Smith Woods Old Growth Forest

When

Saturday, May 5, 2018 - 10:00am to Sunday, May 6, 2018 - 9:45am

What

Walk

Where

Smith Woods, Trumansburg

Who

Arieh Tal

Link for More Info

Smith Woods

Description

Join Arieh Tal for a spring walk through a notable stand of local old growth forest, containing some trees as tall as 150 feet. Smith Woods has long been considered as a special natural area by Trumansburg residents, but it is less well known by those living farther away. Documentation of the plant species of Smith Woods, in the form of voucher specimens, is relatively scant. So, for many of us, this will be a walk of discovery.

Meet at Smith Woods at 10 am or at CCE at 9:30 am to carpool. If you are driving directly to Smith Woods, meet at the Shur-Save parking lot adjacent to the woods.

AS OF MAY 1st, when Arieh did a quick survey:

Here's what people can view and enjoy (in bud or flower) for spring ephemerals:

large-flowered trillium (white), red trillium, spring beauties, trout lilies, blue cohosh, hepatica, mayapple, two-leaved toothwort, Virginia waterleaf, bloodroot.

Plus lots of trees, some giant.

Report

The weather was perfect, the birds were singing, the woods were lovely. The newly installed deer fence is clearly making a difference, as this is the first time in many years that Trillium have been seen flowering in any abundance. The warm weather brought out many more blooms than listed above in Arieh's preview. Here is what we saw within the bounderies of the fenced property:

Trees and shrubs
Acer pensylvanicum	moosewood (striped maple)
Acer negundo	box elder
Acer rubrum	red maple
Acer saccharum	sugar maple
Berberis thunbergii	Japanese barberry
Betula alleghaniensis	yellow birch
Betula lenta	Black birch
Carya cordiformis	bitternut hickory
Carya ovata	shagbark hickory
Fagus grandifolia	American beech
Fraxinus americana	white ash
Hamamelis virginiana	witch-hazel
Liriodendron tulipifera	tulip tree (yellow poplar)
Magnolia acuminata	cucumber magnolia
Ostrya virginiana	hop hornbeam
Pinus strobus	white pine
Prunus serotina	Black cherry
Quercus alba	white oak
Quercus rubra	northern red oak
Rosa multiflora	multiflora rose
Tilia americana	basswood
Tsuga canadensis	eastern hemlock

Ferns and fern allies
Athyrium angustum	northern lady fern
Dryopteris intermedia	intermediate wood fern
Equisetum arvense	field or common horsetail
Polystichum acrostichoides	Christmas fern

Non-woody flowering species
Actaea rubra	red baneberry
Agrimonia gryposepala	common agrimony
Arisaema triphyllum	Jack-in-the-pulpit	flowering
Asarum canadense	wild ginger	flowering
Cardamine diphylla	two-leaved toothwort	in bud
Caulophyllum giganteum	giant cohosh	flowering
Claytonia virginiana	narrow-leaved spring beauty	flowering
Epifagus virginiana	beech drops
Erythronium americanum	trout lily	flowering
Eurybia divaricata	white wood aster
Geranium maculatum	wild geranium
Geranium robertianum	herb Robert
Geum canadense	white avens
Hepatica acutiloba	"hepatica, sharp lobed"	flowering
Hesperis matronalis	dame's rocket
Hydrophyllum virginianum	Virginia waterleaf
Impatiens capensis	"jewelweed, touch-me-not"
Maianthemum canadense	Canada Mayflower
Maianthemum racemosum	"false Solomon’s seal, Solomon’s plume"
Podophyllum peltatum	Mayapple	in bud
Polygonatum pubescens	downy Solomon’s seal	in bud
Ranunculus abortivus	kidney-leaved buttercup	flowering
Rubus occidentalis	black raspberry
Sambucus racemosa	red elderberry
Sanguinaria canadensis	bloodroot	flowering
Tiarella cordifolia	foamflower	in bud
Trillium erectum	red trillium	flowering
Trillium erectum forma albiflorum	creamy-white form of red trillium (red fruit)	flowering
Trillium grandiflorum	large-flowered white trillium	flowering
Vinca minor	"periwinkle, myrtle"	flowering