Oil sands reclamation guidance documents prepared by the Cumulative Environmental Management Association and endorsed by the provincial government include lists of potential reclamation species. Ninety-eight reclamation species profiles have been prepared for inclusion in an OSRIN report. The individual profiles are provided here (click on the species name link) and will be updated periodically as new information is obtained (see Updated column for the last update). The species profiles are also available for downloading on OSRIN’s ERA site.
The full suite of profiles has been compiled in a report that is available for downloading:
Smreciu, A., K. Gould and S. Wood, 2013. Boreal Plant Species for Reclamation of Athabasca Oil Sands Disturbances. OSRIN Report No. TR-44. 23 pp. plus appendices. http://hdl.handle.net/10402/era.37533
Although the original objective for the profiles was to inform decisions made by reclamation planners and practitioners in the oil sands and to promote the inclusion of these species in revegetation, the information has a much wider audience appeal. Professionals in other industries as well as provincial, municipal and federal government agencies, nursery producers, aboriginal groups, researchers, archaeologists, cultural anthropologists and ethno-botanists, wildlife biologists, foresters, range managers, horticulturalists, naturalists and the general public continue to seek species information.
OSRIN is grateful to the Canadian Oil Sands Network for Research and Development (CONRAD) Environment and Reclamation Research Group (ERRG), the individual oil sands companies and Alberta Environment, Oil Sands and Clean Energy Branch who provided initial funding for Wild Rose Consulting Inc. to undertake the work to prepare the species profiles and who provided permission to use the information in this report. The companies who provided funding and permission to use the materials are listed in each species profile.
Species profile revision dates (yellow highlights) are shown in the Updated column.
Click on these links for information on seed and fruit metrics (seeds/g, g/1,000 seed, seeds/fruit etc. – last updated August 27, 2014) and a list of references that have ranked species characteristics (Last updated April 23, 2014).
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Family | Updated |
| Achillea millefolium | common yarrow | Asteraceae | Feb 5/14 |
| Acorus americanus | rat root, sweet flag, calamus | Araceae | Jan 6/14 |
| Actaea rubra | baneberry | Ranunculaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia | river alder, thin leaf alder, speckled alder, gray alder | Betulaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Alnus viridis ssp. crispa | green alder, sitka alder, mountain alder, wavy-leaf alder, slide alder | Betulaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Amelanchier alnifolia | saskatoon, service berry, June berry, shadbush, shadblow, indian pear, may cherry | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Anemone canadensis | Canada anemone, meadow anemone | Ranunculaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Anemone multifida | cut-leaf anemone, globe anemone | Ranunculaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Anemone patens | prairie crocus, crocus anemone, pasqueflower | Ranunculaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Anthoxanthum nitens | sweetgrass, vanilla grass, holy grass | Poaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Apocynum androsaemifolium | spreading dogbane, bitterroot, flytrap, Indian hemp | Apocynaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Aralia nudicaulis | wild sarsaparilla | Araliaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Arctostaphylos uva-ursi | bearberry, kinnikinnick, red bearberry, cowberry, manzanita, mealberry | Ericaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Astragalus agrestis | cock’s-head, field milkvetch, purple milkvetch | Fabaceae | Dec 3/13 |
| Astragalus alpinus | alpine milkvetch | Fabaceae | Dec 3/13 |
| Astragalus americanus | American milk vetch, rattlepod | Fabaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Astragalus canadensis | Canadian milkvetch, Canada milk-vetch | Fabaceae | Dec 5/13 |
| Betula nana | bog birch, arctic dwarf birch, swamp birch | Betulaceae | Nov 10/14 |
| Betula papyrifera | paper birch, western birch, white birch, canoe birch | Betulaceae | Nov 10/14 |
| Bromus ciliatus | fringed bromegrass | Poaceae | Aug 27/14 |
