Unique Adaptation of Asclepias syriaca (or the common milkweed)
The Common Milkweed distributes air-borne seeds in the late winter and early fall, and relies on disrupted/newly vacant patches of land, as it struggles to compete with other vegetation. Using its ability to easily disperse seeds, and thriving on newly disrupted land, it has adapted to living in a highly busy and frequently disrupted areas of the park.
The Common Adaptation Across All Observations
Due to the theme and nature of these observations there is no one common adaptation or structural, behavioural or physiological feature that applies to all observations. The commonality between the 10 different species I observed is that they reside on the same mountain, in the same ecosystem, as opposed to a shared feature or adaption.
Phylogeny Placement of Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)
Using Onezoom I was able to identify the specific species of nightshade that I observed as one of the 1,648 species that descend from the common ancestor of Nightshade. This specific species is the common ancestor to two other species, solanum lyratum and Clokey's nightshade.
Unique Adaptation of Burdock (Genus Arctium)
The Burdock is characteristically known for its fruit covered in hooks. These become particularly useful when it comes to its seed distribution: when animals pass by ripe fruit, the fruit clings onto them and is transported by the animal to another location where it will be arbitrarily dropped off. The Burdock has adapted to the environment of the Mount Royal, as it grows close to the pathway where there is a lot of circulation and people passing, hence it has adapted to the busy pathway and is using it to its advantage for reproduction.
Common Adaptation Across All Observed Species
All observed species grow near the regularly used pathway, which leads to one of Montreal’s most popular sightseeing spots. My observations’ environment is therefore almost under constant disruption and change, therefore making the common adaptation that they are very tolerant to stress. Whether it is using the traffic surrounding them to their advantage (e.g. Burdock) or having roots able to support fluctuations in the soil nutrient levels and humidity (e.g. Red Osier Dogwood).
Phylogeny Placement for the Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)
Evening Primroses are part of the Onagraceae plant family which consists of roughly 925 species according to OneZoom. The flora in this family vary mostly in their pollinators but naturally also in their shape, colour and size.
Unique Adaptation of Eastern Black Walnut (Juglans Nigra)
Eastern Black Walnut is known for being allelopathic. This means that it excretes chemicals into its environment that harm other plants. Walnuts contain a chemical called hydrojulone in their roots, bark, and leaves. When exposed to the air, this substance is oxidized into juglone, which is biologically active and acts as a respiratory inhibitor in some other plants.
Common Adaptation Across all Observed Species
All of these observed plant species grow on Mount Royal and are thus adapted to Montreal's highly variable climate. They all grow and flower throughout the spring/summer/early fall seasons, and are dormant (or otherwise adapted to the cold) during the snowy winter.
Phylogeny Placement for Black Ash (Fraxinus Nigra)
According to OneZoom Black Ash (in the Fraxinus genus) is one of many species of ash trees in the oleaceae family of woody plants.