Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) planted along Rt 440 in Staten Island.
Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) planted along Rt 440 in Staten Island.
Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) volunteering along Rt 440 in Staten Island.
Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) now found in Conference House Park. That was easy math.
An excellent overview of the phenomenon - how people don't see plants - from Tuesday's Science Times.
We barely notice plants, can rarely identify them and find them incomparably inert. “Animals are much more vivid to the average person than plants are,” Dr. Raven said, “and some people aren’t even sure that plants are alive.”
*sigh* sadly, it's true. Although, in my experience, people do notice trees, and care a heck of a lot about garden flora.
Parks does it again. Now the issue is natural areas within golf courses (that were originally carved out of...natural areas). Split Rock Golf Course in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx is now under new management. It seems there was nothing in the contract about leaving things as is . These folks want every blessed inch within the fence to be golf turf. Arck! And we had just gotten the other company to stop mowing the rare purple milkweed!
Surveying the damage...
Persimmons - a state listed rare tree. Now you see them...
Now you don't! Chipped into a woody pulp. It goes on...I just don't have the stomach for this anymore.
A tribal community in Kenya is planning to take a United Nations agency to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for introducing a harmful tree (the mesquite - Prosopis juliflora) to the country. The action, thought to be a world first, is being brought by the Ilchamus people of the Rift Valley, again the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Read more
Back to Nature & What a Mess - from today's New York Times
An excellent example human's unexpected consequences on the landscape. Here, Anne Raver's struggles to contain the invasive tree - black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) on the family farm. Anne, I feel your pain. However, I wish she had discussed & compare the ecological roles of native early successional trees & exotic invasives - they are quite different. When the latter dominates an area, it is not succession, nor is it competition or evolution - it is an invasion. All our open space, even so called "pristine" landscapes, need to be nudged along. We are now in the sad position of having to manage lands just to enable processes that should occur normally on their own.
More about black locusts
Clay Pit Pond in Staten Island
Had a most amazing day in Clay Pit State Park today - what a beautiful place. Very similar to NJ Pinelands (Barrens) except that we don't have the pitch pine (which is no small matter). There are individuals here and there, but actually pitch pine (Pinus rigida) is native and rare in NYC.
Ostensibly the trip was all about seeing swamp pink (Helonias bullata) - a Federally endangered plant, in flower. {N.B. I only throw out the location because I know these were PLANTED, which is fine since the species is historically known from this part of Staten Island. I would NEVER EVER reveal a naturally-occurring population - not for all the tea in China, not for all North Carolina.} The only native occurrence of Helonias bullata in New York was known from Kreischerville, Staten Island between 1882 and 1892 in a red maple-sweetgum swamp. In Arthur Hollick's field notes at the Staten Island Museum he noted that he and N. L. Britton did a “wild dance of joy” when they first encountered the plants in May 1882. See what the dancing was all about.
Sadly, dancing did not prevail the day I was out. We found the plants, but they are doing well; and so were not in flower (they only bloom when stressed). Oh well.
My disappointing view of swamp pink (Helonias bullata) - basal rosettes
Here is a list of some of the things we did see - all new for my records.KEY: * = exotic, ! = invasive, + = native & rare in NYC, no mark = native & common
TREES
Quercus alba - white oak
Q. bicolor - swamp white oak
Q. palustris - pin oak
Q. velutina - black oak
Quercus x bushii - a hybrid between Q. marilandica (blackjack oak) & Q. velutina
SHRUBS
Amelanchier canadensis - Juneberry
Chamaedaphne calyculata - leatherleaf +
Chimaphila maculata - spotted wintergreen
Comptonia peregrina - sweet fern +
Eleagnus angustifolia * - Russian olive
E. umbellata *! - autumn olive
Eubotrys racemosa - fetterbush
Lyonia ligustrina - maleberry +
Rubus phoenicolasius - wineberry *!
