Gritman Pond
Warren, Litchfield County, Connecticut

Directions:

From the intersection of Route 7 and Route 341 in Kent village, drive 6.2 miles on Route 341 east to a left turn onto Brick School Road (which goes north then east, then north again and east again).  Drive 2.2 miles (just north of the Warren Woods Town Park.  On the second north stretch, around E. Greenwich Road on the left, there is a small pull-off on the right side of the road.

Geology/Topography:

The outlet from Gritman Pond heads northwest over to Kent Falls Brook, which heads southwest through the southeast corner of Wyantenock State Forest.  Kent Falls Brook heads west and then northwest to the Housatonic River.

Trails:

8/19/2005.  We were disappointed  to find the Warren Woods Town Park to be located near Gritman Pond and  not open to non-residents.  I thought access to Gritman Pond was totally blocked.  But as we drove up the road a little ways, we saw an opening in the wall of vegetation.  We pulled up onto-the pull-off and then went up into the field by the woods edge and parked. 

I had Cefe wait in the car with dog Sonar until I figured out if there was access to any trails or to Gritman Pond.  On the right side of the field I found a small trail.  I walked down the path for a short ways and saw a big pond in the distance and realized it was the Gritman Pond.  So I walked back to the car to get Cefe and Sonar.  We walked over to the Pond.  It looked like we were somewhat close to the Warren Woods facilities, so we just stayed on the trail, walking away from the facilities and heading along the pond perimeter (until the trail just stopped).  It was a short trip.  We turned around to head back the way we came in.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney. 

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = blooming on 8/19/2005

Trees:
Acer pensylvanicum (striped maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula papyrifera (white birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Castanea dentata (American chestnut)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Corylus sp. (hazel)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Rhododendron viscosum (swamp azalea)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry)
Salix sp. (willow)
Spiraea alba var. latifolia (meadowsweet)     *
Vaccinium angustifolium (low bush blueberry)
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum)

Vines:
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)   
Aegopodium podagraria (goutweed)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)     *
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack in the pulpit)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Bidens spp. (beggar tick)
Cardamine impatiens (narrow-leaved bittercress) 
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy)     *
Cicuta maculata (common water hemlock)     *
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)     *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)     *
Epilobium coloratum (purple-leaved willowherb)     *
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane)     *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)     *
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry)
Galium spp. (bedstraw))
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)    
Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco)     *
Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil)     *
Lycopus sp. (bugleweed)
Lysimachia ciliata (fringed loosestrife)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Mimulus ringens (monkey flower)     *
Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot)     *
Nuphar variegata (spatterdock)     *
Nymphaea odorata (white water lily)     *
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel)     *
Penthorum sedoides (ditch stonecrop)     *
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum sp. (true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed)     *
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb)     *
Potamogeton sp. (pondweed)
Potentilla norvegica (rough cinquefoil)
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal)     *
Ranunculus hispidus var. caricetorium (swamp buttercup)  
Rhododendron periclymenoides (pinxter flower)
Scutellaria lateriflora (mad-dog skullcap)     *
Sedum telephioides (garden sedum)
Silene vulgaris (bladder campion)     *
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)     *
Solidago gigantea (late goldenrod)     *
Sparganium sp. (burreed)
Stellaria pubera (star chickweed)     *
Trientalis borealis (starflower)
Trifolium pratense (red clover)     *
Trifolium repens (white clover)     *

Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Sedges:
Carex crinita (fringed sedge)
Carex lurida (sallow sedge)
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)
Eleocharis sp. (spikerush)
Scirpus atrovirens (dark-green bulrush)

Grasses:
Cinna arundinacea (wood reed grass)
Digitaria ischaemum (smooth crab grass)
Glyceria sp. (mannagrass)
Leersia oryzoides (rice-cut grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Lycopodium obscurum (ground pine)
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)

Others:
Sphagnum sp. (sphagnum moss)

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