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Sleuthing for Rare Plants sayabouthis plantinventory: "Thelist containsabout fivehundredqpecies,andIfeelthatitis fairlycomplete, on Fishers Island, althoughI amsurethatmorespecies willbe addedfrom timetotime. Since 1926, anumberofspecieshave Suffolk County, New York becomeveryrare, orhavedisappearedentirelyfrom the Island's flora. This referslargely to swampplants,which couldnotsurvive theseveredraining,with theresultant Edwin H. Horning growthofbriarsandsmalltrees. Muchcreditisduemy (H. L. Ferguson Museum) friend,Mr. Charles A. Weatherby,SeniorCuratorof the Gray Herbarium,Cambridge,Massachusetts,forhis Fromearly on Ihavehad aninterestin plantlife. Asa carefuldeterminationof thespeciesunknown tome." boy,I spenttimeduring summers pullingunwantedplants Followingthepublication ofHanmer's listin 1940 fromthecomfieldsonmy grandfather's farmand until 1999, aperiodof59 years, significantchangeshave gatheringhay from thehay lots (commonlycalled occurredon FishersIsland. TheHurricaneof 1938hada "haying -it"). Butitwasmuchmoreexcitingtolookfor sig cantimpactupon theisland's ecology, anda andfindspring wildflowerssuchashepatica, trillium, considerableamountof developmenthas taken place. jack-in-the-pulpit, andothers growingon thewooded Theplantlifehas alsochanged, somespecieshavebeen hillsidesofwestern New YorkState. Itwasaritualof lostbutmany others havebeengained. Among thoselost springtimetogatherleeksfrom thesamehillsidesand cowslipsfromtheswamps,nowcalled thewetlands. Duringthe summerI gatheredstrawbemes,raspberries andblackberries. In thefall,butternuts weregatheredand storedin theattic. In latewintersap wascollectedfrom thesugarmaplesandevaporatedover an outdoorfireinto maple symp. In 1951 1came toFishersIsland toteachin theschool. Ona summerday Imadeavisittooneofmy neighbors, CharlesHanmer. Hehadlivedon theIslandduring summersfromearly in the 1900's and hadcollected plantsfromthattimeon. In 1935 CharlesHanmer compiledalistofplantsthathehadcollectedonFishers Island,andin 1940 thelistwas publishedinTorreya, the botanicaljournalof theTorrey BotanicalClub. In theintroductionofhis article,Hanmerhad this to Highlights Plants of Fishers Island 13 Mystery Spot 16 Seaside Crowfoot Ranunculus cymbalaria Waifs from Long Island 16 (. ) Society News & Field Trips 17 CollectedonFishersIslandbyCharlesHanmer(1940), butnotrecentlyobserved Programs 18 IllustrationfromMitchell& Dean (1982) nifi LI. BotanicalSociety May, June, July 1999 Page 13 ) s . FishersIslandPlants,cont. frompage 13 AirportField(formerlyknownas theFortMeadow). wereorchidssuch as theGrassPink(Calopogon Among therockson thebeachesisfoundthe Silver- tuberoses GreenWoodlandOrchid Platanthera weed(Potentillaanserina subsp.pacified) whichwas ), ( clavedata) andRosePogonia(Pogoniaophioglossoides). listedby Hanmeras "common onseabeaches"andit still Many otherspecieshavealsodisappearedfrom theisland, is. Anotherbeach plantformerly listedascommonis including SeasideCrowfoot(.Ranunculuscymbalaria), BeachPlum (Primusmaritime), butitismuchless Choke-cherry (Primusvirginiana),Bird's-foot Violet commontoday. Ihavereadreportsofbothpurpleand (Violapedata),Large Cranberry(Vacciniummacrocapon), yellow fruitedindividuals,butIhaveneverseen the NewEngland Aster(Asternovae-angliae),Sickle-leaved yellowfruitedone. On alate summerdayIfoundon a GoldenAster(Pityopsisfalcata), andothers. Some drying ponda