Big Knife Provincial Park is set back on the ancient floodplains of the Battle River. It is located approximately 15 minutes southwest of Forestburg, Alberta, and is a pretty interesting area to visit. There are a multitude of different plant communities, ranging from mesic and sub-hygric open grasslands to dry, xeric scapes full of cacti, to closed-in mixed wood forests of poplars and spruce.

The mighty Battle River flows on the north end of the park, and Big Knife Creek meanders on the southern border, feeding right into the Battle. The park itself is surrounded by distinct remnants of coal mining, with evidence of strip mining and waste piles now long vegetated along the north edge of the Battle River, visible from the park. To the south, reclamation efforts are underway to transform the mining operation back into farmland.

I have visited this park numerous times. Living in Forestburg gives me plenty of opportunity to make the quick 15-minute drive to Big Knife to walk the trails and find my favourite spot to sit and watch the birds on the river, or to take a gander at what is growing there this year. Early spring, when the snow has gone from the trails, and things are barely starting to green up, is a favourite time to go and watch for waterfowl. But when plants begin to grow and the leaves on the trees fill out, that’s when I like to visit there at least a few times to see what I can find.

This list is by no means complete. It is merely a compilation of my observations from my most recent walk, as well as what I remember from past walks.

Also, please forgive me for not having this in alphabetical order!

Trees & Shrubs

White Spruce (Pinus glauca)

Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides)

Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus canadensis)

Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia)

Western Snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis)

Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum)

European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia)

Manitoba Maple/Box Elder (Acer negundo)

Willow (Salix spp.)

Wolf Willow (Elaeagnus commutata)

Meadowsweet (Spirea alba)

Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta)

Brittle Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia fragilis)

Prickly Rose (Rosa acicularis)

Prairie Rose (Rosa arkansana)

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)

Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis)

Wild Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)

Canada Buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis)

Forbs/Wildflowers

Western Pasqueflower/Prairie Crocus (Pulsatilla nuttalliana)

Prairie Sage (Artemisia frigida)

Gaillardia/Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata)

Common Evening-Primrose (Oenothera biennis)

Pasture Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana)

Hairy Goldenaster (Heterotheca villosa)

Yellow Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium parviflorum)

Scarlet Mallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea)

Western Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum)

Balsam Groundsel (Packera paupercula)

Showy Aster (Eurybia conspicua)

Slender Blue Beardtongue

Elegant Cinquefoil (Potentilla concinna)

Missouri Goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis)

Stiff-leaved Goldenrod (Solidago rigida)

Soft Goldenrod (Solidago mollis)

Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium montanum)

Wavy-leaved Thistle (Cirsium undulatum)

Cream-coloured Vetch (Lathyrus ochroleucus)

American Vetch (Vicia americana)

Buffalo Bean (Thermopsis rhombifolia)

Common Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Yellow Sweetclover (Melilotus officinalis)

White Sweetclover (Melilotus alba)

Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense)

*Common Pepperweed (Lepidium densiflorum)

Cicer Milkvetch (Astragalus cicer)

Prairie Milkvetch (Astragalus laxmannii)

Richardson’s Alumroot (Heuchera richardsonii)

Northern Hedysarum (Hedysarum boreale)

Early Yellow Locoweed (Oxytropis sericea)

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa)

Small-leaved Pussytoes (Antennaria parviflora)

White Prairie Aster (Symphyotrichum fulcatum)

White Heath Aster (Symphyotrichum ericioides)

Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)

Lindley’s Aster (Symphyotrichum

Blue Lettuce (Lactuca pulchella)

Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae)

Curlycup Gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa)

*Buttercup (Ranunculus spp.)

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis)

Heart-leaved Alexanders (Zizia aptera)

Grasses & Grass-likes

Smooth Brome (Bromus inermis)

Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa prantensis)

Needle & Thread Grass (Hesperostipa comata)

Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis)

Nodding Brome (Bromus anomalus)

*Long-beak Sedge (Carex sprengelii)

Plains Rough Fescue (Festuca hallii)

*Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis)

Foxtail Barley (Hordeum jubatum)

Ticklegrass (Deschampsia caespitosa)

Western Wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii)

Steambank Wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus)

Cattail (Typha latifolia)

Nuttall Alkali Grass (Puccinellia nuttalliana)

Junegrass (Koelaria macrantha)

Baltic Rush (Juncus balticus)

Toad Rush (Juncus bufonis)