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Exploring Noblewood Park – Willsboro, NY

Daniel Spada — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 09:21:34 +0000

In 2016 I was fortunate enough to consult for the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. My job involved exploring Noblewood Park at the mouth of the Boquet River in Willsboro, NY, and documenting the plants growing there. Noblewood Park is owned and administered by the Town of Willsboro, but TNC advises the town on property use and management.

The park is not that large but is quite diverse with plant communities ranging from eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) dominated flats perched above the river to shrub swamp and emergent wetlands in the floodplain of the river, sugar maple (Acer saccharum) dominated slopes in between, and Lake Champlain and Boquet River shoreline. The land has had a long history of human use dating back to the early 1700’s. There are reports of a very early brick manufactory on the banks of the river on the westerly border of the property. Many of the plant species I found there were very common in the Adirondacks, but some not so much.

The river side emergent marsh had a large population of yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus). It’s unclear when or where this invasive came from but was very widespread throughout the open marsh.

It was good to see one of my favorite native wetland species, tufted loosestrife (Lysimachia thyrsiflora). This plant is not all that common in the central Adirondacks. I’ve only seen it once before in a marsh near Paul Smith’s College.

tufted loosestrife (Lysimachia thrysiflora) growing in open marsh

The slopes from the uplands down to the river exhibited several eroded drainages. These were formed by surface water runoff from the uplands, but also served as groundwater discharge points. The understory of many of these drainages was dominated by dense stands of common scouring rush (Equisetum hyemale).

Under a red oak (Quercus rubra) stand I came across a species I had never seen before. Red pinesap (Hypopitys lanuginosa) is a non-photosynthetic plant species that derives its nutrition from a relationship with soil fungi. The red color is very distinctive and serves to separate this species from the yellow pinesap (Hypopitys monotropa). Both are related to indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora).

Eroded drainage and dense scouring rush (Equisetum hyemale)

Red pinesap (Hypopitys lanuginosa) growing under a red oak (Quercus rubra)

Finally, I came across a unique find. Near the mouth of the river, its floodplain is segmented into low ridges separated by old river channels both of which parallel the contemporary river channel. In cross-section the floodplain looks corrugated. Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum) occur on the ridges, while the old channels are dominated by herbaceous aquatic species. Scattered throughout the ridges were individuals of black gum (Nyssa sylvatica). There were adult trees, saplings, and seedlings present. Nyssa is a relatively common species in downstate NY, but it is almost non-existent in the Adirondacks. I know of several specimens on the westerly shore of Lake George but finding it here at the mouth of the Boquet River extends the northerly range in NY by approximately 50 miles. Is this the furthest north that Nyssa occurs in NYS? Possibly.

black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) leaves

There are other major river mouths such as the Saranac which have well-developed floodplains which would be suitable habitat for this species but there are no reports from further north. The tree is quite characteristic and should be relatively easy to spot. Go explore those floodplains!

black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) tree and bark

Northeastern Field Botany at Its Best: June 19-23, 2011, Ithaca

admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:04:52 +0000

Joint the Botanical Society of America – Northeastern Section for this year’s field extravaganza with:

Torrey Botanical Society

Philadelphia Botanical Club

Cosponsored with:

The Finger Lakes Native Plant Society

91��Ƭ��

June 19-23, 2011 (Sunday-Thursday) at Ithaca College, Ithaca, 91��Ƭ��

The 2011 Field Meeting will examine the flora of Tompkins County and
vicinity in upstate 91��Ƭ��. Housing will be on the campus of Ithaca
College, at the southern edge of the city of Ithaca. Located at the
southern end of Lake Cayuga, Ithaca is in the heart of the extremely
scenic Finger Lakes region. The city is home to the campus of Cornell
University, including the Cornell Plantations, a remarkable botanical
garden and arboretum as well as owner of numerous natural areas.
Tompkins County also is renowned for three state parks with magnificent
gorges and waterfalls, plus many additional designated natural areas
that are open to the public.

Accommodations are in double-occupancy dormitory rooms of Ithaca
College. The rooms are in “traditional style residence halls” (non-air
conditioned rooms, shared bath facilities). Also, there are several
nearby motels. Participants wishing to stay in a motel will need to make
their own arrangements. Box lunches are included for each day of field
trips (Monday through Wednesday). Also included are two breakfasts and a
buffet dinner. The remaining meals will be purchased individually at a
food court on the campus, or at nearby restaurants and stores, since the
campus dining hall will not be open. Transportation will be by a rented
bus and by car-pooling.

Our field trip coordinator and leader is Mr. David Werier of the Finger
Lakes Native Plant Society and the 91��Ƭ��. The sites
he has chosen represent a diversity of vegetation types and will include

• Lime Hollow Nature Center, Marl Ponds, and Chicago Bog: acidic bog,
limy marl ponds, rich woods;

• Bear Swamp Sempronius: calcareous rich shrub fen, cool rich northern
forests;

• Michigan Hollow: sedge meadows, rich peat swamp, rich and acidic woods;

• Thatcher’s Pinnacles and Biodiversity Preserve: rich forests with
older trees, terminal moraine

deposits, steep slope with native red pine, dry rim with dwarfed
southern-affinity forests;

• Taughannock Falls State Park: impressive gorge and waterfall, rich
forests, talus slopes;

• South Hill Swamp Natural Area: swamp white oak swamp, diversity of
sedges.

In place of the first two, we may include these recommendations from Mr.
F. Robert Wesley, Natural Areas Manager at the Cornell Plantations:

• Landers’ Corners Bog: /Carex pauciflora/, /Listera australis,/
/Orontium aquaticum/;

• Jam Pond Bog: large open bog surrounded by red maple-black
spruce-tamarack peatland forest.

