WESTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
Danbury, Fairfield County, CT
Directions:
From the NYC area, take US 684 north, to US 84 east, to exit 2; at end of ramp turn left and then at next light turn right onto Mill Plain Road. Proceed 2-3 miles to the campus entrance (on the left). Take University Blvd. to its end where parking is available along the road.
You can also go to the official website at:
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Frank J. Dye and Torrey Botanical Society
Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple) 5/11/97
Acer rubrum (red maple) 4/28/96
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Amelanchier sp. (shadbush) 4/28/96
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Castanea dentata (American chestnut)
Catalpa bignonioides (southern catalpa)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash) --
Juglans nigra (black walnut)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar) --
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Morus alba (white mulberry) --
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Picea rubra (red spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Populus alba (white poplar)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)
Prunus pensylvanica (pin cherry) -- 5/11/97
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus malus (apple) 5/11/97
Quercus alba (white oak) --
Quercus bicolor (swamp white oak) --
Quercus rubra (red oak) --
Quercus velutina (black oak) --
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac) --
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac) --
Salix babylonica (weeping willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock) --
Ulmus americana (American elm) --
Ulmus rubra (slippery elm) --
Shrubs:
Alnus incana v. americana (speckled alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) -- 5/11/97
Chimaphila maculata (striped wintergreen)
Corylus americana (American hazel)
Cornus amomum (silky or swamp dogwood)
Cornus racemosa (gray-stem dogwood)
Cornus sericea (red-osier dogwood)
Corylus cornuta (beaked hazel-nut)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn-olive) 5/11/97
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus) --
Hamamelis virginiana (witch-hazel) --
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly) --
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) -- 5/11/97
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honey suckle)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry) --
Myrica pensylvanica (northern bayberry)
Rhododendron periclymenoides (pinkster flower)
Ribes sativum (garden currant) --
Rosa carolina (pasture rose) -- 7/24/99
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose) --
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry) --
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry) --
Rubus sp. (black berry) --
Salix discolor (pussy willow) -- 4/28/96
Sambucus canadensis (elderberry) --
Spiraea alba var. latifolia (meadowsweet) -- 7/24/99
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry) -- 5/11/97
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum) --
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) --
Viburnum lentago (sweet or nannyberry viburnum) --
Viburnum plicatum (double-file viburnum) -- 9/26/98
Viburnum sieboldii (Siebold's viburnum) --
Vinca minor (periwinkle) -- 4/28/96 5/11/97
Vines:
Akebia quinata (akebia) Lardizabalaceae 063
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Apios americana (groundnut)
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asian bittersweet)
Clematis virginiana (virgin's bower)
Cuscuta gronovii (dodder) -- 7/24/99
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Polygonum scandens (climbing false buckwheat) --
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade) --
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy) --
Vitis aestivalis (summer grape) --
Vitis labrusca (fox grape) --
Herbs:
Acalypha rhomboidea (three-seeded mercury)
Achillea millefolium (yarrow) -- 7/24/99
Actaea alba (doll's eyes)
Agalinis purpurea (smooth or purple agalinis) 9/26/98
Agrimonia gryposepala (agrimony) -- 7/24/99
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) -- 5/11/97
Allium tricoccum (wild leek or ramps)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed)
Anemone quinquefolia (wood anemone) 4/28/96 5/11/97
Anemonella thalictroides (rue anemone) 4/28/96 5/11/97
Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp dogbane) 7/24/99
Arabis laevigata (smooth rockcress) 5/11/97
