Palmer H. Lewis Sanctuary
Rt. 121, Bedford, Westchester County, NY
24 acres

Directions:

From the intersection of Route 22 and 121 in Bedford, proceed north on Route 121 about 2.4 miles. Just after passing Pea Pond Road, you will see the Sanctuary entrance on the left.

History:

Owned by the Bedford Audubon Society (founded 1913).

Habitats:

upland area of a dry rocky hillside; a small field that is maintained for butterflies and bluebirds

Trails:
8/20/2003. With Lauren Christie and Sonar the Jack Russell Terrier, we parked along side the west side of Rt. 121 near the sign for the sanctuary. We walked northeast along the field and found an informal trail heading up the uphill territory. There are some great rock outcroppings and at times the walk is quite nice. There is a rock overhang on one large mountainy hill that could have been used as a rough cave in times gone by. We did not know where the trail would take us. We hoped it would be a circular trail but it turned out not to be. The informal trail took us north through a couple of stone walls and then roughly west parallel a stone wall and then downhill and to the north. It hooks up with a BRLA trail (Bedford Riding Lanes Association). The trail went off to the left at a fork through a swampy area but we followed the informal trail off to the right. It, however, did not lead us back to the parking area, but rather to someone's backyard. So we just retraced our steps to the parking area. (We had our lunch on the bench in front of the Village Green Deli in Bedford.)

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plants found in bloom on 8/20/2003

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Castanea dentata (American chestnut)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Ostrya virginiana (American hop hornbeam)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Chimaphila maculata (striped wintergreen)
Cornus racemosa (gray dogwood)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (shiny dewberry)
Vaccinium pallidum (hillside blueberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow) *
Actaea alba (doll's eyes)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster) *
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle) *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)
Euphorbia cyparissias (cypress spurge)
Galium circaezens (wild licorice)
Galium mollugo (wild madder)
Hieracium sp. (hawkweed)
Lapsana communis (nipplewort) *
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil) *
Lysimachia quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife)
Medicago lupulina (black medick) *
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) *
Monotropa uniflora (Indian pipe)
Oxalis sp. (Yellow wood sorrel) *
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain) *
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil)
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Rumex acetosella (field sorrel)
Satureja vulgaris (wild basil)
Solanum carolinense (horse nettle) *
Trifolium arvense (rabbit foot clover) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)

Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Dulichium arundinaceum (three-way sedge)

Grasses:
Brachyelytrum erectum (long-awned woodgrass)
Cinna arundinacea (wood reedgrass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Eragrostis spectabilis (purple lovegrass)
Leersia virginiana (white grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Phleum pratense (Timothy grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Setaria sp. (foxtail grass)
Tridens flavus (purple top grass)

Ferns:
Adiantum pedatum (maidenhair fern)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Thelypteris hexagonoptera (broad beech fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)