A study in growth

Striped maple (Acer pennsylvanicum) - the top of this year's growth

Looking out my window at the striped maple Sam & I transplanted last year made me want to start a long-term documentation project. The shrub caught my attention because it seems to be turning colors from the top down; this is the opposite of virtually everything else, which tends to turn from the top and outside working in and down. Maybe being a small shrub with a single stem of leaves makes this pattern so different? Maybe being in super low light conditions? 

Anyways, I've started various projects in the past, but this one will be easy - each year around Nov 1 (even marked it on my calendar) I'll take a quick photo of the striped maple to track its growth and branching pattern. I guess I probably should have put the marker just below the terminal bud, but below the first set of lateral buds will do. The other thing that will be neat to see is how the tape affects the color of the bark. Striped maple has photosynthetic bark, and my assumption is that it will drop its chlorophyll content and shift to a deeper red/purple color (as the older bark is). Though the tape isn't totally opaque, so we'll see about that too.

Ancient ruins in the deep

Heiligenschein (German for 'holy light'), that halo of light around radiating out from my head's shadow

Looking out towards the causeway 

Been awhile since I posted anything here. I went canoeing a couple weeks ago and spotted a bizarre underwater formation just off the cliffs of the northwest edge of Marble Island in Colchester. It was undoubtedly construct by someone - a square shape with rounded edges about 12' in diameter, with a break in the rocks - an opening? - facing out from shore west towards the bay. It was constructed of dolostone boulders each about the size of a basketball.

A closer look at the object

The water level is already near its annual low (declines throughout summer into the fall, then begins to climb as leaves fall and evapotranspiration shuts down. Of course trends are also contingent on lake freezing over, precipitation, and warm winter days) and even with the lake at record low levels, the person would have had to have been about 7 feet under water. An impressive feat. The question of why they built it is another matter. Not really sure, it's just below and awesome rock that stands above the water by quite a bit. There were a few fishing hooks/line around on the shore so maybe this was built as bait to lure fish in? Maybe just for fun? Maybe a solar sculpture? Not really sure. It's totally inaccessible other than to a couple of private landowners and boats.

LAKE DATA FROM 2012

LAKE DATA FROM 2013

Lake data from 2014

Rock Point inventory: Brick's Brook

Next stop: Brick's Brook. Much of the sediment deposited atop the calcareous bedrock is lacustrine in origin (from a lake), deposited 11,000 years ago when the glaciers were retreating - melting - but still blocking drainage of the fresh water to the north through the St Lawrence seaway. Water pooled up in the Champlain Valley, the only outlet being the Hudson River valley to the south. The drainage point here is about 600', so Lake Champlain, which was known as Glacial Lake Vermont, was about 500' above where it is today.

The wet meadow, this is the "headwaters" of Brick's Brook

At the edge of the meadow, it starts to cut into the soils

About 25 down from previous photo, excessive erosion exposing roots of white pine
(which once upon a time was a fence line as witnessed by the barbed wire embedded in it)

The melt water draining off the mountains into the lake via the Winooski, Mississquoi, Lamoille, etc. would have been a muddy mess with glacial sediments. So Rock Point, which is adjacent to the lake, would have been a deep water environment, buried in alternating layers of silts and clays each year when the lake froze over. These silts and clays drain very poorly, accounting for  the wet meadows and depressions found scattered over the land.

Further still downstream. Slopes of banks still steep. 

Once the glaciers retreated far enough to the north, finally opening up the St Lawrence seaway, water exploded out of the Champlain Valley, draining in a matter of hours or days down to an elevation of 300'. At that point, because the glaciers were so heavy, their weight had actually depressed the entire northern part of the continent - much like a large putting all your passengers at the stern of a flexible boat - by about 300' in this area. The glacial lake gradually grew saltier and saltier as water from the ocean filtered into Champlain Valley. The rivers continued flowing into the body of water; the Winooski River delta's edge terminated at Rock Point, depositing patchy layers of sand atop the lacustrine silts and clays.

Soil map generated by Web Soil Survey: http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/WebSoilSurvey.aspx

This sandier stuff erodes rather easily. Brick's Brook, which is only about 600m in length, starts as a trickle in the Old Pasture. A small bridge passes over the small notch carved into the clay soils. At the edge of the meadow, soils are much sandier and within 50m, the notch is a deep valley with steep slopes. Eventually the stream eroded down below the sandier soils, exposing silts and clays. Because these smaller soil particles are more difficult to erode, the valley widens rather than cutting further down. Towards the lower end of the stream the slope of stream is much gentler, water does not drain as well, and the course of the stream begins to meander, with water pooling up much more. In this section there are often green frogs and wood frogs.

