Taylor Farm Park
Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut
Directions:
Heading north on I-95 north, get off at Exit 16; turn right onto East Avenue; turn left onto Cemetery Street and right onto Gregory Boulevard; turn left onto Marvin Street and right onto Calf Pasture Beach Road; turn left onto Canfield Avenue; Taylor Farm Park is at the intersection of Calf Pasture Beach Road and Canfield Avenue; drive to the southeast corner of the park (down the road from Spruce Swamp Pond on the left) and park on the left in the parking area.
9/17/2005. The weathermen said it would rain, but it did not. So on a nice day weatherwise, Rosemary Cooney, Ceferino Santana, Sarah-David Rosenbaum, dog Sonar and I toured the Taylor Farm Park. We had dried to investigate Calf Pasture Beach and Shady Beach, but no dogs are allowed and one must have a residence permit. No such restrictions applied to the nearby Taylor Farm Park.
The area is mostly lawn, but there are also woods edge, a small woods and Spruce Swamp Pond. We walked along the woods edge on the right and then went into the woods and back out on the other end back onto lawn area. We had to stay out of the way of a fellow hitting golf balls. Walked over to the southwestern corner of the park to see the pond area.
There was a mass of dogs without leashes and this annoyed me at first. But then we realized that everyone here let's their dogs run wild. Rosemary took Sonar over to the pond and let our dog loose. She told me he had a terrific time having the other dogs chase him around. Sarah-David and I did not see much of it because we had our noses in the books and our eyes glued to the flowers on the ground. We were surprised to see quite a few salt marsh/beach type plant species around the pond.
From the pond we walked back to the car.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney and Sarah-David Rosenbaum
* = plants blooming on field trip, 9/17/2005
Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Celtis occidentalis (American hackberry)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus malus (apple)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Ulmus sp. (elm)
Shrubs:
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged sumac)
Iva frutescens (marsh elder)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (porcelainberry) -- a big problem here
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honey suckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Polygonum scandens (climbing false bindweed)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Herbs:
Acalypha sp. (three-seeded mercury)
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Amaranthus sp. (amaranth)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) *
Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed)
Arctium minus (common burdock)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster spp. (small white aster) *
Atriplex patula (orach)
Bidens frondosa (beggar ticks) *
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle) *
Commelina communis (Asiatic dayflower) *
Conyza canadensis (horseweed)
Euphorbia maculata (spotted spurge)
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod) *
Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort)
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Limonium carolinianum (sea lavender) *
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) *
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) *
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain) *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum sp. (true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Polygonum lapathifolium (nodding smartweed) *
Polygonum pensylvanicum (Pennsylvania smartweed) *
Potentilla argentea (silvery cinquefoil)
Portulaca oleracea (common purslane)
Rorippa sylvestris (creeping yellowcress) *
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Salicornia sp. (glasswort)
Sedum telephioides (garden sedum)
Silene latifolia (white campion) *
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)
Solanum nigrum (black nightshade) *
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (tall goldenrod) *
Solidago rugosa (rough-leaved goldenrod) *
Solidago sempervirens (salt marsh goldenrod) *
Spergularia marina (salt marsh sand spurrey) *
Suaeda linearis (tall sea blite)
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)
Sedges:
Cyperus strigosus (umbrella sedge)
Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Digitaria sp. (crab grass)
Echinochloa sp. (barnyard grass)
Eleusine indica (zipper grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reedgrass)
Poa sp. (blue grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)
Tridens flavus (purple top grass)
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