Photobombed by a Skipper

While taking the photograph below of a Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) plant in one of our native landscaping gardens, a skipper flew into my photograph at the last second...

 

This is Michigan?

 

 

Round-leaved Orchid (Amerorchis rotundifolia)

Oh yeah, this is Michigan!

More to come from a recent trip to the Keweenaw Peninsula...

Another Yard Orchid!

Hmmm...

 

Yet another surprise.   Hope to have an update on this one later this year.

As the Summer Wanes, Fens Heat Up

Well, here we are, almost halfway through 2013, and I still haven't posted about some of my 2012 outings.  I'd hoped to get caught up over the winter, but I simply don't have the time that I used to, and as a result blogging has been and will continue to be pushed to the back burner.  I still hope to blog a bit about the trip that Lindsay and I took to Ecuador and Galapagos in 2012, but that will likely come much later.

 

Tiplady Road Fen

In late September 2012, Lindsay participated in a 50K mud run in Hell, Michigan.  I went along and cheered her on at a few locations, but in between I had some time for botanizing at Tiplady Road Fen.

 

Gentianopsis virgata

One of the jewels of a fen in late September is Lesser Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis virgata).  It was difficult to find open flowers when I arrived, but as it warmed up a bit the flowers opened more.  There was only a brief period of time when the flowers were open with dew drops still on the petals, and I was thrilled to be able to time this right for my photographs.

Lobelia kalmii

I've never had much luck getting good photographs of Kalm's Lobelia (Lobelia kalmii), as the plant is often buried in taller vegetation and my photos end up severely washed out and overexposed.  After finding this diminutive calciphile, I waited until the sun went behind the clouds to snap this photograph, and I was particularly happy with the outcome.

Parnassia glauca

It's always a treat to see Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia glauca), whether in flower or just vegetative.  As seen in the photograph above, the green veins within the five white petals give the flowers an intriguing look.  The leaves also have an interesting appearance, being quite smooth, lime green, and nearly heart shaped; they occur in a basal cluster.  In addition, rarely do you see this species outside of an extremely high quality area.

 

Muhlenbergia glomerata

Time for a grass intermission, right?  The photograph above shows one of my favorite fen grasses, Marsh Timothy (Muhlenbergia glomerata).  I was fortunate to find this one with such a nice blue sky background.  While not a rare plant in fens and springy meadows, Marsh Timothy is never really abundant either.

 

Cirsium muticum

I've probably said it before on this blog, but thistles get a bad rap.  Sure, there are the "bad ones," but there are some good native thistles as well, and the one shown above is one of them.  Swamp Thistle (Cirsium muticum) is also a "good" thistle because you can actually touch the leaves and the involucre and not bleed as a result.  In fact, because the phyllaries are appressed within the involucre, you can feel the sticky glutinous ridges that are present on each phyllary when you grab the flower head.  Don't try that with the other thistles.

 

Aster novae-angliae

What would late summer be in any habitat without asters?  Fens are certainly no exception, being home to numerous species.  I've chosen to show three here.  Above is my least favorite of the three, New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae).  There's nothing particularly wrong with it, and the deep violet rays add interesting color to the late summer landscape.  I guess it's my least favorite because of its broad use in restorations and native landscaping, where it becomes exceptionally abundant and sometimes even weedy.  As part of a natural landscape, I've never seen it behave that way.

Aster puniceus

Swamp Aster (Aster puniceus), on the other hand, is more appealing to me.  First it isn't as gaudy as New England Aster.  It is also more characteristic of quality areas, though it does hold on in heavily degraded fens. 

Aster umbellatus

And then there's Flat-topped Aster (Aster umbellatus), which occurs in a wide variety of quality natural habitats.  Vegetatively, this is the one that is most frequently misidentified as a goldenrod.  When looking at the flower heads, you may think that it is missing some ray flowers, but that's just the way Flat-topped Aster rolls... its ray flowers are not evenly distributed around the flower head.  I guess another reason I like this one is because it's such a nonconformist in this sense.

Tiplady Road Fen

Fens can be dangerous places.  Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catensis catensis) abound, mounds of Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta) make walking very difficult, you risk going into the muck knee-deep with every step, and Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron radicans) lurks everywhere.  It isn't the large Poison Sumac shrubs, such as the one on the left side of the photograph above (with the bright scarlet leaves) that you necessarily need to worry about, because you can see them... it's the small, knee-high shrubs that are hidden within the grasses and sedges that will get you everytime.

