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

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