St. Mary's By-The-Sea
Grovers Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut
9 acres
Parking Permit required during season.
Directions:
Merritt Pkwy./Rte. 15, Exit 48.
Facilities:
Walking area.
Trails:.
11/19/2005. On a cold, windy afternoon, Rosemary Cooney, Sarah-David Rosenbaum, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I parked along the road at St. Marys by the Sea. This is more of an urban walkway with a vegetation strip of planted trees. The walkway is in part asphalt, but along the sea wall it is concrete. It is a short walk, but more interesting because of its location right on the Long Island Sound with its great views. One can plainly see the nearby Black Rock Lighthouse on Fayerweather Island , part of Seaside Park in Bridgeport. One saving grace is that there is a small triangular piece of land that is somewhat of a beach. When we were there there were several people fishing here. This area is where Ash Creek flows into Long Island Sound. On this flat piece of land the three dominant species are bouncing bet, seaside goldenrod and mugwort. Most of the vegetation is virtually flat on the ground, except for the seaside goldenrod.
There is here a small piece of woods at the western side of the walk, across Grovers Avenue. We walked around and through the middle to pick up a few more plant species. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney and Sarah-David Rosenbaum
* = plants blooming on field trip, 11/19/2005
Trees:
Acer negundo (box elder)
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Pinus thunbergii (Japanese black pine)
Platanus sp. (sycamore) planted
Populus sp. (poplar)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Iva frutescens (marsh elder)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (porcelainberry)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)
Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster cordifolius (heart-leaved aster) *
Aster spp. (aster)
Atriplex hastata (halberd-leaved orach)
Atriplex patula (orach)
Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Erigeron sp. (fleabane) *
Galium sp. (bedstraw)
Lathyrus maritimus (beach pea)
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Limonium carolinianum (sea lavender)
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs)
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Potentilla sp. (cinquefoil)
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Saponaria officinalis (bouncing bet)
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)
Solidago sempervirens (salt marsh goldenrod) *
Taraxacum sp. (dandelion) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Grasses:
Ammophila breviligulata (beach grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Panicum virgatum (switch grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reedgrass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)
Spartina alterniflora (salt marsh cordgrass)
Spartina patens (salt hay cordgrass)
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