Tiplady Road Fen

I made it out of the fen safely (and somehow on time) to get back to see Lindsay finish her race.  What a great way to spend a late summer day.

Late Summer on Bear Lake Prairie

I finally made it to an Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society - North Chapter field trip on 8 September 2012. As the Treasurer and one of the founding members of this new chapter of an established statewide environmental organization, I had hoped to make it to more of the field trips during our inaugural year, but my schedule simply didn't allow.  However, I made it a priority to be at this field trip due to the quality of the site.  On this late summer day, Bill Minter, the land manager at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, led our group on a hike through Bear Lake Prairie, discussing management activities and challenges at the property.  I'd visited Bear Lake Prairie a couple of times in the past, but it's always great to get back to such a unique natural area.

 

Bill Minter leads the INPAWS group through Bear Lake Prairie.

Bear Lake Prairie is a result of historic artificial drainage that left the marl bottom of Bear Lake exposed for colonization by native prairie species.  The result is a calcareous marl beach wet prairie full of conservative species that you could find in both tallgrass prairie and calcareous fen communities.

Gentiana andrewsii, always a crowd pleaser.

Closed Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) is one of the calciphiles that calls Bear Lake Prairie home.  It is known from the northeastern quarter of the United States and north into much of the eastern half of Canada; it also has been recorded from a couple of counties in Colorado.  Bottle Gentian habitat includes mesic prairies, thickets, openings in wooded areas, fens, and swampy areas.  Looking at the photograph above, you can see why not many insects are able to feed on nectar from Closed Bottle Gentian.  Bumblebees, however, possess the strength to force their way into the "closed" flowers to drink nectar and in the process pollinate the flowers.


Liatris scariosa var. nieuwlandii lights up the prairie.

One of the most stunning blazing stars, in my opinion, and also one of the least abundant in the Midwest, is Nieuwland's Blazing Star (Liatris scariosa var. nieuwlandii).  This variety of Liatris scariosa was named in honor of chemist and botanist Father Julius Aloysius (Arthur) Nieuwland, who attended the University of Notre Dame as an undergrad and returned there to serve as a professor from 1904 to 1936. Savanna Blazing Star, as this species is also aptly known, can be found in prairies, glades, savannas, and open woodlands.  Its distribution includes scattered clusters of counties in the Great Lakes states, Missouri, and Arkansas, but it achieves its greatest distribution in northwest Indiana and Michigan.

Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda is characteristic of saturated calcareous open areas.

Even if you aren't a botanist, it's possible that you may recognize the bright yellow flowers on the shrub above from your average parking lot, as cultivars of this species are common in the landscaping trade.  In nature, Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda) grows in wet calcareous areas including fens, pannes, and other wet areas near the Great Lakes, and also in dry calcareous habitats including hill prairies, alvars, and limestone barrens. It appears to be distributed in three distinct geographical zones (the western United States, the Great Lakes states, and the New England states) with separation between these areas.  It is also known from much of Canada and Alaska, and from a single county in North Carolina.  Subspecies floribunda is the new world taxa, whereas subspecies fruticosa is of Eurasian origin.  You may know this plant by the Latin name Potentilla fruticosa.

An interesting diverse tapestry makes up the flora of Bear Lake Prairie.

Thanks to Bill Minter for leading an excellent field trip and for managing Bear Lake Prairie to preserve some outstanding biodiversity.

The Gray Area between Work and Hobby

I remember my cousin's reaction the first time he found out that I botanized for fun.  He was pretty amazed that I would go out and slosh through wetlands to get covered in ticks, mosquito bites, and poison sumac.  Why would anyone do that and not get paid for it?  Why wouldn't they?  How can someone work in the environmental field and not be passionate about it?

That gray area is something I deal with all too often.  On a trip to Superior, Wisconsin to do vegetation sampling in late August 2012, a few of the people on my crew joined me on our day off for a trip to Buckley Creek and Barrens State Natural Area in Douglas County.  This 900-acre property was our "site of choice" that day because of the range of plant communities present, from very dry to very wet.  The resulting flora provided a wide range of interesting species for us to feast our eyes and lenses on that fine summer day.  Below I will discuss some of those species and communities.