sedgewithredroots, Cyperuserythrorhizos; twenty yearsagoIobservedthelastcranberrygrowingon Ilaterfounditatasecond pondin latesummer. Another theisland;theotherspeciesmusthave been gonebefore plantfoundnearapondcloseto the shorewastherare my arrival. GoldenDock(Rumexmaritimusvar.fueginus) Iam Otherplantspreviously reportedby Hanmerto be quitesure thartheselasttwoplants werenoton theisland plentifulhavebeenreducedtojustafewindividuals. One inHanmer's timeorhe wouldhavefound them. A oftheseplantsis theWoodLily (Liliumphiladelphicum) goldenrodfoundatonly onelocationon theislandis whichwasreportedby Hanmertobeabundantin theopen Showygoldenrod(Solidago speciosa);italsois noton FortMeadows;currently,Iknowofonly twoplantsfrom Hanmer’s list Anothergoldenrod,Silver-rod(S. bicolor) thesite,both floweringinJuly. Frostweed hasbeenfoundbutonceas has yetanother,theSweet (Helianihermimcanadense wasreportedtobecommon Goldenrod (S. odora). throughouttheisland; atdiepresenttimeIknow ofonly On 11 July 1985,BobZaremba visitedFishersIsland twolocationswhereonly averyfewplantscanbefound. andfor twodaysheand Ilookedforrareplants. Ishared WildSuawberry(Fragaria virginiana)waspickedin with himallofmy earlierdiscoveriesand togetherwe largequantitiesin theFortMeadow asrelatedto meby addedseveralnewspecies to theIsland's flora. Among AnnWall whowas oneof thepickers. Thisplantisstill theplantsthatwerenew tomewere threespeciesof foundgrowingalong thehighway butin very small Spikerush (Eleocharisobtusa,E. olivaceae,E parvula), . numbers,Icould neverfindenoughforastrawberry WingedSedge(Carexalata),Bicknell’sFrostweed shortcake. AnotherplantHanmerfoundtobecommon (Helianthemumbicknellii), andPoisonSumac wasthe Carrion Flower(Smilaxherbacea), but/ have (Toxicodendronvemix). founditononly twoorthreeoccasions. Alsoin 1985, archaeologistsfromtheNew YorkState During thepastcentury,many moreplantspecieshave Museum,undertheleadershipofRobertFunk, begana beenaddedtothefloraofFishersIslandthan lost. One study ofnativeAmericanhabitationsiteson Fishers species thatis now abundantalongroadsidesandelse- Islandincollaborationwith theH. L. FergusonMuseum whereis OrientalBittersweet(Celastrusorbiculata). This ofFishersIsland. GordonTucker,abotanistat theState specieswasnotreportedfromtheislandby Hanmer Museum,alsovisitedtoinvestigatetheplantlife. Itook althoughthenativebittersweet(C. scandens) waslistedas Gordon on atourof the Islandand before the day's end common. Today,one ishardpressedtofindC. scandens Gordon suggestedthatwecompileafloraofFishers onFishersIsland. Anotherinvasiveplant,theJapanese Island. He warnedthatit wouldtakeyears tocomplete Honeysuckle(Lonicerajaponica),was already listed as andaskedifI was interested? Withouteven thinking I beingverycommon andwellestablished,andin 1999 itis agreedto workwith Gordonon thefloraofFishersIsland. evenmorethoroughlyentrenchedon theisland. Hanmer Iwasready andeager. listedWildBlackCherry (Prunusserotina)asthe most InMay, 1990,we began workon thenew flora. commontreeand todayitretains thatdesignation. But Gordon becameafrequentsummerguestatourhomeand today's cherry treesare notthe tall trees seen in the we would spendlong hourscollectingplants in thefields. forestsof westernNew York, they are shorter,spreadout We weremostfortunate thatCharlesHanmerhad andmany haveviral growths. publishedhis studyforit was tobe ourinitialguide. Duringmy yearsofbotanizingonFishersIsland,each Gordon alsowas awareof