Ericaceae at Trail View State Park and other Plants of Interest
Who knew you could so this! What an awesome feature!
At Trail View State park in Cold Spring Harbor, the acidic sloping woodlands are filled with members of the ericaceae. Interesting forest type made predominantly of sweet birch (Betula lenta), white oak (Quercus alba), and white pine (Pinus stobus). Mixed in were stands of tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera), chestnut oaks (Quercus montana), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Many areas had a developed understory of the ericaceae, including mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), great laurel (Rhododendron maximum), an unknown blueberry/bearberry/huckleberry species (Vaccinium spp. maybe), and a special treat near the end of the trail where it crosses the road, trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens). Scattered throughout the areas where hardwoods were dominant over the pines and spruces, American hornbeam stood here and there (Carpinus croliniana). In the areas where the conifers were dominant, the forest floor was covered in mosses and lichen. I am by no means an expert in this region, but I believe I observed delicate fern moss, crustose lichens, and pincushion mosses.
There were few invasive species in this healthy forest. I saw one multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), periwinkle (Vinca major), and a few tree-of-heavens near the top of a ridge on the property line (Ailanthus altissima). Overall, I was very impressed with the health and beauty of this forest. It is defiantly a place to visit in a few months when all of the rhododendrons and laurels are blooming. Maybe I will even catch the arbutus blooming. It was just about making flower buds when I observed it.
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