Agastache foeniculum

Blue Giant Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) is a plant of northern North America that I had read about but never seen, so it was a nice surprise to find it on the edge of the oak barrens at Buckley Creek and Barrens.  Primarily found in the upper Midwest, west of the Great Lakes, and into Canada, this mint also ranges as far west as western Montana, and it is found in scattered counties in the eastern United States. In addition to scrubby barrens, Blue Giant Hyssop can be found in dry upland forest openings, prairies, fields, and thickets.

Aster oolentangiensis

Many of us learned the plant in the photograph above as Aster azureus; the specific epithet is a reference to the ray flowers of this composite, which are said to be "sky blue" in color.  However, the rules of botanical nomenclature came into play when it was determined after many years of using the name Aster azureus that a different epithet for the same species had been published several months earlier than the specific epithet azureus.  The plant then became officially known by the first published name, Aster oolentangiensis.  This specific epithet is a reference to the Olentangy River in central Ohio where the specimen at the center of this debate was collected.  Some people seem to despise the specific epithet oolentangiensis, which rolls right off the tongue, but the inimitable Ed Voss was a fan of this name change, as he grew up in a town along the Olentangy only a few miles upstream from the location where the plant was first collected.  Descriptiveness and hometown pride aside, I'm happy to use the name Aster oolentangiensis to stay in line with nomenclatural law.  Many people now call this plant Symphyotrichum oolentangiense, the genus having changed as a result of molecular research.  Sky-blue Aster is found in prairies, barrens, glades, open woodlands, on dunes, and in savannas, often in sandy or shallow soil.  Its geographical range includes the central United States in a band along and just west of the Mississippi River, as well as areas around the Great Lakes.

Oligoneuron album

Speaking of name changes, this one's a doozy.  I first learned Prairie Goldenrod (Oligoneuron album) as Upland White Aster (Aster ptarmicoides).  In the 1970s, botanists began calling this plant Solidago ptarmicoides because the floral structures were more closely aligned with goldenrods.  Then, just about the time this name started gaining widespread use in the 1990s, the name Oligoneuron album came into play.  Many other names have been used for this composite in the past as well.  Prairie Goldenrod has its greatest distribution in the upper Midwest, west of the Great Lakes, but it is also found in numerous Missouri Ozark counties, in scattered counties in Michigan, and scattered elsewhere in the United States and in eastern Canada.  It has an affinity to calcareous soils, where it is found in dry sand, in limestone pavement communities, on glades, on rocky outcrops, and in prairies.  One habitat that is not mentioned in the references I've seen is in barren slag pits that have displaced dune and swale communities.  In this crime against nature "community," Prairie Goldenrod is one of the few native plants that seems to persist after years of degradation.

Liatris aspera

Rough Blazingstar (Liatris aspera) is an attractive species of a variety of habitats including prairies, barrens, dunes, glades, fields, savannas, and woodlands.  It is most frequently found growing in sand and silty loam soils.  This composite is found throughout much of the eastern half of North America, but its greatest distribution is in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and just west of the Mississippi River.  Rough Blazingstar is said to have edible corms that can be used as a survival food, but rodents are said to also feed on these corms and in some places are responsible for reducing the Rough Blazingstar population.  The blazing stars (Liatris spp.) have determinate inflorescences, meaning that the oldest flower clusters are at the tip of the inflorescence and the youngest flower clusters are at the bottom, so the inflorescence does not continue to expand in length as the season progresses.

Solidago nemoralis

Gray Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) is a very common composite found across much of North America with the exception of Alaska and extreme northern Canada and the western third of the United States.  It grows in fields and prairies, along roadsides, and in open woodlands in sandy, gravelly, and clayey soils.  The common name comes from the fine gray hairs that cover the stems, giving the plants an overall grayish cast.

Polygonella articulata

One of the more interesting looking yet overlooked plants of sandhills, dunes, beaches, pine barrens, and other sandy coastal and lakeshore habitats is Coastal Jointweed (Polygonella articulata).  As the first half of the common name implies, this species of the buckwheat family is found along the Atlantic coast and in the Great Lakes states and provinces, particularly in counties bordering the Great Lakes.  The second half of the common name is a reference to the jointed-like appearance of the plant, and especially of the inflorescence before buds emerge.  This appearance is a result of the ocreae (on the stems) and ocreolae (in the inflorescence).  These structures are short sheaths formed by the fused stipules, or leafy structures at the base of each leaf.

