Long Island Botanical Society newsletter

LONG ISLAND
BOTANICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER

Vol. 7, No. 5

Sept. - Oct. 1997

The Maritime Oak-Basswood Forest
on Long Island’s North Fork

Where on Long Island can you observe undulat-
ing sand dunes blanketed with beach grass, and
desert-like swales interspersed with wet depressions
supporting insectivorous plants, cranberry, and a
slew of sedges and rushes? The south shore, right?

Well, not always.

Although much of Long Island’s north shore
consists of tall bluffs directly bordering Long Island
Sound, sand dunes and broad sandy swales do rarely
occur, I am not referring to locations within pro-
tected harbors and coves, I refer to broad, well
developed sandy beaches directly bordering the
Sound.

A system of low dunes and swales parallels Long
Island Sound just east of Goldsmith Inlet in Peconic
on the North Fork. Dr. Les Sirkin, professor of
geology at Adelphi Lfniversity, described this unique
area in his book Eastern Long Island Geology,
published in 1995: “The beach here is much wider
due to excess sand in the longshore drift and perhaps
a balance between east and west currents.”

During the past few hundred years, strong winter
winds have been constantly and unrelentingly

Highlights

Maritime Oak-Basswood Forest 27

The Pollen of American Chestnut 28

Development at Moores Woods? 30

Society News 31

Field Trips 31

Programs 32

blowing this beach and dune sand landward up the
faces of adjacent morainal bluffs composed of
glacial till. The result has been the formation of a
system of undulating dunes on top of the moraine.
Think of it. Sand dunes deposited on top of 12,000
year old glacial moraines - a very unique geological
process and formation.

A unique and possibly globally rare plant com-
munity has developed on this geologic formation: a
pygmy forest largely composed of stunted, gnarled
and contorted oak and basswood trees. The big
surprise here is the occurrence of basswood (Tilia
americana) which is normally a tree of rich moist
woods, and is often associated with species such as
sugar maple {Acer saccharum), white ash {¥raxinus
americana), American beech {Fagus grandifolia),
and American elm {Ulmus americana).

The maritime oak-basswood forest is dominated
by dwarf individuals of post oak {Quercus stellata),
black oak (Q. velutina), and basswood, with scat-
tered individuals of shadbush {Amelanchier
canadensis), black cherry (Prunus serotina), and
hickory {Cary a tomentosa and C. glabra). Some

American Basswood (Tilia americana). Dlustration from
Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora (1952). N.Y. Botanical Garden.

LI. Botanical Society

Sept. - Oct. 1997

Page 27

Oak-Basswood Forest, con't. from page 27

sandy ridgetops are dominated by red maple (Acer
rubrum) which on Long Island is often associated
with wetlands but here grows as an upland species.
Also noteworthy is scattered individuals of paper
birch (Benda papyrifera), a more northern species
that is rare on Long Island; gray birch (B.
populifolia), which superficially resembles paper
birch, is common throughout the island.

Trees occurring on the tops of dunes are ex-
tremely gnarled and contorted. Century old oaks
grow horizontal before sending twisted limbs
skyward, only to be pruned back by constant expo-
sure to salt spray, sand blow-up, cold wind, and
winter ice. Here, the understory is sparse and
patches of sandy soil are exposed. A few herbs have
precariously colonized the bare sands: common
hairgrass (Deschampsia flexuosa), starry false
Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum), wild
sarsaparilla (Aralia nitdicaulis), and an upland form
of seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens). Low
lying areas between and behind the dunes are
relatively protected; here the under story consists
primarily of shrubs and lianas, including bayberry
(Myrica pensylvanica), pasture rose (Rosa Carolina),
black huckleberry (Gayliissacia baccata), poison ivy
(Toxicodendron radicans), Virginia creeper
(Parthenocissus quinquefolia), and briers (Smilax
glauca and S. rotundifolia).