| Calamagrostis stricta | boreal reed grass, northern reed grass, slimstem reedgrass | Poaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Campanula rotundifolia | bluebell, bluebell-of-Scotland, harebell, roundleaf harebell | Campanulaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Castilleja miniata | common red paintbrush, giant red Indian paintbrush, scarlet paintbrush | Scrophulariaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Castilleja raupii | purple paintbrush, Raup’s Indian paintbrush | Scrophulariaceae | Dec 6/13 |
| Chamerion angustifolium | fireweed, great willow-herb | Onagraceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Comandra umbellata | bastard toadflax, pale comandra | Santalaceae | Dec 5/13 |
| Cornus canadensis | bunchberry, bunchberry dogwood, creeping dogwood, pigeonberry | Cornaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Cornus sericea ssp. sericea | red-osier dogwood, dogwood, red willow | Cornaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Corydalis aurea | golden corydalis, golden smoke, scrambled eggs | Fumariaceae | Dec 5/13 |
| Corylus cornuta | beaked hazel, beaked hazelnut, western hazel, wild filbert, beaked filbert | Betulaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Cypripedium acaule | moccasin flower, pink lady’s slipper, pink lady’s-slipper orchid, pink moccasin flower, stemless lady’s slipper | Orchidaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Dasiphora fruticosa | shrubby cinquefoil | Rosaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Deschampsia caespitosa | tufted hair grass, tussock grass | Poaceae | Aug 27/14 |
| Draba nemorosa | woodland draba | Brassicaceae | Dec 3/13 |
| Drosera rotundifolia | round-leaved sundew | Droseraceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Eleocharis acicularis | needle spike rush, needle spike sedge | Cyperaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Eleocharis palustris | creeping spikerush, common spikerush, spike sedge | Cyperaceae | Dec 3/13 |
| Fragaria virginiana ssp. glauca | wild strawberry, Virginia strawberry | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Galium boreale | northern bedstraw, sweet scented bedstraw, fragrant bedstraw | Rubiaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Geranium bicknellii | Bicknell’s geranium, Bicknell’s cranesbill | Geraniaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Geum rivale | purple avens, water avens, chocolate-root | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Hedysarum alpinum | alpine sweetvetch, alpine sweet broom, licorice root, sweetbroom | Fabaceae | Aug 27/14 |
| Hedysarum boreale | boreal sweet-vetch, boreal sweetvetch, northern sweetvetch, sweetvetch | Fabaceae | Aug 27/14 |
| Heracleum sphondylium ssp. Montanum | common cow parsnip, cow parsnip | Apiaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Hesperostipa curtiseta | western porcupine grass, Canadian needle grass, shortbristle needle and thread | Poaceae | Dec 3/13 |
| Hudsonia tomentosa | beach heather, woolly beach-heather, sand golden-heather | Cistaceae | Dec 6/13 |
| Juniperus communis | common juniper, ground juniper, dwarf juniper, low juniper | Cupressaceae | Jan 6/14 |
| Larix laricina | tamarack, Alaskan larch, American larch, eastern larch, hackmatack | Pinaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Lathyrus ochroleucus | cream pea, creamy peavine, pale vetchling peavine | Fabaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Leymus innovatus | hairy wildrye, fuzzyspike wildrye, boreal wildrye | Poaceae | Aug 27/14 |
| Lilium philadelphicum | tiger lily, wood lily, prairie lily, wild lily, red lily, western red lily | Liliaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Linnaea borealis | northern twinflower | Caprifoliaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Lonicera caerulea | blue fly honeysuckle, mountain fly honeysuckle, sweetberry honeysuckle, honeyberry | Caprifoliaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Lonicera dioica var. glaucescens | twining honeysuckle, limber honeysuckle | Caprifoliaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Lonicera involucrata | bracted honeysuckle, black twinberry, swamp honeysuckle | Caprfoliaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Maianthemum canadense | wild lily-of-the-valley, false lily-of-the-valley, Canada mayflower | Asparagaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Melampyrum lineare | cow-wheat, narrowleaf cow-wheat | Orobanchaceae | Dec 6/13 |
| Mentha arvensis | wild mint, field mint | Lamiaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Mertensia paniculata | bluebell, tall lungwort, tall bluebell | Boraginaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Mitella nuda | bishop’s cap, bare-stem bishop’s-cap, miterwort, naked miterwort | Saxifragaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Oxytropis splendens | showy crazyweed, showy locoweed, showy pointvetch | Fabaceae | Dec 9/13 |
