Carson Road Woods
Lawrence Township, Mercer County, NJ
183 acres
Directions:
It is located between Carson Road and Belleview Terrace, which is in the Rosedale Acres subdivision off Rosedale Road. The property also borders houses on Carter and Province Line roads.
From the intersection of Carter Road (Route 659) and Carson Road (.07 of a mile south of Rosedale Road), travel east on Carson Road for 0.9 of a mile. The entrance is on the left at a big agricultural field.
Another entrance: Mya Drive (off of Rosedale Road near Educational Testing Service) to Belleview Terrace. There is a small white sign on the south side of the road saying something about the area being private property and only open to hikers/walkers.
History:
late 1980s -- the land threatened by development.
Mayor Pam Mount passed a check to landowners George Rieder and Gary Rieder of
G. Rieder & Sons of South Brunswick. Lawrence Township paid $8.4 million for
the property, of which $3 million came from the Delaware and Raritan Greenway
and $1 million from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
"Township closes on Carson parcel" Lea Kahn, The Lawrence Ledger; http://www.lawrencetwp.com/carsonwoods/history_closing.htmlLawrence
Township, Mercer County)
Habitats:
hedgerows, woodland edges, old peach orchard
Trails:
Existing trails and the 20 mile Lawrence-Hopewell Trail will bisect the property. (The Friends of Carson Woods oppose the plan to construct a 10-foot wide, asphalt Lawrence-Hopewell Bike Trail through that tract.)
Sweetgum Trail (red) -- heads slightly northwest off north along the western part of the north section of the property and then northeast to hook up with the Beech and Oak Trails.
Oak Trail (green) -- heads south down the middle of the property.
Beech Trail (yellow) -- from the Oak Trail, it heads slightly northeast off east to the Sassafras Trail.
Sassafras Trail (orange) -- from the Beech Trail, it heads south along the eastern edge of the property.
Stream-Maple Leaf Trail -- a side trail that leads to a stone-edged bridge.
(map at: http://www.njtrails.org/traildesc.php?TrailID=45)
10/12/04. I parked at a small parking area along Carson Road by a huge field covered with a legume plant (soy bean?). I walked north along the path with the field on the left and a tree hedge on the side of a private house on the right. Came to an old peach orchard on the right. The trees are not doing well but they are still there. The trail bent east for a short time and then I turned left (north) and walked all the way to the other entrance point (Belleview Terrace). Turned around and walked back to the parking area. I just wanted to get a small sampling of the place and I did get that. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
PLANT LIST:
Washington Crossing Audubon Society (WCAS)
http://www.parallaxweb.com/carsonwoods/wildlife.html#treesSassafras albidum (sassafras)
# = provided by Dr. Patrick L. Cooney; date = plant blooming on date of field
trip, 10/12/04
Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple) #
Betula nigra (river birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Cornus sp. (dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Ilex opaca (American holly)
Juglans nigra (black walnut) #
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liquidambar styraciflua (sweetgum)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Picea (blue spruce)
Pinus sp. (pine?)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Prunus persica (peach) #
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pseudotsuga (Douglas fir)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (northern red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) #
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Taxus sp. (yew) #
Thuja occidentalis (arbor-vitae) #
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock) #
Ulmus americana (American elm) #
Shrubs or sub-shrubs:
Berberis sp. (barberry -- common?)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Ligustrum sp. (privet -- oriental?)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera mackii (Amur honeysuckle) #
Mitchella repens (partridge berry)
Myrica pensylvanica (bayberry)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry) #
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Rubus sp. (raspberry)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) #
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Polygonum scandens (climbing bindweed) #
Smilax sp. (greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape -- frosted?)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow) #
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium sp. (onion grass)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) #
Apocynum (Indian hemp)
Arctium minus (lesser burdock)
Asclepias sp. (common milkweed?)
Aster cordifolius (heart-leaved aster) # 10/12/04
Barbarea vulgaris (common wintercress) # 10/12/04
Chenopodium sp. (pigweed)
Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle) # 10/12/04
Datura stramonium (jimsonweed) # 10/12/04
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) # 10/12/04
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pileweed) #
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod) #
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry) #
Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting) # 10/12/04
Hypericum sp. (St. Johnswort)
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)
Ipomoea hederacea (ivy-leaved morning glory) # 10/12/04
Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco) # 10/12/04
Medicago lupulina (black medick) # 10/12/04
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) # 10/12/04
Penstemon sp. (beardtongue)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain) #
Plantago major (common plantain) #
Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple)
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal)
Rumex sp. (dock)
Solanum carolinense (horse nettle)
Solidago bicolor (silverrod) # 10/12/04
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (late goldenrod) # 10/12/04
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) # 10/12/04
Trifolium pratense (red clover) # 10/12/04
Trifolium repens (white clover) #
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Xanthium strumarium or spinosum? (cocklebur)
The slender toothwort, a state ranked S3 species, and many other rare plants have been documented along the Stony Brook
According to data of the Natural Heritage Program, the site is a probable
location for Winged Monkey Flower which occurs on the lower Stony Brook.
Rushes:
Juncus effusus (soft rush)
Juncus tenuis (path rush) #
Sedges:
Scirpus cyperinus (woolly grass bulrush)
Grasses:
Andropogon virginicus (broom sedge grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass) #
Digitaria sp. (crab grass)
Echinochloa sp. (barnyard grass) #
Elymus sp. (wild rye grass) #
Eragrostis spectabilis (purple love grass) #
Panicum dichotomiflorum (fall panic grass) #
Setaria faberi (nodding foxtail grass) #
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass) #
Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass )
Tridens flavus (purple top) #
Ferns:
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)