Composition : Cupronickel
Mintage : 17 500

Canada in bloom

Flowers appeared on Earth about 130 million years ago - and their arrival was dramatic, transforming a monochromatic world of green ferns and cone-bearing trees into a rainbow of colour. Much morethan good looks, flowers are critical to life on Earth. They grow on almost 90% of Earth's 260,000 known vascular plant species. In Canada alone, some 4,000 different species of flowers burst into bloom every year from east to west - even on the northernmost tundra during the brief Arctic summer.

A cactus close-up
When people think of Canada, rarely will a cactus come to mind; but cacti do indeed grow in the land of snow and ice. Of Canada's few winter-hardy cacti, the eastern prickly pear (Opuntiahumifusa) is of particular interest because it can only be found in one location - Point Pelee in Ontario, the nation's southernmost point with the sandy habitat, sunshine and warmth necessary for its growth.

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Cacti are often viewed as troublesome weeds, but they are important to the overall healthof ecosystems. They prevent soil erosion during droughts or heavy grazing, and conserve moisture from rain and snow. Cacti provide food fora variety of wildlife, including birds, rabbits, gophers, squirrels and deer. First Nations people were also known to eat the eastern prickly pear's fruit and to use its spines for fishing, and its juice to preserve the designs they painted on wood and buckskins.

THE EASTERN PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS - 2013 CANADIAN COINS is categorised COINS AND PAPER MONEY / 08- ROYAL CANADIAN MINT / 10- FLORA, FAUNA & NATURE and sold by l'Imaginaire, a store and specialised website.