Banana Slugs

Banana slugs are charismatic, often bright yellow creatures that are signature members of the rainforest community.
Creature Feature

Scouler’s Corydalis

Beautiful and extremely rare in Canada, the Scouler’s corydalis is found only on southwest Vancouver Island around the Nitinat, Carmanah, and Klanawa valleys in Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht territories.
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False Hellebore

One of the most poisonous, yet beautiful plants of the coastal rainforest is false hellebore (also known as Indian hellebore).
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Nurse Logs

Nurse logs are a hallmark of the old-growth forest, where the slow death of ancient trees is the mechanism of forest renewal and rebirth — not only do they support the new growth of trees, they also a range of rainforest creatures.
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Devil’s Club

Devil’s club is one of the most dreaded banes of the coastal bushwhacker. Towering to over 16 feet (5 metres) high, this plant sports huge, maple-esque leaves and wicked spines coated in irritating oils.
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Deer Ferns

Deer fern is abundant in the coastal rainforest. Read on to learn more about these special rainforest dwellers.
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A group of western skunk cabbage plants begins to show their yellow flowers.

Western Skunk Cabbage

A sure sign of spring on the west coast is the emergence of the spectacular western skunk cabbage.
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Red-Legged Frog

The red-legged frog is a beautiful and secretive inhabitant of the coastal rainforest.
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Hundreds of pink Fairy Puke globes scattered across a mint green carpet.

Fairy Puke Lichen

Among the myriad lichens that adorn and encrust the coastal rainforest, few are as striking as Icmadophila ericetorum. This mint-green carpet speckled with tiny pink globes is known as “peppermint drop lichen” or “candy lichen” to some, but in British Columbia, most prefer the evocative nickname “fairy puke lichen” to capture its unique blend of the sickly and the fanciful.
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Lobaria Lichen

Lobaria lichens play a crucial role in forest ecology. They are able to accomplish the rare feat of fixing atmospheric nitrogen—an essential nutrient for plant growth, though almost no organisms are able to extract it from the air. These lichens mine this precious nutrient from the atmosphere and when they fall to the forest floor and decay, that nitrogen is made available to the entire ecosystem.
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