Dinner Pot Natural Area
Tewksbury, Hunterdon County, NJ
12 acres

Directions:

From I-78: Take the exit for County Route 523 North. At the light turn right.  Drive 2.3 miles (following Route 523 North through Oldwik, where the road becomes Route 517) to Homestead Road. Drive 0.6 of a mile more and you will see Green Acres and Upper Raritan Watershed signs posted along the right hand side of the road. Admire the view in passing, or park at the roadside to get a closer view of the stream and forested slopes.

History:

The land was donated to the URWA.

Habitats:

steep slopes (from 390 to 565 feet), wet springs and seeps, and an unnamed tributary that runs parallel to the road at the base of the steep slopes.

Trails:

There are no maintained trails.  There is, however, a rough, old informal trail on the other side of the stream that makes bushwhacking a little easier.  It seems to run parallel  to the stream..

URWA Properties in Tewksbury (Upper Raritan Watershed Association); http://www.urwa.org/land/tewksbury.htm

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = date plant found in bloom, 5/29/04; brief visit

Trees:
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree) lots
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Ulmus americana (American elm)


Shrubs and sub-shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose) *
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum)

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

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Aralia racemosa (spikenard)
Arctium minus (common burdock)
Arisaema triphyllum (jack-in-the-pulpit)
Cimicifuga racemosa (bugbane)
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)
Collinsonia canadensis (horsebalm)
Duchesnea indica (Indian strawberry) *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)
Galium aparine (cleavers) 
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Glechoma hederacea (gill over the ground) *
Hackelia virginiana (Virginia stickseed)
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket) *
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)
Matricaria matricarioides (pineappleweed)
Osmorhiza longistlyis (aniseroot)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Podophyllum peltatum (may apple)
Polygonatum pubescens (hairy true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese smartweed)
Prenanthes altissima (tall white lettuce)
Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaved crowfoot)
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (dandelion)
Viola sp. (violet)

Rushes:
Juncus effusus (soft rush)

Sedges:
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Carex sp. (sedge)

Grasses:
Bromus inermis (smooth brome grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Athyrium thelypteroides (silvery glade fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)