Poindexter Nature Preserve
Judd Road, Easton, Fairfield County, Connecticut
36 acres
Directions:
Merritt Parkway north for about 27 miles to exit 45; turn right onto Black Rock Turnpike (Route 58); drive north around 3.5 to make a right turn onto Westport Road (Route 136); keep heading straight and Westport Road will head into Stepney Road (Route 59). Follow Stepney Road to a left turn onto Judd Road; Judd Road will cross Maple Road; as soon as you reach Sky Line Drive on the left, drive 0.3 of a mile and park at a small pull-off at the Preserve on the right, near house #390.
Habitats:
pine forest, woods, wetlands (pond & streams), field
Trails:
9/23/2005. On a warm day, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I parked at the pull-off by the Preserve entrance. We took a look at the kiosk and studied the trail map there. The Preserve area has a long, narrow access to the northwest part of a rectangular area. A field is in the northwest, a white-blazed loop trail in the northeast, a stream and point in the central area, and a Pine Forest in the south. The white trail went through the northern part of the area and the red trail covered the Pine Forest to the south.
We decided to just follow the white trail down to the pond and then return. There are lots of invasive species along the access way. There were some informal paths going into the mass of invasives, but we stuck to the white trail. We reached the field at this point mainly of goldenrods with a few scattered trees. In the middle of the field is an engraved stone "In Memory of Elinor and George Poindexter" along with a small engraved stone "Helen Poindexter Morgan, 1902-2001."
We headed southeast through the field and then turned right to walk along a stone wall on our left. We made a left turned and now walked along a stone wall on our right. Made another quick left and headed east and southeast downhill. Crossed over a small stream over an almost dried-up stream. Started walking uphill from the little valley and reached the intersection with the red trail. Bore left heading east; Down the hill in the little valley I could see where there was supposed to be a small pond (kettle hole). But the pond was gone. It was all dried up in this season of drought (our N.Y. reservoirs are 1/3 lower than they should be.)
Reached the second intersection with the red trail. Turned left and headed downhill to cross a second bridge over the stream. I looked to my left and I could see the stone dam. I walked off trail to get a better look and to see if there was any water behind the dam. There was no water. Started walking up-hill but realized we were now starting the loop trail in the Preserve's northeast corner.
So we turned around and went back to the car. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plants blooming on field trip, 9/23/2005
Trees:
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Ostrya virginiana (American hop hornbeam)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Chimaphila maculata (striped wintergreen)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) -- lots of it
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus flagellaris (northern dewberry)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow) *
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Aster acuminatus (sharp-leaved aster) *
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster) *
Aster spp. (small white aster) *
Cirsium sp. (thistle)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink) *
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Hieracium sp. (hawkweed)
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Monotropa uniflora (Indian pipe)
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Prenanthes sp. (rattlesnake root) *
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan)
Rumex sp. (dock)
Satureja officinalis (wild basil)
Solidago caesia (blue-stem goldenrod) *
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell)
Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered type sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Ferns:
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)
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