Colonial Park
Rt. 39/37, Sherman Township, Fairfield County, Connecticut
67 acres
Directions:
US 84 east to exit 5; turn left onto Route 39 north; drive 17.9 miles on Route 39 to Sherman center; on the right, turn into the driveway that is jointly shared by the Holy Trinity Catholic Church and Colonial Park. The driveway is across from the mailbox for house #22. Bear right for the parking lot for Colonial Park.
Facilities:
2 soccer fields
Trails:
The trail connects Colonial Park with Town Park.
7/22/2005. On a hot day, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I did some botanizing at Colonial Park in Sherman. There is a large field by the parking lot. On the right, we took the blue trail heading south from the field. The blue trail turned right to head southwest. Just as we were about to make the left turn (east), three unleashed dogs descended on us and I had to intervene to prevent a dog fight. (So many of these dog owners are completely thoughtless and even when the rules specifically state No Unleashed Dogs, they have their dogs off-leash. How many times have I had to stop to deal with these unleashed dogs! I love dogs, but not their masters.)
We came to the junction of the red, white, and blue trails. (The white trails are connecting trails.) Nearby we noticed a fourth color (not shown on the trail map at the kiosk), green. We did not have much time and did not follow it. (My thought is that this is the trail that heads down to the Town Park.)
We picked up the red trail heading left (north). With a short walk we came to a small pond on the left. The pond had a lot of burreed in it, along with some cattail and ditch stonecrop. We also noticed that there is a large swamp in the center of of the trail system. We did not explore the swamp, although we would undoubtedly find more plant species for the plant list.
With a little more walking we reached the other side of the field from where we started. We walked along the perimeter of the field to reach our car. We enjoyed the short walk. I will have to come back and walk the green trail. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plants blooming on date of field trip, 7/22/2005.
Trees:
Acer pensylvanicum (striped maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Carya glabra (pignut hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust)
Juglans nigra (black walnut)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Populus grandidentata (big-tooth aspen)
Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)
Shrubs and sub-shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Chimaphila maculata (striped wintergreen) *
Cornus racemosa (gray dogwood)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Salix sp. (willow)
Vaccinium angustifolium (low bush blueberry)
Vaccinium pallidum (hillside blueberry)
Vinca minor (periwinkle)
Vincetoxicum nigrum (black swallowwort)
Vines:
Apios americana (groundnut)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)
Vitis riparia (riverbank grape)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow) *
Actaea rubra (red baneberry)
Agrimonia gryposepala (common agrimony) *
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) *
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Anemone virginiana (thimbleweed)
Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias tuberosa (orange butterflyweed) *
Aster spp. (asters)
Bidens frondosa (devil's beggar ticks)
Cardamine impatiens (narrow-leaved bittercress)
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) *
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) *
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink) *
Desmodium glutinosum (pointed-leaved tick trefoil) *
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) *
Eupatorium maculatum (spotted Joe-Pye-weed) *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)
Galium aparine (cleavers)
Galium mollugo (wild madder) *
Geum canadense (white avens) *
Hackelia virginiana (Virginia stickseed)
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket) * 1 bloom
Hypericum sp. (St. Johnswort)
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed) *
Lactuca canadensis (wild lettuce)
Lemna sp. (duckweed)
Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort) *
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Ludwigia palustris (water purslane)
Lysimachia ciliata (fringed loosestrife) *
Lysimachia quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife)
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) *
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Medicago lupulina (black medick) *
Medicago sativa sub. sativa (alfalfa) *
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) *
Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot) *
Penthorum sedoides (ditch stonecrop)
Phryma leptostachya (lopseed) *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum pubescens (hairy true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Prenanthes altissima (tall white lettuce)
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal) *
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan) *
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Satureja vulgaris (wild basil) *
Silene latifolia (white campion) *
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (tall goldenrod)
Sparganium sp. (burreed) * lots at the pond
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadowrue) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Trifolium repens (white clover) *
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Verbena urticifolia (white vervain)
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell)
Sedges:
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)
Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)
Phleum pratense (Timothy grass)
Poa annua (annual bluegrass)
Ferns and Fern Allies:
Lycopodium clavatum (running pine)
Lycopodium obscurum (ground pine)
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Thelypteris palustris (marsh fern)
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