Arctium minus (common burdock)
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-pulpit) 5/11/97
Artemesia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asarum canadense (wild ginger)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)
Asparagus officinalis (asparagus)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster) -- 9/26/98
Aster laevis (smooth aster) -- 9/26/98
Aster novae-angliae (New England aster) -- 9/26/98
Aster racemosus (small-headed aster) 9/26/98
Aster umbellatus (tall flat-topped white aster) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Barbarea vulgaris (common wintercress) -- 5/11/97
Caltha palustris marsh marigold 4/28/96 5/11/97
Cardamine diphylla (common toothwort) -- 5/11/97
Caulophyllum thalictroides (blue cohosh) 4/28/96
Centaurea jacea (brown knapweed) -- 7/24/99
Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) 9/26/98
Chelidonium majus (celandine) 5/11/97 9/26/98
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) -- 7/24/99
Cichorium intybus (chicory) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Cicuta maculata (water hemlock)
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)
Coronilla varia (crown vetch) -- 9/26/98
Cypripedium calceolus (yellow lady's slipper)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Desmodium canadense (tick-trefoil) -- 7/24/99
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Draba verna (whitlow grass) -- 5/11/97
Epilobium sp. (wllow herb) -- 9/26/98
Epipactis helleborine (helleborine orchid) --
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pileweed) --
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Erythronium americanum (trout lily) -- 4/28/96
Eupatorium rugosum (white snake root) -- 9/26/98
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod) -- 7/24/99
Fragaria virginiana (common strawberry) -- 5/11/97
Galium aparine (cleavers)
Galium asprellum (rough bedstraw) --
Galium circaezens (wild licorice) --
Galium lanceolatum (wild licorice) --
Galium mollugo (wild madder) -- 7/24/99
Gentiana clausa (bottle gentian) -- 9/26/98
Gentiana crinita (fringed gentian) -- 9/26/98
Gentianopsis crinita (fringed gentian) --
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium) -- 5/11/97
Geum sp. (avens)
Glechoma hederacea (gill over the ground) -- 5/11/97
Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting or fragrant cudweed) -- 9/26/98
Hepatica americana (round-lobed hepatica)
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket) --
Hypericum punctatum (spotted St. Johnswort) -- 7/24/99
Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow star grass) -- 7/24/99
Impatiens capensis (jewelweed) -- 9/26/98
Iris versicolor (blue flag iris)
Lactuca canadensis (wild lettuce) -- 7/24/99
Lamium amplexicaule (henbit) -- 4/28/96 5/11/97
Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort)
Lepidium campestre (field peppergrass) 4/28/96
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Lespedeza capitata (round-headed bush clover)
Lespedeza cuneata (Chinese bush clover) -- 9/26/98
Linaria vulgaris (butter-and-eggs) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco) -- 9/26/98
Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia) -- 9/26/98
Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Ludwigia palustris (common water purslane) --
Lysimachia ciliata (fringed loosestrife) -- 7/24/99
Lysimachia nummularia (moneywort loosestrife)
Lysimachia quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife) --
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower) --
Medeola virginiana (Indian cucumberroot) --
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Monotropa hypopithys (pine sap) -- 7/24/99
Monotropa uniflora (Indian pipe) -- 7/24/99
Narcissus sp. (daffodils) 4/28/96
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) --
Orobanche uniflora (one-flowered cancerroot)
Osmorhiza claytonii (sweet cicely)
Oxalis stricta (yellow wood sorrel) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Pedicularis canadensis (wood betony or forest lousewort) 5/11/97
Penthorum sedoides (ditch stonecrop) --
Phlox sp. (garden phlox) an escape 9/26/98
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Plantago major (common plantain) -- 7/24/99
Polygonatum biflorum (true Solomon's seal) 5/11/97
Polygonatum pubescens (hairy Solomon's seal) --
Polygonum arenastrum (dooryard knotweed) -- 9/26/98
Polygonum arifolium (halberd-leaved tearthumb) -- 9/26/98
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose knotweed) -- 9/26/98