There will also be a variety of evening lectures. An optional informal
trip to the Cornell Plantations is planned for the morning after the
meeting on Thursday June 23.

For a registration form click on this

For further information contact:

Larry Klotz, Chair: lhklot@ship.edu
or

Robynn Shannon, Co-chair: rndshannon@cox.net

An Interactive Visual Identification Key to Carices of North America

admin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:26:32 +0000

Now you have no excuse to not learn more about the genus Carex in 91��Ƭ�� with the release of this new identification key. It is a stunning assemblage of photos and drawings of the species of Carex in North America. You can sort them multiple ways, starting with 91��Ƭ��, and even compare two species. The photos are high resolution so you can zoom way in on the spikelets. It would be nice if there were photos with the key characters identified on the photo. The website is but you can view a short video on its features below. You will need Microsoft Silverlight on your computer to get it to work. – Steve Young

Pennsylvania Rare Plant Forum to be Held April 9, 2011

admin — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:42:33 +0000

PENNSYLVANIA RARE PLANT FORUM

9:30 AM-about 2:30 PM

Saturday, 9 April 2011

Jennings Environmental Education Center

12 miles north-west of Butler, on PA Route 528 just west of Route 8

40.9° N 80.1° W, Elevation 350 m

All people interested in the conservation of Pennsylvania’s native flora are encouraged to attend this meeting. The Rare Plant Forum is a function of the Vascular Plant Technical Committee of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, and for over thirty years has served in an advisory role to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for issues related to the conservation of the native flora of Pennsylvania. In addition to discussing proposed changes to the list of Plants of Special Concern in Pennsylvania (POSCIP), there will be a few related presentations. This is an excellent opportunity to connect and work with other botanists, amateur and professional, who share your interest in the flora of Pennsylvania.

It is fitting for us to meet at a facility named for Otto E. Jennings, late Curator of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and early advocate of native plant conservation. If you know of people who might be interested in attending, especially in NW Pennsylvania or adjacent parts of Ohio and New York, please extend this invitation to them.

The proposal form is in an Excel spreadsheet, downloadable at www.paconserve.org/256. Related documents such as the definitions of the status categories and the minutes from past meetings are also available here. Please start working on your proposals right away, as John Kunsman and I will need some lead time to help gather the data. Please submit your proposals by 4 March. Proposals will be posted to the above url shortly after I receive them, and a summary will be distributed at least a week before the meeting along with an agenda.

Presentations

You are encouraged to consider presenting on recent work you have done related to the conservation of the flora of our region. One of the advantages of holding the Rare Plant Forum is the opportunity to share the results of our work. This can increase the value of your work by allowing others to build upon it. It also encourages collaboration and minimizes duplication of effort. Email or call me with the subject and how much time you would like.

There will be time on the agenda for un-premeditated announcements, but it helps me plan if I have some idea how many there will be, so let me know if you can.

Dinner on Friday

Some of us will be having dinner on Friday at North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock. Let me know (sgrund@paconserve.org) if you would like to join us; I will make a reservation.

River Running!

Some of us are going to take advantage of the spring thaw on Sunday to explore a local stream, probably Wolf Creek. WPC owns land at Wolf Creek Narrows where we can take out and botanize. It is one of the best spring wildflower sites in the Commonwealth. Some experienced whitewater enthusiasts might brave Slippery Rock Creek Gorge. Email me if you are interested.

Camping

We have reserved the Muskrat Cove group camping site at Moraine State Park for Friday and Saturday (http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/moraine/moraine_mini.pdf). This will be primitive camping with water, but no hot water. The cost will be $10/night divided between everyone who camps. Please contact Kelly Sitch at c-ksitch@state.pa.us if you are interested.

See you soon! – Steve

Steve Grund

Chair, Pennsylvania Rare Plant Forum

Botanist, Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

800 Waterfront Drive

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

sgrund@paconserve.org

(412) 586-2350

Upcoming bryology workshops

admin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:37:12 +0000

There are three upcoming bryological courses and excursions this spring! They’re not being held in our region, but many bryophytes are quite cosmopolitan so it’s likely that you’d encounter species that occur in 91��Ƭ��. Certainly the lab skills and camaraderie would be worth the trip.

Intermediate Bryology will be offered by Dr. David Wagner on the University of Oregon campus on March 21-23. The objective of this workshop will be a fairly intensive practice using the contemporary keys pertinent to the area. Most of the time will be spent in the teaching lab, with an afternoon excursion on the first day for field experience. Time will be available for participants who bring personal collections to work on them under expert supervision. Tuition is $300. Contact Dr. Wagner for more information (541-344-3327 / davidwagner@mac.com).

The 16th Annual SO BE FREE foray will be held in the lower elevations of the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains near Quincy, California on March 23-26. The area offers great sites for montane coniferous, mixed coniferous-hardwood forests; canyon oak forests; rocky outcrops; and chaparral, all in the steep North Fork of the Feather River canyon. There will be flat trails and roadside areas to visit for easy access. Bryophyte diversity will span from California’s spring ephemerals, bryophytes of springs, streamlets, and rivers to the great diversity found on rocky outcrops. Beginning bryologists are welcome, and they are planning some special activities for beginners, as well as serious fieldtrips that will be exciting for the hard-core. for more info.

An Introduction to Bryophytes will be offered by Dr. Stephen Timme in the botany lab on the Pittsburg (Kansas) State University campus on April 2-3. It is designed to provide an introduction to basic characteristics and techniques for identification of some of the more common species found in the prairie, oak/hickory forests, and rock outcrops in the central U.S. Techniques will include the proper use of the microscope, free-hand sections, terminology, and making semi-permanent mounts. The workshop will be topped off with a field trip. Contact Dr. Timme for more information (417-658-5473 / slt@pittstate.edu).