New Trail, New Plants, and a Stumper

I am delighted that my son Philip has inherited some of my trespasser's genes.  Well, it's not that we mean to break the law, it's just that sometimes we wander a stream or follow a deer trail or enter a woods that beckons so persuasively we somehow fail to notice the "Posted" signs.  My son is a restaurant chef, so he has mornings and early afternoons free to wander, and recently he came upon a little-used trail that follows both a powerline clearcut and a wooded streambank that leads to a marsh that was filled with plants he did not recognize.  Bless his heart, he knows who to ask about plants, and he sent me some photos that really piqued my interest.  "Take me there, Phil!" I begged him.  And so he did.

We started our walk on the powerline service road, which was lined with Blackberry bushes and Sweet Fern shrubs,  and the sandy ground was dotted with the bright-purple blooms of Ovate-leaved Violet (Viola sagittata var. ovata). This fuzzy-stemmed violet blooms on very short stems when it first comes into bloom, so its flowers seem very large compared to its small furry basal leaves.

Sharing that sunny roadside were several patches of Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)  just opening its snowy flowers.

There were several small trees bearing white blossoms along this road, and a close look at the flowers revealed the single pistil that signifies a stone-fruit blossom. The reddish twigs and clustered blooms indicated to me that this was most likely a Pin Cherry tree (Prunus pensylvanica).  It will have bright-red sour cherries later in summer. An alternate common name for this tree is Bird Cherry, appropriately enough, since birds devour these cherries. Usually, before we humans can manage to get to them.

After a short while, the trail veered into a mixed hardwood/conifer woods, and here, the forest floor was home to abundant woodland wildflowers.  Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) was one of those in bloom today.

We passed several places where the forest floor was peppered with dozens of the snowy orbs of Dwarf Gingseng (Panax trifolius).

Goldthread (Coptis trifolia) also dotted the forest floor, its star-shaped white blooms containing the oddest little yellow jelly-like petals and green spindle-shaped pistils.

Soon to join the floral display will be Starflower (Lysimachia borealis).  We could see its leaves everywhere, and a closer look revealed the tiny flower buds getting ready to open.

The fat pink buds of Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) have released both large green leaves and dangling clusters of flower buds.

There were so many White Pines in this woods, I kept expecting to see Pink Lady's Slippers (Cypripedium acaule), and soon I did, indeed.  A cluster of six of them surrounding a large White Pine. Although not yet flowering, this orchid is immediately recognizable even in bud by its two  large basal leaves, arcing stem, and plump oval bud surmounted by a green bract.

We also surprised a couple of woodland critters as we passed through this woods.  This Garter Snake was coiled in such a convoluted way, I thought it would tie itself in knots if it tried to flee suddenly.  Phil and I kept our distance so as not to disturb its nap.

If this tiny Spring Peeper had frozen in place, we would never have seen it, so well camouflaged it was among the brown leaf litter. But of course, it hopped and hopped and hopped.  Finally, it stopped for just a second so I could snap its photo.

Before long, the trail moved close to a stream, where Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) glowed on the banks and white-flowered Shadblow trees (Amelanchier sp.) leaned their branches over the water, creating a scene so lush and green and gorgeous, I could have stayed here all day.

Here's a closer look at those beautiful Marsh Marigold blooms.

In several places along the stream, sandy flats revealed the tracks of the animals who frequented these woods and waters. Because these Raccoon tracks were both large and small, we presumed that Mama Raccoon had brought her babies down to the water here.

This photo shows both the green leaves of Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) and the web-covered uncoiling fiddleheads of Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum), both plants being abundant along the stream.

Water Striders were darting about on the slow-moving water of the stream.  It amazes me how their feet can dimple the water's surface without breaking through.

We finally reached an open marshy area where a number of wetland species of plants were thriving under the sun.  And here was the plant that had piqued my interest so, when Phil sent me photos of it, one I recognized from my guidebooks but which I had never laid my eyes on before.  This is Swamp Saxifrage (Micranthes pensylvanica), with a cluster of flower buds topping a long fuzzy stem.  According to the New York Flora Association, this is a common plant in the state, but I had never encountered it.  Perhaps few people get to see it because it grows on wet muck, not always a habitat easy for folks to explore. But I don't mind muddy feet, if it means I get to meet a new flower for my life list.