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb) -- 9/26/98
Polygonum virginianum (Virginia knotweed) --
Portulaca oleracea (common purslane) --
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil) -- 5/11/97
Potentilla norvegica (cinquefoil) -- 7/24/99
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil) --
Prenanthes altissima (tall white lettuce) -- 9/26/98
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Pycnanthemum muticum (mountain mint) -- 7/24/99
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (narrow-leaved mountain mint) -- 7/24/99
Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaved crowfoot) -- 5/11/97
Ranunculus hispidus (hispid buttercup) -- 5/11/97
Ranunculus hispidus v caricetorium (swamp buttercup) -- 5/11/97
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan) -- 7/24/99
Rumex acetosella (sheep sorrel)
Rumex crispus (curled dock) --
Rumex obtusifolius (broad-leaved dock) --
Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot) -- 4/28/96
Satureja vulgaris (wild basil) -- 9/26/98
Saxifraga pensylvanica (swamp saxifrage) -- 5/11/97 close to bloom
Scutellaria lateriflora (maddog skullcap) --
Senecio aureus (golden ragwort) -- 5/11/97
Senecio vulgaris (groundsel) -- 4/28/96
Silene latifolia (white campion) -- 7/24/99
Solanum carolinense (horse nettle nightshade) --
Solanum nigrum (black nightshade) --
Solidago bicolor (silverrod goldenrod) -- 9/26/98
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (goldenrod)
Solidago juncea (early goldenrod) -- 7/24/99
Solidago rugosa (rough-stemmed goldenrod) -- 9/26/98
Solidago caesia (blue-stemmed goldenrod) -- 9/26/98
Spiranthes cernua (nodding ladies' tresses) -- 9/26/98
Spirodela polyrhiza --
Stellaria media (common stitchwort) 4/28/96
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage) --
Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) -- 5/11/97 9/26/98
Thalictrum dioicum (early meadowrue)
Thallictrum pubescens (tall meadow rue)
Trientalis borealis (starflower)
Trifolium arvense (rabbit-foot clover)
Trifolium campestre (hop clover) -- 7/24/99
Trifolium hybridum (alsike clover) -- 7/24/99
Trifolium pratense (red clover) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Trifolium repens (white clover) -- 7/24/99 9/26/98
Trillium erectum (red trillium) -- 4/28/96 5/11/97
Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot) -- (in seed) 5/11/97
Uvularia sp. (bellwort) --
Veratrum viride (swamp hellebore)
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein) -- 7/24/99
Verbena hastata (blue vervain)
Verbena urticifolia (white vervain)
Vernonia noveboracensis (New York ironweed) --
Veronica serpyllifolia (thyme-leaved speedwell) -- 5/11/97
Veronica arvensis (corn speedwell) -- 5/11/97
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell) --
Viola blanda (sweet white violet) -- 4/28/96
Viola conspersa (dog violet) -- 4/28/96 5/11/97
Viola sororia (common blue violet)
Viola macloskeyi (northern white violet) -- 5/11/97
Viola cucullata (marsh blue violet) -- 5/11/97
Zizia aurea (golden alexanders)
Rushes:
Juncus effusus (soft rush) --
Juncus tenuis (path rush) --
Luzula multiflora (wood rush) -- 5/11/97
Sedges:
Carex laxiflora (sack sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Carex stricta (tussock sack sedge)
Carex vulpinoidea
Eleocharis ovata (spike rush)
Scirpus atrovirens (dark-green bulrush)
Scirpus cyperinus (wool grass bulrush) --
Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass) 5/11/97
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Digitaria ischaemum (smooth crabgrass) --
Echinochloa crus-galli (barnyard grass) --
Leersia virginica (white grass) --
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue panic grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Poa annua (annual bluegrass) -- 5/11/97 9/26/98
Poa pratensis (Kentucky blue grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass) --
Ferns and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail) --
Lycopodium digitatum (southern ground cedar) cedar-like;
Lycopodium obscurum (ground pine or tree club moss) -- pine-like
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal wood fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern) --
Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern)
Osmunda regalis (royal fern) --
Polypodium sp. (rock cap fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)
Thelypteris palustris (marsh beech fern)
Others:
Sphagnum sp. (sphagnum moss)
Westside Nature Preserve, Western Connecticut State University,
Danbury, Connecticut. April 28, 1996.