| Phragmites australis | reed grass, common reed grass, giant reed grass, carrizo | Poaceae | Dec 9/13 |
| Picea glauca | white spruce, Canadian spruce, cat spruce | Pinaceae | Nov 10/14 |
| Pinus banksiana | jack pine | Pinaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Populus balsamifera | balsam poplar, black poplar | Salicaceae | Nov 10/14 |
| Populus tremuloides | trembling aspen, quaking aspen, aspen poplar, white poplar | Salicaceae | Nov 10/14 |
| Primula pauciflora var. pauciflora | saline shooting star, darkthroat shooting star | Primulaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Prunus pensylvanica | pin cherry, fire cherry, wild red cherry, pigeon cherry, bird cherry | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Prunus virginiana | chokecherry, common chokecherry, Virginia chokecherry | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Pyrola asarifolia | common pink wintergreen, liverleaf wintergreen, shinleaf wintergreen, pink pyrola | Ericaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Rhododendron groenlandicum | Labrador tea, bog Labrador tea, rusty Labrador-tea, St. James’ tea, marsh tea, swamp tea, Hudson’s Bay tea | Ericaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Ribes glandulosum | skunk currant, skunk red currant, skunkberry, fetid currant | Grossulariaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Ribes hudsonianum | northern black currant, black currant, Hudson Bay currant | Grossulariaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Ribes lacustre | bristly black currant, prickly currant, swamp currant | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Ribes triste | swamp red currant, red currant | Grossulariaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Rosa acicularis | prickly rose, bristly rose | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Rubus arcticus ssp. acaulis | dwarf raspberry, arctic blackberry, arctic bramble | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Rubus chamaemorus | cloud berry, bake-apple, baked-apple berry | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Rubus idaeus | red raspberry | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Rubus pubescens | dewberry, trailing raspberry, running raspberry | Rosaceae | Feb 5/14 |
| Rumex aquaticus | western dock | Polygonacaeae | Dec 3/13 |
| Salix bebbiana | Bebb’s willow, gray willow | Salicaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Salix exigua | sand bar willow, coyote willow, narrow leaf willow, desert willow | Salicaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Salix lucida | greenleaf willow, Pacific willow, shining willow | Salicaceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Schizachne purpurascens | false melic, false melic grass, purple oat grass | Poacaeae | Jun 17/14 |
| Scirpus microcarpus | small-fruited bulrush, panicled bulrush, barber-pole bulrush | Cyperaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Shepherdia canadensis | buffaloberry, Canadian buffaloberry, soapberry, russet buffaloberry, soopalalie | Elaeagnaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Sibbaldiopsis tridentata | three-toothed cinquefoil, shrubby five fingers | Rosaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Sisyrinchium montanum | mountain blue-eyed grass, strict blue-eyed grass | Iridaceae | Dec 9/13 |
| Solidago canadensis | Canada goldenrod, common goldenrod | Asteraceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Solidago simplex var. spathulata | mountain goldenrod, spike-like goldenrod, sticky goldenrod | Asteraceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Symphoricarpos albus | snowberry, common snowberry, white coralberry | Caprifoliaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Symphyotrichum laeve | smooth aster, smooth blue aster, purple aster | Asteraceae | Oct 17/13 |
| Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum | purple stem aster | Asteraceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Trientalis borealis | northern starflower | Primulaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Vaccinium myrtilloides | blueberry, velvet-leaf blueberry, Canada blueberry, velvet-leaf huckleberry | Ericaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Vaccinium oxycoccos | small bog cranberry | Ericaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Vaccinium vitis-idaea | bog cranberry, cowberry, lingonberry, mountain cranberry, partridgeberry, northern mountain cranberry, lowbush cranberry | Ericaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Viburnum edule | lowbush cranberry, mooseberry, squashberry, squawberry, crampbark, pembina | Caprifoliaceae | Jun 17/14 |
| Vicia americana | peavine, wild pea, American vetch, wild vetch | Fabaceae | Aug 27/14 |