Our Lucky Day!

This past Tuesday sure was one lucky day for my friend Sue and me.  For one thing, the weather was perfect: cool and dry, with only a few puffs of pretty clouds in an otherwise radiant blue sky.  For another, both Sue and I own lightweight solo canoes, and both of us had the day free for paddling.  And best of all,  we had the most delightful place to go paddling: the Hudson River just upstream from Glens Falls, a section of river that contains two distinct habitats for some of late summer's most interesting plants. 

First, there are quiet backwaters here, carved out from the riverbank many years ago to serve as sorting ponds for logs floated down from the Adirondacks.  Here, turtles bask on fallen logs, herons wade in the shallow water,  and the water itself is home to some of our state's rarest plants.

Second, a series of steep shale cliffs rise an easy paddle upstream from those quiet backwaters, cliffs that are constantly watered by mineral-rich springs. An amazing variety of lime-loving plants cling to these cliffs, and we can float right up to the rock to observe them.

As soon as we enter the first backwater, be begin to see abundant numbers of small yellow flowers held aloft on leafless stems, floating freely along on the gentle current.  This is the Small Floating Bladderwort (Utricularia radiata), one of the flowers we always come here this time of year to see.

Here's a closer look at the Small Floating Bladderwort and its radiating inflated "pontoons." With no photosynthesizing stem-leaves to provide its nutrients, this plant depends on capturing and digesting underwater creatures in the multitude of small sacs it trails along beneath it. Although this species is rated as a Rare plant in New York State, it's hard to believe that rating when we observe how it thrives in these particular waters.

Another state-ranked Rare plant that belies that rating by thriving abundantly in these ponds is this Water Marigold (Bidens beckii).  Although we could see vast numbers of both this plant's above-water stems and its underwater whorled leaves, we were definitely disappointed not to see more of its bright-yellow flowers held stiffly above the surface. The plants clearly appeared to have been damaged, probably by the raging floodwaters that tore through this section of the Hudson some weeks ago.

We missed seeing the earlier-blooming flowers of Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa) this year, but it must have been a good year for them, to judge from the abundance of bean-like pods that hung from the twigs. Although invasive numbers of non-native Glossy Buckthorn shrubs crowd the banks where these native shrubs grow, the Wild Senna seems to be holding its own, despite the serious competition.

The basking Painted Turtles populating nearly every fallen log and muddy hummock seemed less skittish than usual today, perhaps because the night had been chilly and the morning sun was warm. They actually let us approach within photographable distance before splashing into the water.  These two were definitely keeping their eyes on me as I drifted close!

In one of the ponds, I am drawn to this stunning patch of Mild Water Pepper (Persicaria hydropiperoides). Even though the flowers of this native smartweed are tiny, when massed together like this, they are truly impressive.

The tiny pink flowers of Mild Water Pepper are so pretty they deserve a closer look.

The bright-yellow blooms of Nodding Bur Marigold (Bidens cernua) don't need to be observed at close range to appreciate their beauty. This generous patch was sharing the muddy shoreline near that patch of Mild Water Pepper.

Soon Sue and I move out to the open river and head upstream toward those shale cliffs that are our second destination today. As we paddle along, we are happy to see some of our favorite river-side flowers.  There's no missing the sight of these big brilliant blooms of Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale).

Rather more demure than that Sneezeweed but with bright-white blooms that are tinged with pink, this Turtlehead plant (Chelone glabra) was also easy to spot among the riverside greenery.

We become aware of the cliffs coming up when we spot these patches of glossy Pellia liverwort and the curving fronds of Bulblet Fern.  Since both plants are definite calciphiles,  they signal the presence of lime in this rocky substrate. Note how nearly black is the rock, made darker by the constant trickling of springs.

But soon we note a patch of rock that appears to have sprouted bright-orange fur!  That orange stuff is actually a green alga, called Trentepohlia aurea, known to contain a chemical that suppresses the alga's green color. And right there next to that patch of orange alga is the flower we have come here today to find: the beautiful snowy-white Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia glauca).  Here is more evidence of lime in this rock, since both the flower and the alga require a lime-rich habitat.

Soon coal-black cliffs rise steeply above us, and the clusters of Grass of Parnassus flowers shine out, so starkly white they are against the black rock.  Here, the flowers are sharing their cliff-side with a shrub of Round-leaved Dogwood (Cornus rugosa) that clings tightly to the rock.

How beautiful these white flowers are, set off by the gracefully curving fronds of Bulblet Fern! Grass of Parnassus is not considered a rare plant in New York, but this is the only place Sue and I know where to see them. And they certainly are shown to greatest advantage against the dark shale of these cliffs.

Here's a closer look at the lovely flowers of Grass of Parnassus, showing the fine greenish lines that lead visiting pollinators to their nectaries.

It is hard to find a single flower that doesn't contain at least one insect. I note that a spider has taken advantage of that situation and has woven a web to keep the visitors trapped there, convenient for her next meal.