Bog

In addition to spending time in the dry oak barrens, we also tromped through a boggy area with typical bog/muskeg vegetation.  This bog had strong representation by plants in the heath family and sedges.

Eriophorum virginicum

One of those sedges was Tawny Cottongrass (Eriophorum virginicum), a striking species of bogs, conifer swamps, fens, marshes, and wet meadows.  This cottongrass is unique in that it has brown scales, and perianth bristles that instead of being pure white often have some brownish or orangish color to them.  It grows in the New England states and southwest along the Appalachians, as well as in the Great Lakes states and provinces. 

Thanks to those who joined me on this weekend outing to see such a unique Wisconsin natural area.

Bird Quiz

I took the following photograph today while on a field trip at Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area with South Bend-Elkhart Audubon Society.  The photo quality isn't spectacular, but I think at least five bird species can be identified in this photograph.  Get out your binoculars and spotting scopes and tell me which species you can identify! Good luck!

 

2012-2013 Winter Feeder Count Results

As we have in 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012, Lindsay and I participated in the Indiana Audubon Society Winter Feeder Bird Count this past November through February.  This count is conducted on the 20th to 25th of November, December, January, and February at feeders throughout the state.

Various feeder birds, including Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-winged Blackbird, and American Tree Sparrow

We haven't been able to match the numbers we had in 2008-2009, when we had 19 species in November, 20 species in December, 18 species in January, and 25 species in February, for a total of  27 species during the count.  Our species numbers during the 2012-2013 count were similar to the past four years, however.  We had 17 species in November, 16 species in December, 15 species in January, and 19 species in February; over the past four years of the count, we've never had less than 15 species or more than 19 species during one of the count periods.  We tallied 23 species at our feeders during the count periods in 2012-2013, the second most that we've had during the last five years.  Our complete list is included at the end of this post.

Male Downy Woodpecker

Species observed most frequently (those present during all four count periods) in 2012-2013 were Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea), Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), and House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Species observed in greatest abundance during a single count period (with the greatest number observed at one time in parentheses) were House Sparrow (31 in December, 13 in January), American Tree Sparrow (16 in February), Dark-eyed Junco (15 in January), Mourning Dove (14 in January), European Starling (13 in December), and American Goldfinch (13 in November). The most abundant species based on average over the four count periods were House Sparrow (14.25), American Tree Sparrow (10.25), Northern Cardinal (9.0), and Mourning Dove (8.5).  Numbers of individuals were down substantially from last year, when we had four species that averaged over 10 individuals over the count period.  The most notable observation that we made this year was a lack of White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys).  During the 2012-2013 count, we only had one White-crowned Sparrow during one of the count periods (November).  The number of individuals of this species seems to have been decreasing at our feeders each year.  In 2011-2012, we had one individual during each of the four count periods; in 2008-2009, we had 7 individuals in November, 2 individuals in December, 2 individuals in January, and 1 individual in February.

Female Hairy Woodpecker

Although overall it has been another mild winter, the temperature range during the count period was comparable to that in previous years, with a low temperature of 4 degrees Fahrenheit in January and a high temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit in November.  However, the most snow cover that we had at any time during the 2012-2013 count was 3 inches.

2012-2013 Winter Bird Feeder Count Species List
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
European Starling
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus)
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Kill the Thistles... Right?

In early July I made a trip to a northwest Indiana location to see a thistle.  "Why would anyone travel to see a thistle," you ask?  Thistles are common weeds in almost every old field, right?

 

Not this one.  To the untrained eye, the plant in these photographs may look a bit like Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), but you can see at the bottom of the above photograph that the stem below the flowering head is not winged and spiny, as it would be in Bull Thistle.  In addition, this thistle would be dwarfed by Bull Thistle, as it grows to just over half a meter tall at the most.  No, I didn't make the hour-plus drive to see a weed; I was visiting a known site for one of the rarest thistles in North America, a Great Lakes endemic, Hill's Thistle (Cirsium hillii).  I had planned my trip for early July because Hill's Thistle should have been in peak bloom, but as a result of the weird weather year that was 2012, all but one of the plants in the small population had finished blooming, and the one that still was flowering was well past its peak.  Hill's thistle was first collected back in 1890 by Rev. E.J. Hill, not more than a few miles from the location where I saw it in 122 years later.