I am aware of only one other New York occur-
rence of a plant community that resembles this
maritime oak-basswood forest. Gordon Tucker and
Ed Horning have informed me that a “dwarf bass-
wood forest” occurs on South Dumpling Island, just
off the north coast of Fishers Island. The forest
covers the crest of the island’s moraine, and is
exposed to severe maritime forces. South DumpUng
Island is located about 25 miles northeast of Peconic
Dunes, and both locations experience very similar
limiting ecological factors. How and why did
basswood colonize and become established at such
unlikely habitats? The early events that led to the
development of such a unique forest may always
remain a mystery.

Eric Lamont, Riverhead

The Pollen of American Chestnut

The North American continent saw the last of
Europe when the growing mid- Atlantic ridge
churned up past Iceland eons ago and shoved the
New World adrift. And it was then that the great
American forest tree genus Castanea established an
independent lineage in America.

The chestnut family had colonized much of the
continent by casting about its pollen powder into the
ancient Cenozoic breezes. Some of this pollen
became immortalized in raging volcanic floods some
forty million years ago in the area that is now
Yellowstone. Twenty million years later chestnut
pollen along with its dentate leaves became orna-
ments in fossil beds of northern Idaho. Then some
ten thousand years or so ago North America’s
northwestern flank saw its last link with Asia melt
away at the Bering Straight and the geographic
isolation of modem Castanea was complete.

And so Castanea pollen blew in the winds that
swept the great divide, in the winds that powered
tornadoes in the west, and in the winds that wore
down the peaks of the Appalachians.

Chestnut pollen left its skeletons behind during
the interglacial period 41,000-47,000 BC on Long
Island (and in the Adirondacks). After the last ice
sheet retreated and the chill of its aftermath waned
some 4,500-5,000 years ago, Castanea reappeared in
the northeast of North America (and on Long
Island). It appeared as Castanea dentata which is
likely a mutated form of chinquapin (a southern
species appearing in Pennsylvania and south). The
present natural range of Castanea dentata comprises
pretty much the outlay of the Appalachian mountain
range and foothills, including our notable glacial
morainal home: Long Island.

The tree served as a forest stanchion providing
shade, wood, food, and strength to the evolving
eastern deciduous forest and its inhabitants. The
early native Americans’ bare feet pressed its leaves
and pollen into the ground while collecting its nuts.

And arriving settler’s axes shaped the trunks into
cabins and cabinets and later on into universities and
college town barrooms.

The American chestnut tree, being a favored tree
for its lumber, seed, and prowess, was then planted

LI. Botanical Society

Sept. - Oct. 1997

Page 28

Chestnut Pollen, con’t from page 28

outside of its post-Wisconsinian range into the soils
of the Adirondacks, Michigan, Wisconsin, and
Oregon where its pollen dusts the air today.

Just after the turn of this century the fungus
Chryphonectria parasitica hitched a ride on some
nursery stock from Asia (probably Japan) and made
a feast of the American chestnut tree bark cambium.
It ate its way through four billion trees up and down
the Appalachians for five decades and left the
species destroyed and disabled. In less than fifty
years’ time a tree that had a dominant position on
this continent for over forty million years was
annihilated. The creamy white catkins with their
wind-borne pollen all but disappeared.

The chestnut trees of Long Island were no
exception and they too were crippled to helpless root
sprouts. And the few that remain today only occa-
sionally manage to reach flower bearing heights of
twenty or thirty feet before they too are drawn down
by the consumptive blight fungus.

Since the pollen refuses to fertilize the flower of
the tree from which it was shed, cross-pollination
between trees must occur for fruit production which
has thus become an even rarer event. And so the
collected burrs that are often enthusiastically re-
poned by scouting naturalists are merely full of
undeveloped ovaries and barren of nuts.

The pollen can be carried by wind up to about a
thousand feet under normal circumstances. And
since the pollen of locally planted Japanese chestnut
(Castanea crenata) and Chinese chestnut (C.
mollissima) will gladly fertilize an attractive Ameri-
can chestnut ovary, some nuts within the burrs of
American chestnut trees can be traced to hybridiza-
tion by these transgressive species adding insult to
injury.

During the spring, summer, fall, and winter of

Distribution of American Chestnut (Castanea dentatd).