There were quite a few Swamp Saxifrage plants thriving at this site, including this one with its baby cluster of buds.  That short stem will grow and grow and grow, becoming quite tall before the buds open into clusters of greenish-white star-shaped flowers.  At least, that's what my guidebooks show me.  I will certainly have to return to this spot to see these plants in bloom for myself.

 

Here was another plant I want to return to observe, hoping to find it in bloom.  It was growing right IN the shallow water, and I did not recognize it from the foliage alone.  Neither have any of my Facebook friends recognized it, even some experts among them, after I posted photos there showing the leaves and stems in a number of close-up shots. The presence of a flower would sure help a lot.

In some places, this unknown plant formed large mats of rooted plants in the slow-moving shallow water.  I want to know the name of this plant, not just to satisfy my curiosity, but also to learn whether it might prove to be invasive.

This creek and its banks are home to a rich assortment of native species, and it would be a shame to see them supplanted by a non-native plant.  So I will be returning often, hoping to find this mystery plant in bloom for the sake of identifying it.  And also just to enjoy this marvelous trail that my son introduced me to.  What a site!  And we had it mostly all to ourselves, a real plus in these social-distancing times.

Floral Abundance in the Skidmore Woods

With so many plants responding to Spring these days, I can hardly keep up with them!  Since I use my blog as a record of how Spring progresses each year,  I simply want to list (in alphabetical order) those plants I observed in the Skidmore woods this past Monday (May 4). Many neglected household tasks are calling me away from lengthy blogging at the moment.

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia).  Emerging leaves covered with kitten-soft fur.

Bellwort, Large-flowered (Uvularia grandiflora)

Blue Cohosh, the yellow-flowered, later-blooming species (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

Prickly Gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati)

Bulblet Fern (Cystopteris bulbifera), newly emerged, with cherry-red stems

Canada Violet (Viola canadensis), displaying the distinctive white face and purple buds.

Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius)

Early Meadow Rue, pistillate flowers (Thalictrum dioicum)

Early Meadow Rue, staminate flowers (Thalictrum dioicum)

Long-spurred Violet (Viola rostrata), the most common violet of this limestone-underlaid woods.

Maple-leaved Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), in bud

Miterwort (Mitella diphylla)

Moss with orange sporophytes.  Baby Tooth Moss (Plagiomnium cuspidatum)?

Sedge with fine leaves and yellow staminate flowers, possibly Carex pensylvanica

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata), unfolding enormous leaf bud

Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba), seed capsules and new leaves

Small-flowered Crowfoot (Ranunculus abortivus), tiny yellow flowers as shiny as stars!

Small Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum), dangling its flower buds

Trillium, Red (Trillium erectum)

Trillium, Large-flowered White (Trillium grandiflorum)

Trout Lily, Yellow (Erythronium americanum), one of the last fading blooms to be found in this woods this spring

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)  I had to use flash to reveal the single flower hiding in the deep shadow of its leaves.

Woolly Blue Violet (Viola sororia)  Distinguished by the hairiness of its leaf stalks and the undersides of its leaves, this violet once was considered a species all to itself.  But now several other violets, including our smooth-stemmed Common Blue Violet, are included within the species V. sororia.  To me, it has its own distinctive look, and I find it every year in the same rocky habitat I have always found it blooming in the Skidmore woods.

Riverside Wanderings

It's much easier these days to observe "social distancing" out in the woods if I go out on rainy cool days.  And also, if I avoid the most popular trails. That's why, when I found myself clambering over these rocky shores of the Hudson River last Friday, I had the place all to myself. Enjoying a lull in a drenching downpour, I stood on the rocks surrounded by absolute silence and let my eyes rest on the river's quiet water, pearlescent as it reflected the swirling clouds.

Across Spier Falls Road, even the parking area for one of Moreau Lake State Park's most popular trails was empty on this cool rainy day.  Instead of taking the trail, however, I pushed through the dripping trailside shrubs to follow the sound of rushing water as it tumbled down the mountainside over lichen-covered rocks.

A large patch of Foamflower was lifting bud-clustered flower stalks at the foot of a mossy boulder.

I found these new growths on a Witch Hazel twig as pretty as any flower, but I believe they are instead the early stage of the shrub's seed capsules, emerging from the bracts of last fall's flowers.

