Rondeau

Rondeau Park Earl Plato

We have been on many a boardwalk through Ontario’s wetlands. This last day of May we, four Fort Erie senior couples, were in Rondeau Provincial Park. Next to Algonquin Park it is Ontario’s largest provincial park. We first stopped at the Spicebush Trail. Let’s go for a walk. Locally we have lots of Spicebushes in Marcy Woods. However, here in Rondeau the entire trail is laced on both sides with these Carolinian shrubs. I took a leaf from one and rolled it in my fingers. “Smell.” I scratched a twig and both times the lemony pungent fragrance of the spicebush assailed our nostrils. This day I got my “Spicebush fix” for the year. To those of you who walked the Lower Trail of Marcy Woods in early spring do you remember the scene? Of the dozen or so Spicebushes there you saw a light, yellow haze in the spring woods. They were the myriad of six yellow sepals (not petals) on each branch. Here in Rondeau I can imagine a marvelous sight of tens of dozens and dozens of Spicebushes in bloom. As I recall the blooms only last a few weeks. Under a canopy of taller deciduous trees - maple, beech, oak, and yes giant tulips and others they seem to thrive in this very moist environment. Boardwalks allowed us to walk over the many pond areas. More and more and more Spicebushes for once they are established they send up new shoots off the spreading root systems.
Writer’s Note: Every part of the Spicebush is fragrant. Scratch a twig in the spring and detect a pleasant odour. Later in mid-summer the green berries will turn into a deep shiny red. Naturalist Ed Teale would take the berries and crush them into a cookie mix. Yes, according to Ed spicebush cookies have a distinct flavour. One of his favourites.
Next: One of the best reasons why I like Spicebushes.