Map from Flora of North America, Vol. 3 (1997), Oxford Univ, Press

abouts of flowering American chestnut trees from
announcements in the LIBS newsletter and assorted
local Long Island weeklies. Most of the well-
meaning respondents sent in leaves of Chinese
chestnut, Japanese chestnut, and horse chestnut
{Aesculus hippocastanum). But there were accurate
findings of true American chestnut that did manage
to bear flowers. Unfortunately, none that I have
seen to date had naturally occurring nuts within the
ripe burrs. All flowering survivors found so far were
on the Harbor Hill Moraine and ranged from Hun-
tington to Wading River.

And so this summer during the month of July
when the flowers of Castanea are in full display I set
out with water containers, ropes, poles and snippers,
and with the help of Jason Moore and my brother
Dan, scaled backyard chestnut trees to reach and
collect the prized male catkins at the ends of limbs.
These pollen bearing catkins were then driven to
other flowering American chestnut trees miles away.
And again we worked our way up twenty to thirty
foot tree trunks to pollinate the anxiously awaiting
stigmas of female flowers. (Please note that trees
adjacent to the chestnut trees were climbed instead,
to avoid scarring the chestnut bark which might
make it more vulnerable to blight infection.) Fortu-
nately, North Shore Tree Service of Stony Brook
helped out by providing and operating a bucket truck
to assist in pollinating a lone dying thirty foot tree in
Caleb Smith State Park. Thomas Allen Stock, who
offered comment on the “coronation,” said that he
can’t remember anything so boring and yet so
exciting at the same time.

Hopefully I can now beat the squirrels come
September and will have in my hand the first known
true American chestnuts of Long Island in possibly
fifty some odd years.

These nuts will then be planted in reserve or-
chards on Long Island (one of which will probably
be in Caleb Smith State Park). There they can be
grown and monitored for posterity as research
advances. If enough are harvested some will go on
to breeding programs in Meadowview, Virginia, and
a genetic engineering project at SUNY Syracuse.

It is my hope that these efforts will help allay the
terrible misfortune of a beautiful American land-
mark: the American chestnut tree,

John E. Potente, Long Island Director for the
American Chestnut Foundation

LI. Botanical Society

Sept. - Oct. 1997

Page 29

Moores Woods Threatened
With Development

"My feeling is, Moores Woods suffers from
too little use. / think the fact that so few
people use Moores Woods leads to misuse. ”

Mayor David Kapell
Greenport Village
June, 1997

Plans to develop the North Fork’s 192 acre
Moores Woods nature preserve into “a regional
attraction” were recently presented to the Greenport
Village Board by the Southold Town Transportation
Committee, The ambitious plans include construc-
tion of a series of bike trails, elevated boardwalks
with benches and information kiosks, a classroom
building, bicycle racks, a skating rink, and parking
lots.

Moores Woods has long been a mecca for nature
enthusiasts. The ecosystem supports a significant
diversity of flora and fauna. Five species of orchids
have been reported from the site; one of them occurs
along the edges of paths through the forest. The
very rare cat-tail sedge (Carex typhina) and white-
edge sedge (Carex debilis var. debilis) also occur
along forest paths. During wet spring years the
delicate primrose violet (Viola primulifolia) emerges
from wet mucky depressions sometimes right in the
middle of forest trails; only a dozen or sopopulations
of this rare plant occur in all of New York. How
might a regional bike course curving between forest
trees impact these rare and endangered plants?

Unquestionably, the rarest plant at Moores
Woods is the cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor),
with horizontal flower spurs that resemble the
elongated abdomen of the true craneflies (in the
insect genus Tipulof, it takes only a little imagina-
tion to turn the delicate petals and sepals into the
wings and legs of these common insects. The
cranefly orchid currently occurs at only one location
in New York - Moores Woods. For almost a century
now, botanists have traveled from throughout the
northeast to view this rare orchid at Moores Woods.

The only naturally occurring North Fork popula-
tion of spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) also
occurs at Moores Woods, and although this spring
wildflower is common upstate, it is a rare find

almost anywhere on Long Island.

Although these last two wildflower species occur
within the forest itself and not directly along trails,
the development of Moores Woods into a regional
bike center may attract off-road mountain bikers
who may inadvertently destroy these rare plant
populations.

