The Limestone Barrens Ecosystem contains some of the rarest plant life in the world.
Of the approximately 300 vascular plants on the island of Newfoundland, about 100 of them occur on the Limestone Barrens. Of these species - about 30 are found ONLY on the Limestone Barrens. Several of these plants can be found nowhere else on earth, including Long's braya, which is an endangered species and Fernald's braya, which is threatened.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) uses various terms to describe the condition of endangered flora and fauna in Canada. These terms include:

• Extinct (X) - A wildlife species that no longer exists.
• Extirpated (XT) - A wildlife species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere.
• Endangered (E) - A wildlife species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.
• Threatened (T) - A wildlife species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.
• Special Concern (SC) - A wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

Plants have to adapt to living on the barrens in order to survive there. The plants of the limestone barrens are classified as calciphiles - calcium loving plants - and many are considered arctic alpine, meaning they are at home in environments similar to those of the Canadian North. The nutrient poor quality of limestone and the lack of suitable soils on the barrens result in poor growing conditions for most plants, but those which have adapted or have some advantage over others, find a home there. It might take decades for a plant to grow and in one second it could be wiped out by a strong breeze or a misplaced step. Life is not easy on the barrens, but some plants have found a way to bear it and they need our help to keep it that way.

Although rare and extremely unique, most of these plants have gone unnoticed. Many of the plants which live on the barrens are not adorned with large colorful flowers or a lot of foliage. In fact, many of the limestone barrens plants are small and modest-looking. To the untrained eye, one might think they were nothing more than clumps of grass and weeds. The fact that the chemical make-up of the limestone on which they live and the climate which affects them allows only for a relatively sparse distribution, only complicates the matter.

Human activity has not only placed the plants which live on the barrens in danger, but the entire ecosystem itself. Quarrying, off-road use, road construction and other practices undertaken on the barrens have placed the habitat in which so many rare plants live (and some can ONLY live on the barrens) in harms way. For these reasons, the people of the Northern Peninsula may either be the implements of salvation or of the destruction of one of their province's best kept secrets.

Species at Risk

Barrens willow (Salix jejuna) - Endangered The barrens willow belongs to the willow family. It is a dwarfish shrub with red-brown stems and hairless branchlets. This plant species is endemic to the Great Northern Peninsula, ie. it grows only here and nowhere else in the world. This plant is listed as endangered. Long’s braya (Braya longii) - Endangered A member of the mustard family. It is very small, only growing to a height of 1 - 10 cm. Long’s braya is similar to Fernald’s braya except for its pouch, which is hairless. Its petals are also larger, and its seedpods are not quite as purple. This plant is endemic to the northwest coast of the Great Northern Peninsula. Long’s braya is a self-pollinating plant.

Fernald’s braya (Braya fernaldii) - Threatened Fernald’s braya is a member of the mustard family. It is very small, growing to a height of 1 - 7 centimeters. It is endemic to the northwest coast of the Northern Peninsula. Fernald’s braya is a self-pollinating, perennial plant which lives for several years in ideal growing conditions. Fernald’s Milk-vetch (Astragalus robbinsii var. fernaldii) - Vulnerable Photo by John Maunder. This flower is a rare member of the pea family. It blossoms in July and sometimes continues into August. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that grows in small clumps. The root is the only part of the plant to survive the winter. It is a calciphile whose existence depends on its exposure to sunlight and the calcium available in the soil. The Milk vetch is intolerant of shade.

Other Flora

A complete list of the plants which can be found in a limestone barrens habitat would be hard, if not impossible, to compile. However, the following are some plants which occur within the limestone barrens ecosystem:

Alpine bearberry Alpine bistort Alpine chickweed Arctic bladderpod Barren’s willow Berring sea chickweed Bird’s eye primrose Blue flag iris Bog candle Burnt Cape cinquefoil Butterwort Caribou moss Crackerberry Crantz cinquefoil Dwarf hawk’s beard English daisy Fairy slipper orchid Fernald’s braya Fernald’s milk-vetch Four-part gentian Frog orchid Golden ragwort Harebell Hispid goldenrod Hoary willow Hyssop leaved fleabane Island loving gentian Lapland rose bay

Larch Lichen Long’s braya Marsh grass of Parnassus Moss campion Mountain avens Net veined willow Newfoundland orchid Newfoundland oxytropis Northern bog orchid Northern primrose One flowered wintergreen One sided wintergreen Pearly sandwort Pink pyrola Purple mountain saxifrage Pussytoes Rare pussytoes Red clover Red-tipped lousewort River beauty Roseroot Seaside plantain Sea thrift Sheep laurel Shrubby cinquefoil Species at Risk- See above.