Salix discolor - pussy willow
Spiraea tomentosa - hardhack +
Vaccinium corymbosum - highbush blueberry
FORBS
Comandra umbellata bastard toad flax + (which might be the best common name for a plant ever)
Lepidium campestre * field pepper
Lespedeza capitata - round-headed bush clover
Linaria canadensis (Nuttallanthus canadensis) - blue toadflax
Symplocarpus foetidus - skunk cabbage
Viola macloskeyi ssp. pallens - smooth white violet
Ups and downs, highs and lows, thus are my moods when I am out in the field - either ecstatic or crestfallen. Today, I was both. Somewhere in Staten Island (you'll never get locations out of me), I saw orchids, NYS-rare plants, and lots of degredation caused by humans.
First, the good stuff. In a 40' x 40' area, saw about 500 stems of whorled pogonia (Isotria verticillata), half of which were in flower. This orchid is a congener (same genus) as the Federally-endangered small whorled pogonia (I. medeoloides). These orchids were found in a dry, heath dominated forest they love so, with bracken fern, red/black/white oaks, red maple, sweet gum, sweet pepperbush, blueberries, pinkster azalea, black cherry, bitternut, and sassafras.
One of the most pilfered plants in the wild because it's arguably our most beautiful native orchid, pink ladyslipper (Cypripedium acaule).
Another wonderful site - pink ladyslipper (Cypripedium acaule) in bloom. Found some teasers early on - just leaves. The one in the photo was hiding behind a fallen log. In all we found 12 ladyslippers, but only 3 were in flower. Years ago, this area was called "Orchid Hill". I think the locals got wind of it and have been stealing orchids from the wild. Little do they know, that once these flowers are taken out of their natural habitat, they die. They cannot survive without filimentous fungi called microrrhizae, with which they have a mutualistic relationship. The fungi, extending into the orchid and the surrounding substrate, bring nutrients and water to the plant, and are critical in every phase of the plant's life. Orchid seeds are extremely small. As such, they have no resources to grow on their own. Without these fungi, the plants would never germinate.
A common compatriot of these orchids, pinkster azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides), a native shrub.
Other plant finds: whorled indian cukecumber (Medeola virginiana), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), interrupted fern (Osmunda claytonii), Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica). Another neat find was sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). This NYS-rare tree is found in wet areas, SI is the northern part of its range. Now, such plants, being rare, should be given some TLC. That was decidedly not the case in this park, as you can see in the photo below. (Warning, this is where the story starts to take a turn for the worse).
Here, the tree has clearly been vandalized, it has graffiti and a crown (base) damaged by fire. This is not a happy tree. Unhappy trees don't live very long, and so one less sweetbay in New York State.
Other areas of the forest are not regenerating due to disturbance. High volume foot traffic and mountainbike/ATV use contribute to the lack of shrubs or wildflowers in the photo below. And obviously, couches are not part of a forest ecosystem.
Walked through Prospect Park on my way to the Brooklyn Museum with my family. Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) & flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) were in bloom. What says "Thanks, Mom" more than native flowers?
Today I went to Conference House Park, to look for a site to plant rescued plants from Kreischerville up the road. These "rescued" plants are listed as rare in New York State - blunt spikerush (Eleocharis ovata) (S1) & fringed boneset (Eupatorium hyssopifolium var. laciniatum) (S2), which is the reason why we went to so much trouble to dig some up - otherwise they'd be sitting under the Home Depot, Target, Bed Bath Beyond, Chilis & Christmas tree store that was put there in its place. God knows we need more strip malls, especially sharing a very long border with a state nature preserve (Clay Pit).
Anyway, on my way to Conference House Park, I stopped by an area we refer to as "Rare Oak Woods" because it houses, wait for it, rare oaks. Onsite there are willow oaks (Quercus phellos), an S1, that are hybridizing with more common oaks (black, red). These hybrids can be prodigious producers of acorns, and subsequent generations often results in pure willow oak offspring. A super rare oak is the hybrid Q. x rudkinii, a cross between willow oak and blackjack oak (Q. marilandica), another rarity. Mostly these plants are rare in NY because they are at the northern part of their range. This also means that without all the hybridization, it would be difficult for them to reproduce. Ah, oaks. For more on NYS rare plants
Rare Oak Woods has very sandy, glacial outwash soils, as does this whole area of southern SI. This makes for really neat plant communities, with lots of heath shrubs. I love the heaths. Most people think of Heathcliff & Catherine ala Charlotte Bronte (writing out "Heathcliff" made me think of that Michael Penn song, "No Myth". I really like that song. Whatever happened to him anyway?); but the northeast has lots of native woody plants in this family (Ericaceae).
Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) in flower, with a Lepidopteran visitor. Another common native shrub.
Yet another interesting plant was pawpaw (Asimina triloba), another rarity (S2). This tree isn't actually native to NYC, it naturally occurs in western New York State, but there is a colony in Staten Island, planted by a former homeowner in the 1800s with seed from Indiana. The grove produces flowers (see below) and fruits. The latter are edible, reputed to resemble bananas both in taste and aspect. Haven't tried any yet, but hopefully this summer I will remember to make a trip down there.
I don't know what it is about Pelham Bay Park, but lately I feel like I live there. Not that I am complaining. Anyway, had a field meeting out there and went to part of the park that I had never been to before. It was like the enchanted place Olivia Newton John sang about in "Xanadu". But more on that later.
Mockernut (Carya tomentosa), a NYC native tree, leaves emerging with ants.
First we walked through some old growth forest on Hunter Island. I know, everyone tells you there is no old growth forest in New York City. Well honey, you can now tell your friends they are all washed up. Here is the proof...
tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipfera) trunk
See how the bark on the tulip tree is at the base, how it's broken up? That is a sign of old growth in trees. "Old growth" is defined as >150 years, although I think tulip trees may reach the fissured bark stage earlier, around 125 years or so. But you get the point - OLD.
dwarf serviceberry in flower - native and uncommon in NYC - very cool!
So back to Xanadu. We walked out over the salt marsh to one of the many outlying islands, and it was breathtaking (except for the scary vodoo doll found by Erik Kiviat). Here was a sandy soil community of juneberries, sassafras, heath shrubs, panicled hawkweed and gall-of-the-earth. This was the first time I had seen dwarf serviceberry (Amelanchier spicata), found in only 3 parks in the city. I was reveling in it - a pristine, untouched chunk of nature. Ha! the other side of the island had this...
I couldn't believe it! After I stopped ranting, I thought, well, at least these homeless folks have a little hobby. Later I found out that they are not homeless, but local old Italian guys who think the park is their private property. Warning to the old men, I am watching you.
Skunk cabbage flowers & emerging leaves (common NYC native plant)
After what felt like an eternity, the wait is over! Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) and red maple (Acer rubrum) flowers! Skunk cabbage is an especially interesting plant. It is a member of the Arum family, whose members are typically found in the tropics. (Another temperate member is Jack-in-the-pulpit). The flower consists of a maroon mottled spathe hiding the reproductive parts called the spadix. The flowers coloration and smell (an unpleasant mixture of dung and rotten meat) attracts some beetles and flies that think it's a dead animals (the preferred places to lay eggs). These insects are excellent pollinators. Invertebrate visitors also get the spa-treatment. In February and March, skunk cabbage flowers are able to poke their way through the winter ground by melting the snowy layer above. Through thermogenesis, the flower is kept at a toasty 70 degrees F. This warm air also helps to disseminate the floral "fragrance".
Swamp forest of skunk cabbage
Certainly, red maples and skunk cabbage have been in bloom for a few weeks now, but I am starting to see other signs of greenery - emerging leaves on both; plus found a patch of trout lily (Erythronium americanum) leaves. These were only about 2" long, so it will be at least a week before flowers appear . Also PA sedge (Carex pennsylvanica) had leaves and immature flowering stems. Lots of aster & solidago rosette leaves starting to emerge, some nice clusters of round-leaved pyrola (Pyrola rotundifolia). A new listing for the park - wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata). The latter two species are encouraging signs of healthy forests.
Flowers of red maple (common NYC native plant)