Nature enthusiasts who leisurely stroll through
Moores Woods can often observe salamanders
during proper times of the year, Roy Latham, the
famous naturalist from Orient, reported four differ-
ent species of salamander from the vicinity of
Moores Woods. What impact might speeding
bicyclists have on these salamander populations?

The oak-tulip tree forest at Moores Woods is
considered rare in New York, and is strikingly
different from the typical oak-hickory forest of
eastern Long Island. The area is largely underlain
with fine sediments of clay which compact together
to form underground lenses. These clay lenses
inhibit the infiltration of water through the ground,
water is often trapped near the surface resulting in
rich, mesic to wet soil conditions and an elaborate
system of freshwater wetlands. How might new
bike trails, parking lots, and other proposed develop-
ment impact these sensitive wetlands at Moores
Woods? Could increased soil compaction and
surface runoff have a negative impact upon the
forest ecosystem?

I am personally aware of numerous environmen-
tal and educational groups that have utilized Moores
Woods for nature studies during recent years,
including Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Connecticut
Botanical Society, Greenport High School, Long
Island Botanical Society, Long Island Mycological
Club, National Audubon Society, The Nature
Conservancy, New England Wildflower Society,
New York Natural Heritage Program, North Fork
Environmental Council, Sierra Club, and Torrey
Botanical Society. Certainly other groups have also
utilized the site.

I propose that a feasibility study and full Environ-
mental Impact Statement be completed before any
development plans are implemented at this highly
sensitive ecosystem. Only then will we be able to
share with our children and grandchildren the natural
heritage that has been bequeathed to us.

Eric Lamont, Riverhead

LI. Botanical Society

Sept. - Oct. 1997

Page 30

Society News

Search for Rare Orchid

The small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeo hides) is
one of the rarest orchids in the eastern United States; it is
a Federally threatened species that has not been observed
in New York in many years. Historically, two popula-
tions occurred on Long Island: Fanny and Harriet Mulford
reported it from Hempstead Lake in 1918, and William
Ferguson reported it from the vicinity of Dix Hills in
1923. It hasn’t been seen since. On June 18th, a team of
LIBS botanists spent the day searching for the rare orchid
in the vicinity of Dix Hills, West Hills, Half Hollow Hills,
and Manetto Hills. The effort was organized by Steve
Young (State Botanist for New York Natural Heritage
Program, and LIBS member); participants included Skip
Blanchard, Julius Hastings, Eric Lamont, Tom Meoli,
and Troy Weley (botanist, NYNHP). All told, tens of
thousands of individuals of tlie large whorled pogonia
[Isotria verticillata) were observed, but no medeoloides.
Afterwards the team concluded, “if no one looks, no one's
gonna find it.”

Kiew Plant Checklist

After 1 1 years of preparation, Revised Checklist of
New York State Plants, by Richard Mitchell and Gordon
Tucker, is finally available from New York State
Museum Publications. This 400 page, hard-cover book is
a must for anyone interested in plants of Long Island.

The treatment incorporates cutting-edge nomenclature
and taxonomic decisions, and many pertinent synonyms.
To order, send $ 15.50 per copy, plus $4.00 shipping and
handling (all orders must be prepaid by check or money
order) to; New York State Museum, Publications Depart-
ment, 3140 C.E.C. Albany, NY 12230. For more infor-
mation please call Dick Mitchell at 518/486-2027.

Update: Joe Beitel Memorial

For several years now, LIBS has been trying to obtain
permission from Suffolk County Parks to place a memo-
rial plaque in honor of Joe Beitel at Montauk County
Park. Joe began his botanical career by conducting plant
inventories throughout Suffolk Co. Parks; he went on to
become an acknowledged authority on ferns and fern
allies at the New York Botanical Garden, before passing
away at the age of 39. Joe was also instrumental in
establishing the Long Island Botanical Society.

LIBS member Karen Blumer has volunteered to
revitalize the effort to establish the memorial plaque at
Montauk County Park. Anyone interested in helping
should contact Karen at 516/821-0975.