Hill's Thistle is only known from six states and one Canadian province surrounding the Great Lakes; it is listed as endangered or threatened in three of them and special concern in others, but more importantly, it is considered globally vulnerable.  Not only is it already rare, but populations of Hill's Thistle are declining as a result of habitat loss, in part due to fire suppression and the litter accumulation and succession from prairie to shrubby habitat that comes as a result.  In addition, Hill's thistle is a short-live perennial species, with a life span of two to five years, and it only produces flowers in the final one to three of those years; if the seed isn't successful in germinating in those years, the plant simply doesn't reproduce.  Aside from locations close to the lakes, Hill's Thistle is focused in counties along the Mississippi River.  This rare thistle has been found in habitats including prairies, savannas, barrens, and open woodlands, as well as in limestone pavement alvars.  Hill's Thistle is sometimes treated as as variety of Pasture Thistle (Cirsium pumilum), a plant of the eastern (mostly northeastern) United States.

Adirondack Foray, Part II

I previously posted Part I of my Adirondack Foray with Bruce Behan.  When I left off, we had completed the first half of our second (of three) days of botanizing.  After leaving Spring Pond Bog, we traveled to the 900-acre Clintonville Pine Barrens, where we only had a few hours of remaining daylight to explore this unique Pitch Pine-Heath Barren community. 

 

Clintonville Pine Barrens

At this Nature Conservancy preserve, an open canopy dominated by Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) has developed on top of the sandy soil deposited approximately 12,000 years ago by melting glaciers. Common acidophile shrubby understory plants that we observed that help to give the Pitch Pine-Heath Barren community its name include Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina), Northern Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), Eastern Teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens), Black Huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), two varieties of Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium var. angustifolium and V. angustifolium var. nigrum), and Blue Ridge Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum). Some of the other characteristic plants that we saw include Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum), Red Maple (Acer rubrum), Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium), Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), Flaxleaf Whitetop Aster (Aster linariifolius), Bigleaf Aster (Aster macrophyllus), Wavyleaf Aster (Aster undulatus), Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), Bastard Toadflax (Comandra umbellata), Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), Wavy Hairgrass (Deschampsia flexuosa), American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), Tree Groundpine (Lycopodium dendroideum), Whorled Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia), Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense var. canadense), Purple Chokeberry (Photinia floribunda), Red Pine (Pinus resinosa), Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), Sandcherry (Prunus pumila), Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), Western Brackenfern (Pteridium aquilinum), American Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundifolia var. americana), White Oak (Quercus alba), False Melic (Schizachne purpurascens), Strict Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium montanum), Broad-leaved Meadowsweet (Spiraea latifolia), Starflower (Trientalis borealis ssp. borealis), and Velvetleaf Huckleberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides).  Birds of interest included Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens), Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla), Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca), Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus), and Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis).


Ceanothus herbaceus

One of our target plants at Clintonville Pine Barrens was the rare Prairie Redroot (Ceanothus herbaceus), a plant listed as endangered in New York.  We weren't on the site more than 10 minutes before we found this low shrub in full flower.  Also known as Jersey Tea, this species is very similar to New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus), but differs in that the inflorescences are found at the end of the current year's growth (in New Jersey Tea, the inflorescences are borne on long stalks from the upper leaf axils).  Prairie Redroot is known primarily from the central United States, from Texas through Minnesota and Wisconsin, and into Canada, reaching back south into upstate New York.  It can be found in prairies, fields, and other open areas in dry and often rocky or sandy soil.

Cypripedium acaule

Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule) is, dare I say, fairly common in the northeast.  In fact, we saw this attractive orchid at all but one of the sites we visited during our trip.  We saw this species in dry acidic soils in forests and shrubby barrens, but it also grows in saturated acidic conditions, such as in bogs and swamps.  In addition to the New England states, Pink Lady's Slipper, as it is also known, grows south along the Appalachian Mountains, and also in the Great Lakes states; it also reaches north into much of Canada.  While at Clintonville Pine Barrens, Bruce kept talking about the elusive white Moccasin Flower, and it wasn't until I got home and was looking at my photographs that I realized that I'd actually seen the white Moccasin Flower, Cypripedium acaule forma albiflora.  In addition to the white or very faintly pink-tinged floral lip, the white form of Moccasin Flower lacks pigmentation in the petals and sepals, leaving them yellowish green instead of brownish or purplish as in the typical and much more common form.