The Westside Nature Preserve currently consists of 7.5 surveyed
acres. Recently, the Board of Trustees for the Connecticut State
University established the preserve as a center, thus ensuring
that it will be incorporated into any future strategic planning
of the university. Much of the preserve is wetland, including a
small brook. Some of the area is quite dry, consisting of an oak
woodland. There is artifactual material present in the field (stone
walls and barbed wire) indicating that this land has been farmed
in the past. Also, none of the trees, at least away from the
stone walls, appear to be more than 75-100 years old. The quality
of the building stones found at the northern end of the preserve
indicate that at least a portion of this campus was an expensive
private residence.
The brook that runs through the WNP flows off campus and joins
Kohanza Brook and, successively, the Still River, the Housatonic
River, and Long Island Sound. Since this northward flowing brook
originates from springs on campus, the university has the ability
to control the quality of the preserve's water. Currently,
undergraduate and graduate students are carrying out bioassays
and physical/chemical analyses of the brook. Along the course of
this little waterway are found skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus
foetidus), Indian poke (Veratrum viride), spicebush (Lindera
benzoin), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), liverworts, and a
variety of ferns.
As the brook traverses the WNP it intersects with a (gas) utility
clearcut, which traverses the preserve at right angles to it.
This clearcut provides us with a perpetual meadow, bearing in the
fall bottle gentian, fringed gentian, and asters. During the
field trip it exhibited last year's giant reed grass (Phragmites
australis) and this year's burgeoning green shoots of male and
female pussywillows (Salix discolor), going to seed. Along the
clearcut's drier areas autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), meadow
sweet (Spiraea alba var. latifolia) and hickory saplings were
coming into leaf. Last yar's bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
leaves were also found. On one of the down-slopes hay-scented
fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) was unravelling; later bracken
fern (Pteridium aquilinum) and marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris)
are found on the clearcut.
Conspicuous stratifications of barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and
winged euonymous (Euonymus alatus) partially fill the adjacent woodlands.
All three fern species of the Osmundaceae are found, royal (Osmunda
regalis), cinnamon (O. cinnamomea), and interrupted (O.
claytoniana). There were areas carpeted with Canada mayflower (Maianthemum
canadense), in bud, and wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia), in
flower. Others species in bloom included rue anemone (Anemonella
thalictroides), trout lily (Erythronium americanum), red
trillium (Trillium erectum), blue cohosh (Caulophyllum
thalictroides), marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), and bloodroot
(Sanguinaria canadensis), as well as two violet species, dog
violet (Viola conspersa) and sweet white violet (Viola blanda).
Attendance at this joint trip of the Torrey Botanical Society and
the Connecticut Botanical Society was 10. The leader was Dr.
Frank J. Dye, professor of biology at Western Connecticut State
University.
Westside Nature Preserve, Western Connecticut State University,
Danbury, Connecticut. May 11, 1997.
The Westside Nature Preserve grew more than four hundred percent,
from 7.5 acres to 33 acres. The land contains wetlands, including
a small brook, as well as dry oak woodland. The day of the
botanical trip was clear but a little chilly, especially when the
wind blew. Over forty species were in bloom in the preserve and
the nearby Charles Ives Nature Preserve.
The trees in bloom included Acer platanoides, Prunus pensylvanica,
and Pyrus malus, while the blooming shrubs were Berberis
thunbergii, Lindera benzoin, and Vaccinium corymbosum. The many
spring ephemerals and other blooming herbaceous plants included
Alliaria petiolata, Anemone quinquefolia, Anemonella
thalictroides, Arabis laevigata, Arisaema triphyllum, Barbarea
vulgaris, Caltha palustris, Chelodium majus, Denataria diphylla,
Draba verna, Fragaria virginiana, Geranium maculatum, Glechoma
hederacea, Lamium amplexicaule, Luzula multiflora, Pedicularis
canadensis, Polygonatum biflorum, Potentilla canadensis,
Ranunculus abortivus, R. hispidus, and R. hispidus v.