otherbotanistswho hadvisited time thatI foundaplantnew to meIwenttoHanmer' theislandand wasfamiliarwith theirplantcollectionsin list. Ioncefound, neartheedgeofapond, agoldenrod variousherbaria. Amongthosebotanistswere HaroldSt. whichIdeterminedto beElliott's Goldenrod(Solidago John, BillLink, AlexanderW.Evans, and others. Asof elliottii). Icheckedthelistand foundthatHanmerhad 1998 wehadfoundover 800speciesofplantsonFishers notpreviouslyreportedit. LaterBobZarembaverified Island,avery significantincreasecomparedto the500 theidentification. Nearthe samepondIfoundSlender some speciesreportedby Hanmer. BlueFlag (Irisprismatica) which Hanmerlistedas In 1993 wesubmittedareportto theSuffolk County occasional;today,thereareonly twostationsofitat the Departmentof Health andTheFishersIslandConservancy, L.I. Botanical Society May, June, July 1999 Page 14 FishersIslandPlants,cont.frompage 14 while laterhereturned andexclaimed, "Ifound it,Ifound entitled:FishersIslandWaterSupplyandWatershedStudy: Ligusticum scothicum!"[Scotch Lovage]. Hehadfound EcologicalComponent. In thereportwecommentedona itat thefoot ofa northfacing bankneara spring,along remarkablenumberofrareplantsoccuringonFishers theuppershoreofabeachdeep in Hay Harbor. It wasa Island. Thefollowinglistappeared asTable2in ourreport: cool spot. Itwas notmore than 1/4 mile from my home andjustwhereitshould be. Endangered, Threatened, and RarePlants in theWatershedArea ofFishersIsland, NY Gordon's lastvisitwas on4-7 August 1998. Hanmer hadsaidthathewassure thatmorespecies wouldbeadded Potamogetonpulcher Spotted Pondweed totheflorafrom time to time. We added twomore. One Carexemtnonsii EmmonsSedge was theAmerican Hazelnut(Corylusamericana), theother Cyperusodoratus Rusty Flatsedge wasan unidentifiedasterpossiblyin thedivaricatusgroup; Wolffia brasiliensis Watermeal weplantosend aspecimen toEricLamontforidentification. Spiranthes vernalis Ladies-tresses So whathavewelearnedfromstudying thepastand Rumexmaritimus presentfloraofFishers Islandovera 100yearperiod? We var.fueginus Goldendock haveobserved thattheplantlifeofFishers Islandis Chenopodium rubrum Red Pigweed dynamic, populations comeandgo, theyincreaseand Chenopodium strictum Pigweed decreaseinsizefromyeartoyear. Naturalforcessuchas Potentillaanserina hurricanesandnortheasters, droughts andflooding, insect subsp.pacifica Silverweed infestations,etc., cansignificantly alter thephysical Helianrhemumdumosum Bushy Rockrose structure ofecosystems resultinginopportunitiesforplants Myriophyllumpinnatum GreenParrotFeather tocolonizenewsites,and conversely, resultingin thelossof Milfoil habitatforotherspecies. Butbyfar, thegreatestsingle Angelica lucida SeasideAngelica impactupon the plantlife ofFishersIslandduring thepast Hottonia inflata Featherfoil 100yearshasbeenman. Theirreversibledestructionof Veronicaperegrina Neckweed habitatdue todevelopment and thealterationofnatural Astervimineus Osier-Aster wetlandsystemshasresultedinsignificantchangesin the island's flora. Fortunately, outstandingexamples ofnatural There was one certain plant that was ourHoly Grail. communities stillremainonFishersIsland. About45 Fromthebeginningofour study we searched forit. species ofrare,endangered, and threatenedvascularplants Charles Hanmer hadfounditand hadlisteditascommon occurontheisland, making this siteoneofNew York along the seabeaches. Wecheckedmostofthebeaches State's mostsignificantbotanicalhot-spots. wherewethoughtitmightbe. Wefounditsnearrelative,a