Near the bottom, mellow grade to the brook and shallow slope to the banks due to erosion over time

High water table wreaking havoc on the hemlcoks and yellow birches

Species list is not complete (there are 5 different plants I need flowers to key out):

Maple, red	Acer rubrum		Aceraceae (Maple)
Maple, sugar	Acer saccharum		Aceraceae (Maple)
Ivy, poison	Toxicodendron radicans		Anacardiaceae (Cashew)
Birch, yellow	Betula allegheniensis		Betulaceae (Birch)
Viburnum, maple-leaf	Viburnum acerifolium		Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle)
Honeysuckle, ??	Lonicera ??	*	Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle)
Bittersweet, oriental	Celastrus ????	*	Celastraceae (Bittersweet)
Dogwood, red-osier	Cornus sericea		Cornaceae (Dogwood)
Witch-hazel, American	Hamamelis virginiana		Hamamelidaceae (Witch-hazel)
Basswood, American	Tilia americana		Malvaceae (Mallow)
Ash, green	Fraxinus pennsylvanica		Oleaceae (Olive)
Hemlock, Eastern	Tsuga canadensis		Pinaceae (Pine)
Buckthorn, common	Rhamnus cathartica	*	Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn)
Buckthorn, glossy	Frangula alnifolia	*	Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn)
Blackberry, common	Rubus allegheniensis		Rosaceae (Rose)
Cherry, black	Prunus serotina		Rosaceae (Rose)
Raspberry, black	Rubus occidentalis		Rosaceae (Rose)
Rose, multi-flora	Rosa multiflora	*	Rosaceae (Rose)
Thimbleberry	Rubus odoratus		Rosaceae (Rose)
Aspen, quaking	Populus tremuloides		Salicaceae (Willow)
GRAPE sp.			Vitaceae (Grape)
Virginia creeper	Parthenocissus quinquefolia		Vitaceae (Grape)

Jack-in-the-pulpit	Arisaema sp.		Araceae (Arum)
Jewelweed, spotted	Impatiens capensis		Balsaminaceae (Touch-me-not)
Solomon's seal, false	Smilacina racemosa		Liliaceae (Lily)
Crowfoot, small flower	Ranunculus abortivus		Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)
Lily, trout	Erythronium americanum		Liliaceae (Lily)
Skunk cabbage	Symplocarpus foetidus		Araceae (Arum)
Dandelion	Taraxacum officinalis	*	Asteraceae (Aster)
Meadow rue, early	Thalictrum dioicum		Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)
Baneberry, red	Actaea rubra		Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)
Nightshade, enchanters	Circaea sp		Onagraceae (Evening primrose)
Miterwort	Mitella diphylla		Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage)
Nettle, wood	Laportea canadensis		Urticaceae (Nettles)
Nightshade, deadly	Solanum dulcamara	*	Solanaceae
Speedwell	Veronica sp		Scrophulariaceae (Figwort)

Fern, lady	Athyrium filix-femina		Athyriaceae
Fern, bracken	Pteridium aquilinum		Dennstaedtiaceae (Bracken)
Wood fern, spinulose	Dryopteris carthusiana		Dryopteridaceae (Wood fern)
Wood fern, intermediate	Dryopteris intermedia		Dryopteridaceae (Wood fern)
Horsetail, wood	Equisetum sylvaticum		Equisetaceae (Horsetail)
Horsetail, meadow	Equisetum pratense		Equisetaceae (Horsetail)
Fern, sensitive	Onoclea sensibilis		Onocleaceae (Sensitive Fern)
Fern, ostrich	Matteuccia struthiopteris		Onocleaceae (Sensitive Fern)
Fern, cinnamon	Osmunda cinnamomea		Osmundaceae (Royal fern)
Fern, interrupted	Osmunda interrupta		Osmundaceae (Royal fern)
Fern, maiden hair	Adiantum pedatum		Pteridaceae (Maidenhair)
Fern, New York	Thelypteris noveboracensis		Thelypteridaceae (Marsh)

Rock Point Inventory - Hem of the Woods

Stand of hemlock, patches of moss indicating exposed bedrock (Dunham dolomite)

So it begins, my documenting of the plants of Rock Point, that is. Realizing I'd miss the early spring ephemerals, I thought I'd just start with the patches with lowest diversity and the ones that I'm most familiar with, before covering the rest of the property. I hope to finish these other patches by next summer. I spent a couple of hours this morning wandering around in my first area, which we call Hem of the Woods SW. Hem of the Woods is almost entirely hemlock in the overstory with very sparse cover in the understory. It is bordered to the NE by an artifical slope excavated out for the Island Line - now the bike path, the lake to the W, and a mature sugarbush along its southern border. Much of the diversity of plant life here is found at the borders or in breaks in the canopy.