Continuing downstream along Spier Falls Road, I noticed these flowering branches protruding from a steep rocky bank.  Even from a distance, these flowers were noticeably different from those of the many Shadblow trees now blooming in the mountainside woods.  With considerable difficulty, I hauled myself up the steep bank to take a closer look.

How pretty these flowers were, the buds and even the open blooms touched with pink!  Could they be apple blossoms? It seemed a bit early for apple blossoms, though.

A much closer look revealed that they couldn't be apple blossoms.  I could detect but a single pale-green pistil at the center of the ring of yellow-tipped stamens, and apple blossoms have multiple pistils, just as the fruits have multiple seeds.  That single pistil indicated that this was a stone-fruit blossom, a member of the Prunus genus.  But which stone fruit would these blossoms yield?  Cherries, plums, peaches, or apricots?

Lucky for me, I know who to turn to when I have a plant ID question.  Steve Young, chief botanist with the NewYork Natural Heritage Program, suggested that this is Armenian Apricot (Prunus armeniaca), noting the sessile flowers. He informed me that among the Prunus species, only peaches and apricots have sessile flowers, and peach blossoms are much pinker. Well, what do you know? An APRICOT growing wild out of a stony bank! Obviously, not a native tree. I wonder how it got here.  Did some passer-by toss an apricot pit up on this bank?  Amazing that this little tree has survived our frigid winters!

Steve also informed me that, since the state has no official record of Prunus armeniaca, perhaps I might collect a specimen of the flowers now, then return to obtain specimens of both leaves and fruits later as they occur.  Yes, I could do that.  So I returned to the site on Saturday and obtained a flowering branch, which I will now press and dry.  And while I was there, I decided to look around to see if any more of these apricot trees were growing in the surrounding area.  Now that the tree is in bloom, it should be very easy to find it among the surrounding vegetation.

And so it was!  All I had to do was lift my eyes, and there I saw several more small trees bearing pinkish-white blooms scattered about the mountainside. My problem was how to reach them in order to closely examine the blooms.  The cliffs are quite steep at this site.  But those cliffs were quarried way back in the early 1900s to obtain rock for building the Spier Falls Dam just across the road.  Perhaps I could find a way to ascend the cliffs from within the quarry.

I pushed through a tangle of bittersweet vines to make my way to the quarry, and as soon as I entered this space of massive jumbled boulders, I spied this small white-flowered tree close to one of the spring-dampened quarry walls.

This tree also held its blossoms sessile to the twigs.

A closer look revealed the presence of a single pale-green pistil. I sent these photos to Steve again, and he answered that this looks like another Armenian Apricot.

After scaling the quarry walls, I found three more similar flowering trees in the woods above the quarry. I hope now to return when the trees bear fruit, not just to (possibly) enjoy a tree-ripened apricot, but also to confirm our botanical suspicions that these really are the species we think they are. But how such a number of Armenian Apricot trees came to inhabit this site will probably remain an unsolvable mystery.

UPDATE: My botanical-expert friends are still pondering this Prunus, now considering the possibility that this is a Nanking Cherry (P. tomentosa) and not an Armenian Apricot, after observing the hairiness of the twigs and other distinguishing factors.  One thing is sure, I will be eager to see these trees in fruit, whether apricot or cherry.  And I've read that Nanking cherries are particularly delicious!

 Saturday was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, and with all the other regional parks' parking areas jammed to overflowing with hikers' cars, I felt lucky to have such an interesting site all to myself. As I mentioned before, these cliffs were quarried to provide material for building the nearby Spier Falls Dam, and huge chunks of the blasted rock lie heaped on the quarry floor.

The sheer rock walls of the quarry are constantly dampened by dripping springs, creating a remarkable habitat for many different mosses and other plants.

Spring-dampened rocky ledges like this are a favored habitat for Early Saxifrage, which was just beginning to open its crowded clusters of small white blooms.

Remnants of the human history of this site can also be found here.  Exactly what these concrete and iron-piped structures were used for back in the early 1900s I cannot say.  But I have seen photos of the dam being built, and these photos show enormous derricks from which cables were strung to convey the quarried rock to the dam site.  Perhaps these structures formed part of the foundation for those derricks.

But what purpose could this cubical solid-stone structure have served? I confess I have no idea. It's just fun to come upon these old structures off in the woods and wonder what they were used for. They certainly add a note of mystery to such a place.