plantverysimilaringeneral appearance,buttheonethat wewerelookingforcontinu- edtoeludeus.Duringoneof Gordon'svisitsin1996,we lookedforitontheeastend oftheIslandacrossdieSound fromStonington,Connecticut Gordonhadlearnedthatin 1885 WilliamSetchellof Stonington had found the plantonFishersIslandand Gordonfiguredthatitmight haveoccurredonaneastend We beach. did notfind it. In 1997Gordonreturned to dieIslandand wedida studyforaproposedbicycle path. Qitheearlyevening ofJuly31 whileKatherine , andIprepareddinnerGordon A tookashortwalk. short Fishers Island is visable just left of center. L.I. Botanical Society May, June, July 1999 Page 15 Mystery Spot ones, looking about the same size. The site has resistedcolonization andsuccession for two-thirds ofacentury. What can make asite so "balky,"is Ray Welch irkingly obscure. Right at theedge ofthe clearingis a mature pitchpine, andconsidering thehaste with When weheadoutinto thefieldit's generally the whichpitch pinehustles itselfonto sterile, sandy rulethat we liketo go to places withinteresting soils, the absence of any seedlings seemsperverse. I fslloorsah,iwnhaersewwaempcaanndcrheaevpetahrgoouogdhcthheanucnedeorfbmreuesthionrg hpraovbeanbolyusaeUfuFlOexlpalnadniantgiosnit.e,.a.niteixs,ploafncaotuirosnet,hat oldfamiliars and, withluck, some choice plants. wouldeasily satisfy acertain segment ofthe Ameri- But Ihaverecently found aninverse ofthis, a site can people. that's provoking notfor an abundanceofplants,but for theirlack. Notes on Two Exotic Waifs Ihave visitedthe site in Yaphankcalled "Warbler Woods"for over aquarter ofa century. Here there from Long Island arefine oak-hickory-maple woodlands on the Ronkonkoma Moraine that attract birders inlate April and early May, but botanizing is less season Stephen Young dependent. There are several so-called "vernal" (N.Y. Natural Heritage Program) ponds in these woods, although a rainy yearwilllet waterpersistin all seasons; thelargest pondsupports Tribulusterrestris, puncture vine,is a memberof anow-you-see-it, now-you-don't populationof the tropical family Zygophyllaceae, theCreosote- featherfoil,Hottoniainflata a New YorkHeritage bushFamily. Members ofthis relatively small , element. family (about250 species) mostly occurin aridor Fartheralong in the woods, while birding many saline habitats (species of Larrea,creosote-bush, years ago, I saw through the trees anopening that dominate someofthe warmdeserts ofboth North drew me offthe trail. It was an open spot, com- andSouth America). pletelydevoid of plants over aroughly circular area Puncture vineis a prostrate, mat-formingannual perhaps 15 meters across. Theground was sandy especially notedfor its small, hard,spiny fruits. Itis gravel, and a quarter-century back,lookedunvisited anative oftheMediterranean Region andis well and there was no clearevidenceofhumandistur- establishedasaroadsideweedinwesternUnitedStates. bance,unless thespotitself was one. The surround- During the past two years, Ihavefound plants of ing woodshad young oaks and some red cedar.and a T. terrestrisat Breezy Point, Queens County, during pitch pineor two. searches forAmaranthuspumilus. This year [1998] My occasional visits over the years showed little there was aplant 10feetin diameter! It waslast changein the spot, andthere was no signofinvasion collectedonLong Island in 1879 at HuntersPoint, by either shrubs or trees, except afew tentative