All species accounts are based on information from publicly available botanical literature, provincial herbarium records, government ecological databases, and peer-reviewed flora accounts. This includes sources such as:

  • The Flora of North America Editorial Committee's Flora of North America series
  • Provincial and territorial flora accounts (e.g., Flora of British Columbia, Flora of Alberta)
  • E-Flora BC (Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia)
  • iNaturalist observation data for range mapping
  • Species profiles from the Canadian Wildlife Service and provincial ministries of natural resources

No statistics or range estimates are fabricated. Where specific figures are not available from reliable public sources, general descriptions are used instead.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided for general reference only. Plant identification in the field requires direct observation of multiple characteristics under varying conditions, and descriptions in any written guide are necessarily simplified. The content here should not be used as the sole basis for decisions involving plant harvesting, consumption, land management, or conservation planning.

For species-level identification of specimens, contact a qualified botanist, a provincial herbarium, or a regional native plant society.

Contact

For corrections, questions about content accuracy, or general inquiries, use the form below.

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Last updated: June 12, 2026