Violets Galore on This Hudson Shore!

Since I am scheduled to lead a wildflower walk on the east bank of the Hudson River Ice Meadows in a couple of weeks, I hope to be able to show the participants some really rare plants. This particular stretch of rivershore is truly famous for rare plants, due to the unique conditions created by huge heaps of a special frothy ice (called frazil) that pile up on these shores most winters. Plus, the soil here is rich in lime, thanks to the marble outcroppings along these banks, a few miles north of Warrensburg, N.Y.  I had heard that one of the rarest plants in all of New York -- the New England Violet (Viola novae-angliae) -- could be found out here, and since it probably would be in bloom now, I wanted to see if I could find it for myself.  So I came to visit this special place a few days ago.

The Hudson was calm, the surrounding countryside green and lush, when I made my way down the sloping bank to the shore.

Even aside from supporting a host of rare plants, these shores are remarkable for the stretches of beautiful marble outcroppings, overlaid with swirling streams of darker magma.

The first rare plant I encountered as soon as I stepped on the shore was this Dwarf Sand Cherry (Prunus pumila var. depressa). As fragrant as they are lovely, the flowers filled the warm humid air with their wonderful scent.  This low-growing shrub is ranked as a Threatened species in the state, but one would never guess its rarity, judging by its abundant population here, sprawling among the rocks.

Heading upstream toward the spot where I'd been told I might find that rare violet, I stopped to admire a vivid display of Wild Columbine (Aqualegia canadensis) that adorned the riverside rocks.

I almost despaired of finding any flowers among a scattered patch of glossy Bearberry leaves (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), but I finally spied this cluster of pink-tipped white bells.  Raging floods had ripped this Bearberry patch apart a few years ago, but instead of destroying it, the flood just sent segments of stems downstream, where they have taken root and widely expanded the original patch.

I certainly had no difficulty spying this vividly colorful patch of Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata) high on the bank near the treeline. I did not recall ever finding this species before along this shore, and wondered how I could have missed it. Perhaps I never visited here during its blooming time.

The only reason I knew where to find this fern ally called Rock Spikemoss (Selaginella rupestris) is that a friend had shown it to me some years ago.  And it persists, virtually unchanged, atop a rocky ledge where it lies nearly hidden by other vegetation that surrounds it.

I always take a very close look at this Rock Spikemoss, hoping to find the tiny yellow balls that are its spore cones.  Aha!  There they are! Tucked in among the spiky leaves.

While searching for my super-rare New England Violet, I stopped to note how many other violets call this rivershore home. This pure-white violet with the lance-shaped leaves is called (take a guess!) the Lance-leaved Violet (Viola lanceolata).  It must be quite happy here, for I found more patches of it this year than ever before.

Here was another white violet, only this one had broader, more oblong leaves. This is the Primrose-leaved Violet (Viola primulifolia), and it's really not supposed to grow here.  It's a Threatened species, and one that had never been reported from this location or any other county remotely close to this one (Warren County), until I found it here back in 2016.  But this Ice Meadows site is known to support several other disjunct plants, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by any plant we find here.  Although I certainly was, five years ago! I'm happy to report that the Primrose-leaved Violet still survives at this site, especially now that plants of it have migrated up the bank, safer from where raging floods uprooted many of the stems I had originally found in the cobble at the river's edge.

Those white violets are interesting, as well as very pretty.  But the violet I was especially hoping to find today is vividly purple, not white.  When I spied a bunch of vividly purple violets close to where I'd been told I might find that New England Violet, my heart leaped!  Could this be IT?  Sadly, no, as a closer look revealed. This is a beautiful native violet called the Ovate-leaved Violet (Viola sagittata var. ovata), distinguished by the pronounced fuzziness of its stems and oval leaves. But it wasn't the sought-after New England Violet, which has long, very tapered leaves. And its flowers are a brighter purple.

But then, when I stepped back from that clump of Ovate-leaved Violets,  I spied another purple violet  right nearby, and this one looked more like the one I was hoping to find.

And so it was!  Here were the long tapered leaves and furry-faced flower of New England Violet! But gee, is this all I'll find, this measly little single bloom? Not even any buds that might still produce a flower when I visit here on my guided walk in early June.  Oh well.  I said it was rare, didn't I? I've been told that these Hudson Ice Meadows (both banks) are the only places this violet has been found in all New York State. But at least I can say that I found it. (Thanks to some careful directions from a state botanist.)

Rain was approaching, so I cut short my exploring and headed back downstream, hoping to reach my car before any deluge.  And guess what I found in the cobble, when I wasn't even looking!  Do you see those bright-purple blooms peeking out above the rocks? Let's take a closer look.

Wow!  A beautiful example of the New England Violet! No other purple-flowered native violet has long tapered leaves like this. And there were buds!  Perhaps I will be able to point out this super-rare plant when I lead my walk participants here. I took careful note of surrounding landmarks, so I should be able at least to find the leaves when I return in June.

Off to the other side!

Yes, I know.  I should have been more than satisfied, after finding that perfect specimen of New England Violets on the east bank of the Hudson.  But I recalled finding many, many more of these marvelous blooms on the west bank of the Hudson, and how could I miss my chance to witness their beauty again, now that they would be in perfect bloom? So off I went.

The sky had cleared a bit and the threat of rain subsided as I made my way upriver to where rocky promontories jutted into the rushing river.

And there, in the deep cracks in the rocks, dozens of New England Violets flourished, and they were in beautiful bloom.

Deep down amid the rock walls, where raging floodwaters can't tug at them, this population of one of New York's rarest flowers has found a secure and happy home.

And I even found a few new New England Violet plants I had never noticed before. But who knows how long they will persist in this exposed place between the rock ledges?  One might think that, this high above the river's regular water level, spring floods couldn't reach them up here. Um . . . . That pile of huge tree trunks aren't the remnants of trees that once grew there.  They got heaped here by raging floodwaters.  When you think about that, isn't it a miracle that ANYthing grows out here on the Ice Meadows?  Let alone such an exceedingly rare plant as the New England Violet!