caricetorium, Senecio aureus, Taraxacum officinale, Trillium
erectum, Veronica arvense and V. serpyllifolia, Vinca minor, and
lots of violets, including Viola blanda, V. conspersa, V.
cucullaria, V. mackoskeyi, and V. sororia. A special treat was
finding swamp saxifrage (Saxifraga pensylvanica), which some of
the attendees had never seen in the wild before. It was not yet
blooming, but probably would bloom in another week or so. The
caretakers of the preserve transplanted yellow lady's slippers (Cypripedium
calceolus) and the group found the hairy leaves of this plant.
Grasses included Anthoxanthum odoratum, Dactylis glomerata, Panicum clandestinum, Poa annua and P. pratensis. Total attendance at this joint trip of the Torrey Botanical Society and the Connecticut Botanical Society on Mother's Day was 5. The leader was Dr. Frank J. Dye, professor of biology at Western Connecticut State University.
Westside Nature Preserve, Western Connecticut State University (Westside
Campus), Danbury, Fairfield County, CT, September 26,1998
On a gorgeous day, members of the Torrey Botanical Society
visited fields, woods, and a pond at the Westside Nature Preserve
and adjacent Charles Ives Center for the Performing Arts. The
first habitat visited was the meadow along a gas line cut. The
highlight of the day were the two gentians in this area: Gentiana
clausa (closed or bottle gentian) and Gentianopsis crinita (fringed
gentian). As is typical of the fall, a number of asters were in
bloom in the field and other areas, including Aster divaricatus (white
wood aster), A. laevis (smooth aster), A. novae-angliae (New
England aster), A. racemosus (small-headed aster), and A.
umbellatus (tall flat-topped white aster). Other plants found in
bloom in the field were Agalinis purpurea (purple gerardia),
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed), Cichorium intybus (chicory),
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace), Dianthus armeria (Deptford
pink), Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting), Linaria
vulgaris (butter-and-eggs), Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil),
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal), Solidago rugosa (rough-stemmed
goldenrod), and Spiranthes cernua (nodding ladies' tresses).
Plants not in bloom in the field included Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn-olive),
Lespedeza capitata (round-headed bush clover), Pycnanthemum
tenuifolium (narrow-leaved mountain mint), and Salix discolor (pussy
willow). A number of vines were located in the woods bordering
the fields including Apios americana (groundnut), Clematis
virginiana (virgin's bower), and Polygonum scandens (climbing
false buckwheat).
In bloom along the edges of the wood trails were Chelidonium
majus (celandine), Eupatorium rugosum (white snake root),
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose knotweed), Prenanthes altissima (tall
white lettuce), a few blooms of Satureja vulgaris (wild basil),
and Solidago bicolor (silverrod goldenrod) and S. caesia (blue-stemmed
goldenrod). Other plants included the red berries of Maianthemum
canadense (Canada mayflower) and Viburnum sieboldii (Siebold's
viburnum). In addition, there were lots of Euonymus alatus (winged
euonymus) in fruit.
In the wet areas along the wooded trails were found in bloom
Epilobium sp. (willow herb), only one bloom of Impatiens capensis
(jewelweed), and Polygonum arifolium (halberd-leaved tearthumb)
and P. sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb). A standout in this
area was Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly) with its beautiful
red berries. Other plants included Alnus incana v. americana (speckled
alder), Penthorum sedoides (ditch stonecrop) Ranunculus hispidus
var. caricetorium (swamp buttercup), Scutellaria lateriflora (maddog
skullcap), Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadow rue), and Viburnum
lentago (sweet or nannyberry viburnum). In the more open areas
were found in bloom Oxalis stricta (yellow wood sorrel) and a
Phlox sp. (a garden escape).
The group ate lunch at the Charles Ives Center for the Performing
Arts. Among the water plants found in the pond was Spirodela
polyrhiza. In the woods bordering the pond were found Acalypha
rhomboidea (three-seeded mercury), Cornus sericea (red-osier
dogwood), Sambucus canadensis (elderberry), Scirpus cyperinus (wool
grass bulrush), and Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum).