Cypripedium acaule f. albiflora

We began our final day of botanizing in the Adirondacks with a trip to The Nature Conservancy's Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Preserve in Clinton County, New York.  This 520-acre preserve harbors several interesting plant communities, including Sandstone Pavement, Mixed Mesic Upland Forest, Swamp, and Jack Pine-Heath Barrens. 

Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Preserve

Many different types of natural processes have combined to form our natural communities.  The Sandstone Pavement community is thought to have formed when a catastrophic flood from the abrupt drainage of Glacial Lake Iroquois stripped the topsoil and glacial deposits from the land, leaving bare sandstone.  In the 11,000 to 12,000 years since that time, a very thin layer of nutrient poor soil has formed in spots.  Early colonizers such as mosses and lichens are abundant, and shallow-rooted vascular plants that can tolerate low pH levels have taken advantage of the harsh site conditions.  The result is a globally rare plant community known from fewer than 20 sites on Earth.  Many of the plants, especially in lower areas, can tolerate at least seasonal inundation, giving rise to interesting wetlands in very shallow soils over sandstone bedrock.

Wet spot on the sandstone pavement

Where slightly deeper soils are present, Jack Pine-Heath Barrens have formed.  These fire-dependent communities are similar to the Pitch Pine-Heath Barrens observed at Clintonville Pine Barrens in that they are dominated by acidophiles that can survive in low nutrient soils.

Jack Pine-Heath Barrens community at Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Preserve

Plant species that we observed in the Sandstone Pavement that are characteristic of this community include Red Maple, Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera), Wavy Hairgrass, Eastern Teaberry, Black Huckleberry, Narrowleaf Cowwheat (Melampyrum lineare), Purple Chokeberry, Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana), Red Pine, Eastern White Pine, Western Brackenfern, Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra), and Lowbush Blueberry.  Other plants of interest observed at the preserve include Striped Maple, Gray Birch (Betula populifolia), Northern Shorthusk (Brachyelytrum aristosum), Drooping Woodland Sedge (Carex arctata), Silvery Sedge (Carex canescens), Fibrousroot Sedge (Carex communis var. communis), Nodding Sedge (Carex gynandra), Bluebead (Clintonia borealis), Threeleaf Goldthread (Coptis trifolia), Bunchberry Dogwood (Cornus canadensis), Moccasin Flower, Northern Bush Honeysuckle, Intermediate Woodfern (Dryopteris intermedia), Marginal Woodfern (Dryopteris marginalis), Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens), Catberry (Ilex mucronata), Butternut (Juglans cinerea), Common Juniper (Juniperus communis), Canada Mayflower, Indian Cucumber (Medeola virginiana), Roughleaf Ricegrass (Oryzopsis asperifolia), Rock Polypody (Polypodium virginianum), Arctic Rattlebox (Rhinanthus minor ssp. groenlandicus), Broad-leaved Meadowsweet, New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis), Starflower, Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum), Velvetleaf Huckleberry, and Withe-rod (Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides).

Kalmia angustifolia

Although we saw Sheep Laurel at many of the sites we visited, including Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Preserve, it is considered exploitably vulnerable in New York.  This is a testament to the beauty of this Ericaceous shrub, as it is often collected for garden and ornamental use.  That said, Sheep Laurel is listed on the Canadian weed list because of its ability to invade commercial shrub and tree plantations, and it is likely physically removed from similar situations in the United States.  In addition, because its foliage contains the glycoside andromedotoxin, which is deadly to animals (leading to another common name of Sheepkill), Sheep Laurel is likely often removed from pastures.  Found primarily in New England, the northern half of the lower peninsula of Michigan, and Canada, Sheep Laurel occurs in bogs, swamps, and other wet areas with low pH, often in sandy soil.

The final botanical destination on our foray left us just steps away from the US-Canadian border, as we visited The Gulf Unique Area in Clinton County.  At this interesting New York State Department of Conservation site we wandered through Swamp Forest, Mixed Mesic Upland Forest, Sedge Meadow, and Dry Upland Coniferous Forest.