Stand of wild sarsaparilla in foreground, growing in shade of a couple recently
downed hemlocks (one massive). Birch is relic of older logging

In one such sunny spot at the intersection of two trails where a few trees were cleared out (stumps remain as evidence), flowering plants thrive. In Hemlock Forests (yes capital H and F, see Wetland Woodland Wildland for the reference), flowering plants are incredibly uncommon. The anomalously high number of flowering plants in the understory can be attributed to the small size of the patch. In most cases, the understory vegetation is represented by small clumps of a single species, most of which can spread rhizomatically (e.g. posion ivy, rock polypody, false Solomon's seal, Canada mayflower). The seedlings are represented by an abundance of black cherry, a single basswood, occasional sugar maples, and several Norway maples, surprisingly. Shrubs were not abundant, and include glossy buckthorn, honeysuckle and red elderberry.

Doll's eyes flower stalk

The two main limiting factor at this site are sunlight and shallow soils on calcareous bedrock. Lack of sunlight is controlled by the existing canopy in addition to a northern aspect. Where the deltaic sandy soils from the Champlain Sea era have eroded away with the occasionally flooding of the intermittent stream, Brick's Brook, the canopy is still composed of hemlock.

Red baneberry growing adjacent to doll's eyes. Note the much thinner stalks that the flowers grow from

Below is a complete list of all the vascular plants I saw, except for the ferns (* = non-native).

Trees + Shrubs

Hemlock, Eastern	Tsuga canadensis		Pinaceae (Pine)
Maple, sugar	Acer saccharum		Aceraceae (Maple)
Birch, white	Betula papyrifera		Betulaceae (Birch)
Basswood, American	Tilia americana		Malvaceae (Mallow)
Hophornbeam	Ostrya virginiana		Betulaceae (Birch)
Buckthorn, common	Rhamnus cathartica	*	Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn)
Thimbleberry	Rubus odoratus		Rosaceae (Rose)
Cherry, black	Prunus serotina		Rosaceae (Rose)
Maple, Norway	Acer platanoides	*	Aceraceae (Maple)
Dogwood, alternate-leaf	Cornus alternifolia		Cornaceae (Dogwood)
Ivy, poison	Toxicodendron radicans		Anacardiaceae (Cashew)

Flowers

Mayflower, Canada	Maianthemum canadense		Liliaceae (Lily)
Hepatica, round-leaf	Hepatica americana		Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)
Jack-in-the-pulpit	Arisaema sp.		Araceae (Arum)
Wild sarsaparilla	Aralia nudicalis		Araliaceae (Ginseng)
Jewelweed, spotted	Impatiens capensis		Balsaminaceae (Touch-me-not)
Solomon's seal, false	Smilacina racemosa		Liliaceae (Lily)
Twisted stalk	Streptopus lanceolatus		Liliaceae (Lily)
Stinking Benjamin	Trillium erectum		Liliaceae (Lily)
Trillium, large-flowered	Trillium grandiflorum		Liliaceae (Lily)
Bellwort, sessile-leaved	Uvularia sessilifolia		Liliaceae (Lily)
Bellwort, large flowered	Uvularia grandiflora		Liliaceae (Lily)
Crowfoot, small flower	Ranunculus abortivus		Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)
Violet, downy yellow	Viola pubescens		Violaceae (Violet)
Spikenard	Aralia racemosa		Araliaceae (Ginseng)
Mystery mint			Lamiaceae (Mint)

Ferns

Fern, christmas	Polystichum acrostichoides		Dryopteridaceae (Wood fern)
Oak-fern	Gymnocarpium dryopteris		Dryopteridaceae (Wood fern)
Wood fern, intermediate	Dryopteris intermedia		Dryopteridaceae (Wood fern)
Fern, sensitive	Onoclea sensibilis		Onocleaceae (Sensitive Fern)
Polypody, rock	Polypodium virginianum		Polypodiaceae (Polypody)

Rock Point species inventory

Gill-over-the-ground, Ground Ivy, Creeping Charlie, super common lawn plant

So my amphibian project didn't work out as well as I had hoped, at least in a formal way due to travel and end of semester madness. I did, however, get out to visit a bunch of new breeding spots. Now that it's green in the forest and I have a bit more time on my hands I've decided to return to a project I started a number of years ago, documenting all (well most of) the plants at Rock Point. I'll focus first on wildflowers and as spring progresses, fill in the blanks on ferns, then shrubs and trees in the fall and winter. Photographs are of "type specimens" the first that I observed. Notably absent will be the grasses, mosses, and other of the more esoteric taxonomic groups.

Wild columbine (on calcium rich outcroppings)

Fringed polygala, not very abundant, but supposedly common across its range

Large-flowered trillium, prefers oak/maple and younger forests

Over the next few months I'll highlight many of these species in posts here. For each species, I'll track which patches of land at Rock Point they're found in using the map. It isn't completely finished yet, but will be in the next few weeks as I wanted to get a more accurate delineation on some of the forest types before finalizing. I'll be keeping a spreadsheet of all the plants and where each can be found for cross-referencing, which I'll post later.