Queens. Morerecently,it was seen in 1961 at the shrubs, blueberry and bayberry, at the very edge. portofAlbany, andis probably ahitchhikerin Unfortunately,although the woods are now substan- ballast waste. tially inthehands ofthe County,inappropriate use Bassia hyssopifolia a memberof the Goosefoot , has burgeonedin thepast few years, and now an Family (Chenopodiaceae), was collectedby Joseph unofficial trail runs across the site, atrail usedby Monachinoin three locations in QueensCountyin ORVs, andthe opening lets them do wheelies and the 1940s, buthas notbeenreported sincein New spins thattear andchurn at the sandy gravel, so now York. BobZaremba andI observed alarge colony there's no chance of observing any future natural ofplants atthe marina atLong BeachPeninsula west succession. ofStony Brookthis pastfall [1998]. Itis a nativeof Curious about the site, Iinvestigatedaerial coastal Europe whereitoccurs in salineor brackish photographsto see when theclearing mighthave soils,andisintroducedalongthecoastfromMassachusetts originated. I was surprised to seeitclearly on some to Maryland and also in western UnitedStates. 1961 aerials, and astonished to seeit on some 1929 L.I. Botanical Society May, June, July 1999 Page 16 News Executive Board Meeting Society Ameetingof theExecutiveBoardwillbeheldon 11 May January Meeting. MembersNight: Rich Kelly 1999at6:15 pm (beforethemonthlymeetingandprogram) showed slidesofassorted showywildflowersandan array at theBill PattersonNatureCenter,MuttontownPreserve. ofrarebutterfliesfromLongIsland;ZuProlypresenteda Allmembers arewelcome. short travelogueofherrecenttrip toIceland;Skip Blanchard showed slidesofroadsidewildflowersfrom Please! Help a Grad Student thehill countryofTexas;Steve Clemantsshowed slides ofbizarreandwonderfulplantsfrom South Africa; OnlyoneLIBSmemberrespondedlastmonth to Wei Fang's Barbara Conolly talkedaboutherloveforbig trees and requestfor locationsoflargestandsofNorwayMaple concludedtheeveningbyreading threepoems shehad (Acerplatanoides)\andTreeofHeaven (Ailanthus composed. altissima) onL.I. and thegreatermetropolitanregion. Comeon! Please, shareyourknowledgeby contacting February Meeting. JohnTurnerpresentedaprogram WeiFangtoday attheDeptofEcology &Evolution, on thehistoryofthecranberryindustryon Long Island. SUNY atStony Brook, Stony Brook,NY 11794-5245 In 1870,WarrenHawkins andBullOverton ofBayport [tel: 516/216-2177; e-mail: [email protected]], experimentedwithcranberryplantcultivationwithhighly successfulresults. In 1885, twobrothers,M. H. and S. H. Plant Fossil Exhibit Woodhull,purchasedlandnearpresentdaySweezy's PondandWildwoodLakein Riverheadandbegan Dr.Andrew GrellerandMichaelGoudkethaveorganized preparing itforcranberrycultivation. By the 1920s, ten majorbogswerein operationonLongIsland. By 1965, anexhibitionofplantfossilsentitled,'A ForestBeneath only theoldDavidmarsh in Calvertonwas stillin OurFeet," attheQueensCollegeEnvironmentalCenterat CaumsettStateParkonLloydNeck, HuntingtonTownship. operation. In 1974, thisbog alsoceasedcommercial production. LongIsland's cranberrydays wereover. Plantfossils in thisexhibitionwerecollectedfrom the NorthShoreofLI,mainlyatCaumsett,butsomewerealso March Meeting. EricMorganpresenteda programon atPortWashington&GlenCove. Theoriginaldescription oftheseplantswasauthoredby ArthurW. Hollick in the historyof theClarkBotanicGardenlocatedin 1906as, "The CretaceousFlora cfSouthernNew Yak Albertson, Nassau