Swamp at Gulf Unique Area

Because of the range of plant communities at The Gulf Unique Area, we encountered a wide variety of plants.  Some of the highlights and characteristic species we saw in the Swamp Forest include Paper Birch, Brownish Sedge (Carex brunnescens), Silvery Sedge, White Edge Sedge (Carex debilis var. rudgei), Threeseeded Sedge (Carex trisperma), Threeleaf Goldthread, Woodland Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum), Eastern Teaberry, Threeleaf False Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum trifoliatum), Indian Cucumber, Buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa), Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and Withe-rod.  In the Mixed Mesic Upland Forest we enjoyed seeing Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea), Striped Maple, Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), Drooping Woodland Sedge, Fibrousroot Sedge, Bluebead, Bunchberry Dogwood, Moccasin Flower, Northern Bush Honeysuckle, Intermediate Woodfern, Black Huckleberry, Shining Clubmoss (Huperzia lucidula), Twinflower (Linnaea borealis), American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis), Stiff Clubmoss (Lycopodium annotinum), Tree Groundpine, Canada Mayflower, Eastern White Pine, Rock Polypody, Western Brackenfern, Skunk Currant (Ribes glandulosum), Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa), Twistedstalk (Streptopus lanceolatus var. lanceolatus), Heartleaf Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), Starflower, Red Trillium (Trillium erectum), Painted Trillium, Lowbush Blueberry, Velvetleaf Huckleberry, Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides), and Sweet Wild Violet (Viola blanda var. palustriformis).  The Sedge Meadow was characterized by Purplestem Aster (Aster puniceus), Bottlebrush Sedge (Carex hystericina), Lake Sedge (Carex lacustris), Upright Sedge (Carex stricta), Bulblet-bearing Water Hemlock (Cicuta bulbifera), American Mannagrass (Glyceria grandis), Earth Loosestrife (Lysimachia terrestris), Tufted Loosestrife (Lysimachia thyrsiflora), Great Water Dock (Rumex orbiculatus), Broad-leaved Meadowsweet, and Eastern Marsh Fern (Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens).  Balsam Fir, White Spruce (Picea glauca), and Eastern White Pine were characteristic of the Dry Upland Coniferous Forest.  As we were leaving The Gulf Unique Area, we stopped the car to see Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra), Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), and Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) in a Deciduous Mesic Upland Forest, and in the process we flushed an Ovenbird.  I continued to watch this ground-dwelling warbler until I found her characteristic oven-shaped nest.

Calla palustris

In the Swamp Forest at The Gulf Unique Area we came across a sphagnum slough full of Water Arum (Calla palustris).  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you've seen photographs of, and read commentary on, Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) and Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).  Like these two species, Water Arum is in the family Araceae, and all three species share the common trait of having a conspicous sphathe surrounding a spadix covered with tiny, incospicuous flowers.  When it goes to fruit, the spadix will be covered with bright red, fleshy berries.  As with many things in nature, the bright red fruits of Water Arum indicate that they are poisonous; in fact, the entire plant is extremely poisonous, and if you eat it you will experience painful swelling (or so I'm told).  Water Arum grows in bogs, swamps, and marshes, as well as along rivers, ponds and lakes.  Its geographical range in the United States includes the New England states and the upper Great Lakes region; it is also found throughout Canada.

Oxalis montana

I was thrilled to locate a population of Mountain Woodsorrel (Oxalis montana) within the Mixed Mesic Upland Forest at The Gulf Unique Area.  Unlike the previous species, you can eat Mountain Woodsorrel without hesitation, and the sour leaves make a nice addition to a salad.  This low-growing climax forest species is known from the New England states and south along the Appalachian Mountains, as well as from the upper Great Lakes region and eastern Canada.  It grows in moist forests, often in mosses under conifers. 

Driving back to our cabin to spend our last night in the Adirondacks, Bruce and I made one last stop to see the "Grand Canyon of the East," Ausable Chasm, in Clinton and Essex counties.  This magnificent sandstone gorge has formed as a result of more than 500 million years of glacial movements followed by the Ausable River carving out a channel as it leads into Lake Champlain.  The result is a 2 mile long, 150 foot deep New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Unique Geologic Feature.

Ausable Chasm

Thanks Bruce, for a fantastic spring botanical outing and for showing me some spectacular natural areas!  As you can tell, I had an amazing time.

Bruce Behan