Wildflowers of the NJ Pinelands - August Update

I have a small update since my last journal post in May. I was able to view all of the species on my May update with the exception of American chaffseed (Schwalbea americana). I was skeptical of seeing one, given its endangered status, but perhaps 2021 will be the year I add it to the list! Another species that evaded me was the coastal false asphodel (Triantha racemosa). I've been told only 5 populations exist within the barrens, and that each site is fairly difficult to get access. It also didn't help that my fieldwork schedule is most hectic during the window it blooms. It'll have to be added to the 2021 find list as well.

I spent much of June, July, and early August out in the Pinelands, adding many more species to the list than I had originally hoped for, as I set my sights on exploring the fringes of the Pinelands Reserve where the plant communities found are outside of what you'd find in the bogs, AWC swamps, and pine forests that make up the core of the reserve. That's because the NJ Pinelands National Reserve encompasses broad swaths of the coastal plain that include habitats like coastal dunes, sea-level fens, brackish marsh, and salt marsh. In these habitats I was able to observe species like the fewflower milkweed (Asclepias lanceolata), marsh rose gentian (Sabatia dodecandra), annual sea purslane (Sesuvium maritimum), marsh rattlesnake master (Eryngium aquaticum), and wand loosestrife (Lythrum lineare). All of these finds had really opened my eyes to the diversity of the Reserve, that I truly hadn't appreciated until now.

I also was able to add a couple of the rare Platantheras to my orchid tally, including the southern yellow orchid (Platanthera integra), and Canby's bog-orchid (Platanthera x canbyi). Outside of these orchids, I've been able to see almost all of the Pinelands orchids with the exception of Loessel's (Liparis loeselii), spreading pogonia (Cleistes divaricata), and 3 of the rarer ladies-tresses (Spiranthes spp.)

It's that time of the year when all the goldenrods and asters begin to bloom, and they are some of the hardest to identify, so I'll be out taking photos of every yellow and purple flower I see (along with photos of their stems & leaves)!

My list for the final couple months of the growing season includes:
-Bluecurls (Trichostema spp)
-Fern-leaved false foxglove (Aureoleslaria pedicularia)
-Silverrod (Solidago bicolor)

Posted on 23 August, 2020 21:23 by yan_tonz