In bloom along the edges of the lawn were Centaurea maculosa (spotted
knapweed), Coronilla varia (crown vetch), Erigeron annuus (daisy
fleabane), Lespedeza cuneata (Chinese bush clover), Lobelia
inflata (Indian tobacco lobelia) and L. siphilitica (great blue
lobelia), Melilotus albus (white sweet clover), Polygonum
arenastrum (dooryard knotweed), and Rudbeckia hirta var.
pulcherrima (black-eyed susan). Other plants included Cornus
racemosa (gray-stem dogwood) and Rhus glabra (smooth sumac).
A few of the trees in the area were Betula alleghaniensis (yellow
birch) and B. lenta (black birch), Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood),
Carya cordiformis, C. ovata (shagbark hickory) and C. tomentosa (mockernut
hickory), Castanea dentata (American chestnut), Catalpa
bignonioides, Corylus cornuta (beaked hazel-nut),Juglans nigra (black
walnut), Morus alba (white mulberry), and Ulmus rubra (slippery
elm).
Total attendance was 11. The trip leader was Dr. Frank Dye.
Westside Nature Preserve, Western Connecticut State University,
Danbury, Connecticut. July 24, 1999.
On a very hot day a number of Torrey Botanical Society members
perspired heavily through the fields and wood of Westside Nature
Preserve.
Blooming in the fields were Achillea millefolium (yarrow),
Agrimonia gryposepala (agrimony), Apocynum cannabinum (Indian-hemp),
the near blooming Aster umbellatus (aster), Centaurea jacea (brown
knapweed),
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye-daisy), Cichorium intybus (chicory),
Cuscuta gronovii (dodder), Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace),
Desmodium canadense (tick-trefoil), Dianthus armeria (Deptford
pink), Erigeron annuus (annual fleabane), Eupatorium sp. (Joe-Pye
Weed), Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod), Galium
mollugo (wild madder), Hypericum punctatum (spotted St. Johnswort),
Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow star-grass), Lactuca canadensis (wild
lettuce), Linaria vulgaris (butter-and-eggs), Lotus corniculatus
(birdsfoot trefoil), Lysimachia ciliata (fringed Loosestrife),
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife), Melilotus alba (white
sweet-clover), Oxalis stricta (yellow wood-sorrel), Plantago
major (common plantain), Potentilla norvegica (strawberry-weed
cinquefoil), Prunella vulgaris (self-heal), Pycnanthemum muticum
(mountain-mint) and P. tenuifolium (mountain-mint), Rosa carolina
(Carolina rose), Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed
susan), Silene latifolia (white campion), Solidago juncea (early
goldenrod), Spiraea alba var. latifolia (meadowsweet), Trifolium
campestre (hop clover), T. hybridum (alsike clover), T. pratense
(red clover), and T. repens (white clover), Verbascum thapsus (common
mullein), Verbena hastata (vervain), Vernonia noveboracensis (New
York Ironweed), and Vicia cracca (vetch).
Blooming in the woods were Monotropa hypopithys (pinesap) and M.
uniflora (Indian pipe).
Some of the trees, shrubs and vines included Clematis virginiana
(Virgin's bower), Corylus americana (American hazel) and C. (beaked
hazel), Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn-olive), Ilex verticillata (winterberry),
and Viburnum lentago (nannyberry viburnum). Some of the non-blooming
flowers were Galium circaezans (wild-licorice) and G. lanceolatum
(wild-licorice), Hepatica americana (hepatica), Pedicularis
canadensis (lousewort), Portulaca oleracea (common purslane),
Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus (swamp buttercup), Trillium
erectum (purple trillium), and Zizia aurea (golden Alexanders).
Total attendance was 10. The trip leader was Dr. Frank Dye.
Thanks to Dr. William Standaert for plant identification and
plant list.
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