Jennings Beach
South Benson Road and Beach Road, Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut
No Dogs, April 1 to October 1.
Directions:
I-95 north to Exit 22; turn right onto Beach Drive; turn left onto Boston Post Road (Route 1); turn right onto South Benson Road; keep following the road as it bends left; follow it to its end to make a right turn into the entrance area of the beach. Park in the large parking lot.
Facilities:
Saltwater beach, swimming, phone, food concession, rest rooms, admission/parking fee, picnic area, boat launch and marina, fishing pier, hiking trails, walking paths, playground, and volleyball court.
Trails:
11/12/2005. On a cool, but clear day, Rosemary Cooney, Sarah-David Rosenbaum, Ceferino Santana and dog Sonar parked in the humongous parking lot by the beach. The beach has some fenced off dune areas. We examined these for a while and then examined the small piece of woods in back of the parking area. There are some small, informal trails in these woods. Took a plant list for the dunes and woods. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick Cooney, Sarah-David Rosenbaum, Rosemary Cooney
* = plant blooming on date of field trip, 11/12/2005
Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Castanea sp. (chestnut)
Catalpa sp. (catalpa)
Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Ligustrum sp. (privet) usually a shrub, but not this time.
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Picea pungens var. glauca (blue spruce)
Pinus thunbergii (Japanese black pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Salix alba var. (weeping willow)
Salix sp. (willow)
Shrubs:
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Myrica pensylvanica (bayberry)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rosa virginiana (Virginia rose)
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum)
Vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (porcelainberry)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Clematis terniflora (sweet autumn clematis)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Artemisia caudata (tall wormwood)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Chelidonium majus (celandine)
Conyza canadensis (horseweed)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting)
Lechea sp. (pinweed)
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper) *
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Polygonum lapathifolium (nodding smartweed)
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Saponariaofficinalis (bounding bet)
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)
Solidago sempervirens (seaside goldenrod)
Taraxacum sp. (dandelion) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Yucca filamentosa (Adam's needle)
(tansy-like plant)
Sedges:
Cyperus strigosus (umbrella sedge)
Grasses:
Ammophila breviligulata (beach grass)
Eragrostis spectabilis (purple love grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Panicum virgatum (switch grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Setaria faberi (nodding foxtail grass)
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