County. The 12 acreGardenisthe andNewEngland,"publishedby theUnitedStates formerestateofGrenvillClark, anotedattorney,author, GeologicalSurvey as Volume 50 in itsmonographseries. and advisortopresidentFranklinD. Roosevelt. In 1966, Mr. Clarkdonatedhisproperty to theBrooklynBotanic Garden. Thesitewasdevelopedintoa "satellitegarden" Field Trips ofBBG,butduetofinancialresuaints thepropertywas eventuallydeededtotheTown ofNorthHempstead. [Please see the enclosedflier for specific information] Today, theGarden specializesin nativeplantrestoration, offersextensiveeducationalprograms,and maintains 22 May 1999(Saturday),9:00am. WittinghamTract, specialty gardensbeautifully complementedby pondsand Newton,NewJersey.Leader Otto Heck (908/996-2598). streams anda networkofgardenpaths. Focus: LimestoneSinkholes,Ferns,SpringWildflowers. April Meeting. DonRiepe presenteda programon the 19June 1999 (Saturday), 9:00am. WestHillsCounty naturalhistoryofJamaicaBayWildlifeRefuge. Don's Park, Huntington,SuffolkCounty. Leader:Tom Meoli spectacularphotographstold thestory of intricate (5161427-9458). Focus: Southern speciesofnaturalized biologicalinteractionsbetweenplantsand animals; wildflowersandtrees atWaltWhitman's formerstomping highlightsincludedinteractions amongbutterflies, birds groundsnearJayne'sHill. andplants. Naturalecological communitieswere discussedalong with "urbanecosystems" whichonly 10 July 1999 (Saturday),10:00am. WertheimNational recentlyhavebegunto be studied. The impactofmigra- WildlifeRefuge,borderingtheCarmansRiver,SuffolkCo.. tory andnestingbirdson urban society was discussed, Leader: Dr. Robert Parris. Focus: Vegetativere- withspecialemphasison theconflictbetweenthelarge sponses to therefuge's prescribedburn andmanagement colonyoflaughing gulls nestingin theextensivemarsh- program.FormoreinformationcontactAlLindbergat landsadjacenttoKennedyInternationalAirport 5161-571-8500(days) or5161922-0903 (evenings). L.I. Botanical Society May June, July 1999 Page 17 , LONG ISLAND BOTANICAL SOCIETY PROGRAMS Founded: 1986; Incorporated: 1989. TheLongblandBotanicalSociety isdedicatedtothepromotionof 11 May 1999 - 7:30 pm* fieldbotany andagreaterunderstandingoftheplantsthatgrow wildonLongIsland,NewYork Dr. Steven Clemants (Brooklyn Botanic Garden) President EricLamont ’’Lessons from an Urban Flora” VicePresident SkipBlanchard Treasurer CarolJohnston Location: Bill Patterson Nature Center, Rec'rdSec'y BarbaraConoily MuttontownPreserve,EastNorwich. Cor'spSec'y JohnPotente LocalFlora StevenClemants FieldTrip AllanLindberg TomMeoli Program JohnPotente 8 June 1999 - Annual LIBS Barbecue Membership LoisLindberg Lois & Allan Lindberg will host Conservation JohnTurner KarenBlumer this year's evening of activities Education Mary LauraLamont Location: Bill Patterson Nature Center, Thomas AllenStock Hospitality BenyLotowycz MuttontownPreserve, East Norwich, Jane Blanchard please see the enclosedflier Editor EricLamont forspecificinformation.] Membership MAenmnubaelrsdhuiepsiasreop$1e0n.toFaolrl,maenmdbewreshwiepl,cmoamkeeneyowumrecmhbeecrks.payable *Refreshments& informaltalkbeginat7:30pm, the toLONGISLANDBOTANICALSOCIETYandnailto:Lois 'meetingstarts at8pm. FordirectionstoMuttontown Lindberg,MembershipChairperson,45SandyHillRoad,Oyster Preservepleasecall516-571-8500. Bay,NY 11771-3111 LONGISLANDBOTANICALSOCIETY c/oMuttontown Preserve MuttontownLane EastNorwich,New York 11732 V LI. Botanical Society ' July 1999 Page 18