A plant that was extinct in Canada was rediscovered in Ontario thanks to everyday observers

A plant that had been deemed extinct in Canada for more than 40 years has been rediscovered in Southern Ontario thanks to local enthusiasts. 

Following a species reassessment by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), a non-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving wildlife, the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF), has confirmed that the Illinois Tick-Trefoil has been rediscovered in Brantford, ON. 

Although the plant is commonly found in parts of the United States, it had not been seen in Canada since 1978, and had been deemed extirpated. 

CWF’s Species at Risk and Biodiversity Specialist James Page tells Now Toronto that the recent assessment comes after local observers shared photos of the plant on conservation reporting app iNaturalist back in 2018, sparking the interest of experts. 

Since then, there have been over 30 observations in a Brantford, ON area, which led COSEWIC to update the plant’s status from extirpated to endangered, but that doesn’t mean the species is now out of risk. 

“It’s still very endangered, and if steps aren’t taken to recover the species, then it may actually be lost for real this time,” Page said.

“There’s not a lot of prairie habitat around, so it’s unlikely for this to become a common plant without intervention and restoration and habitat work.” 

The Illinois Tick-Trefoil is not the only species in the prairie habitat in Southern Ontario that is 

currently endangered. According to Tallgrass Ontario, besides the Illinois Tick-Trefoil, plants associated with tallgrass vegetation communities were classified as endangered, threatened or under special concerns as of 2017. 

Page explains that the habitat of these plants has been significantly impacted over time due to human development, such as agriculture and road construction, which has left them at risk. 

“Entirely because of human activity, development, agriculture, roads, you name it, we’ve had a huge footprint on most of the landscape in Canada, and so a lot of prairie habitat has been converted for agriculture or for urban development. And so there’s just very little of it left.” 

The expert also says the rediscovery of the Illinois Tick-Trefoil represents good news for endangered prairies. 

“There’s potential for restoration, that if we actually want to restore native prairie land, this is a good indicator that there is still the potential for a prairie habitat to be restored in these areas.” 

REDISCOVERY SIGNALS IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION

Although experts only caught notice of the Illinois Tick-Trefoil re-appearance in Canada in 2018, Page says there are records of the species dated back to 2009, but they hadn’t been documented on iNaturalist until years later. 

“I would be willing to bet that it was there and just nobody had seen it before. Or maybe people had seen it [and] didn’t know what it was,” he said.

For Page, the rediscovery also represents a tale of how regular people can impact science and conservation. According to him, this was not the first time a species has been rediscovered through community observation. 

In 2017, invasive insect species Paintedhand Mudbug was discovered in Windsor, ON, after an observer posted a photo of a chew pattern on a leaf, which led an entomologist to identify it. 

“It’s unfortunately, potentially an invasive species. But that’s also valuable to know, because then we can keep track of it, and implement measures to stop the spread of this species,” Page said. 

Now, the rediscovery of the Illinois Tick-Trefoil reinforces that anyone can contribute to science. 

“Anybody who can take a picture can contribute to this really important process of assessing species at risk, and confirming that this, this plant that hadn’t been seen since the 70s, is still here in Canada,” he said. “It shows the value of everyday people that can contribute to conservation.”