Field Trips

September 6 & 7, 1997 (Saturday & Sunday).
The Montauk Peninsula. Joint trip with New York
Flora Association. Leader: Bob Zaremba. We
will be exploring the outermost limits of Long
Island, an area famous for its unusual flora, includ-
ing: Napeague Beaches, Walking Dunes, Oyster
Pond, Montauk Point, the woodlands at Hither Hills,
and grassland restoration burns at Prospect Hill. We
may even see the very rare sandplains gerardia
{Agalinis acuta), which should be in bloom at that
time. Meet at Montauk, Saturday am; overnight
lodging may be available at TNC’s Mashomack
Preserve on Shelter Island. Please register with and
obtain details from Bob Zaremba at 518-273-9408
(note, this number is new).

September 13, 1997 (Saturday), 10 am.
Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge: Shirley,
Suffolk County. Leaders: Robert Parris & Allan
Lindberg. This trip is a follow-up on ATs recent
article on management of Phragmites (see LIBS
Newsletter, Vol. 7(3), May/June 1997). Water level
manipulation and burning has been used to eliminate
Phragmites in a 20-30 acre freshwater impoundment.
After lunch, we will explore some of the different
plant communities at the Refuge. Directions: Take
the LIE to exit 68 South (William Floyd Pkwy),
continue south over Sunrise Hwy (Rte. 27) and turn
right (west) on Montauk Hwy. Travel about 3/4 mi
and turn left (south) onto Old Riverhead Road, cross
railroad tracks and enter Refuge. Meet at Visitors
Center which is about 1 mile into Refuge. Bring
lunch. For more details contact A1 Lindberg at 516/
571-8500.

October 25, 1997 (Saturday). Great Trees of
Long Island, northern Nassau County. Leader:
Vincent Simeone (Assistant Director, Planting
Fields Arboretum). Observe the island’s largest
trees (including State and National champions)
during the height of autumn leaf color. We will
meet in the vicinity of Oyster Bay, but specific
details were not available before the newsletter went
to press. For details, including meeting time and
location, call A1 Lindberg at 5 16/571-8500.

L.7. Botanical Society

Sept. - Oct. 1997

Page 31

LONG ISLAND BOTANICAL SOCIETY
Founded: 1986; Incorporated: 1989.

PROGRAMS

The Long Island Botanical Society is dedicated to the promotion of
field botany and a greater understanding of the plants that grow
Wild on Long Island, New York.

President
Vice President
Treasurer
Rec'rd Sec'y
Cor’sp Sec'y
Local Flora
Field Trip

Membership

Conservation

Education

Hospitality

Program

Editor

Eric Lament
Skip Blanchard
Carol Johnston
Barbara Conolly
Jane Blanchard
Steven Qemants
Glenn Richard
Allan Lindberg
Lois Lindberg
John Turner
Louise Harrison
Mary Laura Lamont
lliomas Allen Stock
Betty Lotowycz
Skip Blanchard
Steven ClemanLs
Eric lament

Membership

Membership is open to all, and we welcome new members.
Annual dues are SlO. For membership, make your check payable
to LONG ISLAND BOTANICAL SOCIETY and mail to: Lois
Lindberg, Membership Chairperson. 45 Sandy Hill Road. Oyster
Bay, NY 11771-3111

9 September 1997 - 7:30 pm*
Vincent Puglisi & Elizabeth Gulotta

(Nassau Community College)
"Field Biology in Costa Rica"
Slides of phytogeographic regions
with an emphasis on plants
Location: Bill Patterson Nature Center,
Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

14 October 1997 - 7:30 pm*
Michael Flemming
(Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
"Vegetation of the Siletz River
Watershed, Oregon"

Slides with an emphasis on cthnobotany,
based upon Michael's MS degree
Location: Bill Patterson Nature Center,
Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

^Refreshments & informal talk begin at 7:30pm, the
meeting starts at 8pm. For directions to Muttontown
Preserve call 516-571-8500.

LONG ISLAND BOTANICAL SOCIETY
do Muttontown Preserve
Muttontown Lane
East Norwich, New York 11732

LI. Botanical Society

Sept. - Oct. 1997

Page 32