Plants

Plants (Kingdom Plantae) are complex organisms that develop and grow by obtaining, directly or indirectly, energy from the sun and material from the atmosphere. In a strict sense, plants are multicellular, where cell walls contain cellulose, and most have the ability of transform sunlight energy into sugars using photosynthesis. They include vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, and some algae.

“…wild plant foods were, and continue to be, a special part of (our) diet and way of life. Elders, especially, often speak of waiting with great anticipation for the first edible greens of spring or the ripening of a particular berry”

Quote from Inuvialuit Elders and Bandringa, 2010.

Vascular plants

Vascular plants have a special tube-like system to transport nutrients and water in their stem. Plants can define a landscape. Being able to identify plants will give any person the feeling of belonging to that landscape: of being home. For wildlife, plants are the foundation of their habitat, providing shelter and for many also food. The traditional use of vascular plants is being recorded in ever-increasing detail to preserve this information for future generations.

The taxonomy of vascular plants continues to change, especially at the order and family levels, due to genetic studies and new views on taxonomy.

The NWT is home to species of plants that are extremely rare in the world. All are found in or near areas that remained unglaciated during the last Glacial Age. These areas are called refugia and are part of the northwestern region of North America called Beringia. Fourteen of these plants are only known in Canada and four are found nowhere else in the world.

Many alien (introduced) species in the NWT are vascular plants. Most of these plant species have been introduced to North America decades ago and have originated either from Europe or Asia. New alien plants are found every year. Monitoring of alien plants along our highways was done in 2006 and 2016 and is expected to continue. In 2020, the NWT Council on Invasive Species, Pests and Pathogens was created to organize more surveys and initiate projects to prevent entry, control, or eradicate invasive species including alien plants. Although the Council has since ceased operations, this work continues in an ad hoc fashion through co-management agencies in the NWT.

Information in the NWT General Status Ranks was acquired through surveys by visiting botanists, users of medicinal plants, and many knowledgeable people. Most new information resulted in a species proving to be less rare than previously thought. We thank all for remembering to send your plant vouchers to a reputed herbarium.

There are 1,204 species of vascular plants confirmed present in the NWT, and an additional 32 species are expected to be present.