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In spring and summer the most abundant substance in leaves is chlorophyll, which gives them their green colour. Chlorophyll is essential for photosynthesis, the process which converts the energy of sunlight into sugar. Sunlight is also necessary for the synthesis of chlorophyll itself.

Aster [Lat, "star"], the common name applied mainly to 2 herbaceous genera (Aster and Callistephus) of flowering plants in family Compositae or Asteraceae. Over 250 species of true Aster are known worldwide. Of 52 Aster species native to Canada, about 40 have been brought under cultivation. A.

Alder, tree or shrub of genus Alnus of birch family. The 30 known species are found mainly in the northern hemisphere; 3 are native to Canada.

Lake Agassiz was the largest glacial lake in North America. It was formed 11 500 years ago in front of the northeastwardly retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet, which acted as a dam.

Alderfly, small (13-18 mm), dark, soft-bodied insect of order Megaloptera, family Sialidae, found in freshwater habitats bordered by alder.

The treeline is controlled by CLIMATE in interaction with SOIL. In the North, it is correlated generally with the modal (most common) position of the southern edge of the arctic front in summer, and with such temperature indices as the July 10°C isotherm.

Chestnut (Castanea), genus of trees of beech family (Fagaceae). Of 10 known species, one, American chestnut (C. dentata), is indigenous to Canada.

Its most important mineral forms are magnetite (Fe3O4, 72.4% Fe), hematite (Fe2O3, 69.9% Fe) and siderite (FeCO3, 48.29% Fe). In Brazil, some ore that contains practically no other minerals can grade as high as 68% Fe, but the crude ore mined in Canada grades between 30 and 44% Fe.

Cadmium (Cd) is a soft, ductile, silvery white metal that melts at 320.9°C and is present in the earth's crust at 0.1-0.5 parts per million. The most common cadmium MINERAL, greenockite (CdS), is generally found in zinc-bearing ores and is recovered as a by-product during processing.

Canada Land Inventory is a comprehensive federal-provincial survey of LAND capability and use for regional resource and land-use planning established under the Agricultural Rehabilitation and Development Act in 1961.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea, Capitata Group) is a biennial vegetable of the Cruciferae family, which is usually grown as an annual.

Beech (Fagus), genus of trees of beech family (Fagaceae). Ten species occur worldwide; one, American beech (F. grandifolia), is native to North America.

Canola is a type of rapeseed and is a Canadian invention; it is characterized by having improved nutritional qualities in both the oil and the meal.

The Jaeger is any of 3 species of rapacious, gull-like seabirds of genus Stercorarius.

Marsupialia, order of mammals belonging to the infraclass Metatheria, comprising some 280 living species, of which two-thirds are found in Australia.

In 1858, around 30,000 gold seekers flooded the banks of the Fraser River from Hope to just north of Lillooet in British Columbia’s first significant gold rush. Although it dissipated by the mid-1860s, the Fraser River Gold Rush had a significant impact on the area’s Indigenous peoples and resulted in the Fraser Canyon War. Fears that the massive influx of American miners would lead the United States to annex the non-sovereign British territory known as New Caledonia also resulted in the founding of British Columbia as a colony on 2 August 1858 (see The Fraser River Gold Rush and the Founding of British Columbia). By the mid-1860s, the Fraser Rush collapsed, and British Columbia sank into a recession.

A karst landform is a geological feature created on the earth's surface by the drainage of water into the ground.

Kangaroo Rat, solitary, strictly nocturnal rodent of the N American family Heteromyidae. The family comprises 75 species (see Pocket Mouse).

The mosquito (Spanish for "little fly") is a fragile, long-legged fly of the order Diptera, family Culicidae. Over 3,500 species are known worldwide and at least 82 are found in Canada. Often considered a nuisance to humans because of their itchy bites, it is the females that feed on the blood of other animals. Both sexes feed on plant fluids such as nectar. Most of the woodland species with which Canadians are familiar belong to the genus Aedes. These species are found throughout Canada and are recognizable by their alternating white and black colour, and slender, pointed abdomens. They are present in large numbers soon after winter’s end and on spring and summer evenings. The comparatively small northern house mosquito (Culex pipiens) is commonly found indoors in early spring and late fall, and is distinguished by its size and its blunt-tipped abdomen. Canada boasts the second oldest fossilized mosquito ever found. It is preserved in 76.5–79.5 million-year-old amber from southern Alberta.

Calypso bulbosa has similar but smaller, delicate pink flowers. Some Spiranthes and Habenaria species have small, whitish, fragrant flowers in a spike. Two genera, Eburophyton (plant is white) and Corallorhiza (plant is yellow to purple), live on decaying vegetable matter.