Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 22 No. 2 The Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012 The Story of St. Ronan’s Well, Flushing Bay, Queens, New York: Once a Premier Collecting Site for Now-Uncommon Long Island Plants Andrew M. Greller, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Dept, of Biology, Queens College, Flushing, NY 11367 and Eric E. Lamont, Ph.D., Curator of Caribbean Asteraceae, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458 It is rare that a murder story is connected to a premier collecting site for Long Island plants. But a place long known as St. Ronan’s Well was once the scene of a fatal crime of passion. The story was luridly reported by the New York Times, in 1894. 1 This tale of the murder of a prospective bride by the best friend of the bridegroom, recalls the popular 1823 novel, “St. Ronan’s Well,” by Sir Walter Scott, which involves a love triangle and murder at St. Ronan’s Well, a spa in southern Scotland. The history of St. Ronan’s Well in Flushing was summarized, perhaps more accurately, by Charles Arthur Conant: “From the race course the [Hunters Point-Newtown-Flushing] turnpike led to St. Ronan’s Well near Flushing Creek. The waters of this spring, celebrated for their healing properties, had already been used by Indians. A popular resort was established on the brow of the hill, where guests continued to enjoy the water with other refreshments.” 2 St. Ronan’s Well was formally described as a wooded island near the head of Flushing Bay (Fig. 1), comprising 7 acres. 3 In one report, its political location was given as the Town of Newtown, Queens County It was originally separated by a salt marsh from the Hunters Point-Newtown-Flushing turnpike and was originally known as “Yonker’s Island” 1 On 12 July 1852, St. Ronan’s Well received regular ferry service. “The steamer George Law, Capt. Francis Lockwood, began making trips between Flushing, Flammersburg, St. Ronan’s Well and Peck’s slip. [. . .] This boat was also started by Mr. Flammer who was developing Flammersburg, a prospective town between College Point and Whitestone.” 5 In the 1850’s, consequent to the regular ferry service, St. Ronan’s Well became a favorite picnic party site for church groups and a place for military drills. 3 By 1894, the NY Times reported that “St. Ronan’s Well site held only the charred ruins of a once grand mansion.” 1 Later, “speculators filled the spa and leveled the hillsite,” 2 and it was reported in the 1897 Brooklyn Eagle that “The well known promontory called St. Ronan’s Well, on Jackson Avenue, a short distance from Flushing, will soon be a thing of the past. For some time men have been at work removing the land and the entire bluff will soon be cleared away.” 6 ( Continued on pg 15) Figure 1. Map of northern Queens County, L.I., N.Y., showing the probable location of St. Ronan’s Well (arrow). Flushing Meadows drained north into Flushing Creek and ultimately into Flushing Bay. (1874, Dripp’s Map of the Bays, Flarbors and Rivers around New York City, New York-Geographicus-NewYork-asheradams; from Wikimedia 2011). after its original owner, “Adriaen Cornelissen van der Donck (ca. 1618 - ca. 1655), who was a lawyer as well as a landowner I . .]. Enchanted by his new homeland of New Netherland, van der Donck made detailed accounts of the land, vegetation, animals, waterways, topography, and climate.” 4 Page 14 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 22 No. 2 Long Island Botanical Society Founded: 1986 • Incorporated: 1989 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. Visit the Society’s Web site www.libotanical.ora Executive Board President Eric Lamont 631-722-5542 elamont@optonhne.net Vice President Andrew Greller agreller2@opton1ine.net Treasurer Carol Johnston j ohnfj ohnston2@op tonline. net Recording Secretary Barbara Conolly bconolly@,op tonhne.net Corresponding Secretary Rich Kelly v2e2dxmil@veri2on.net Committee Chairpersons Flora Eric Lamont elamont@optonhne.net Andrew Greller agreher2@optonhne.net Field Trips Michael Feder mdfeder2Q01@yahoo.com Programs Rich Kelly v2e2dxmil@veri2on.net Membership Lois Lindberg hbsmember@veri 20 n.net Conservation Bill Titus btitus@optonhne.net Education Mary Laura Lamont elamont@optonhne.net Hospitahty Kathleen Gaffney kg73@cornell.edu Zu Proly Dorothy Titus btitus@optonhne.net Newsletter Editor Margaret Conover Margaret. conover@,gmail. com with special thanks to Skip & Jane Blanchard Webmaster Donald House libsweb@yahoo.com Society News LIBS member, poet, and longtime naturalist Tom Stock has pubhshed a new book — Hidden Agenda: A Poem journey. “Barrens! The name itself conjures up a belated romanticism . . . These poems are often witty, often relevant, often rough with disregard of conventional poets — which I admire. Tom Stock’s discovery of the Pine Barrens is that of a lover’s and his poems are his progeny, raising the land and the things in it.” (From a review by Allen Plan 2 .) Contact Tom to obtain a copy. SOME UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST TO LIBS MEMBERS: April 12— Invasive Species Mapping Training. Learn about mapping invasive species, hke Phragmites, in the field. Field trip to Cranberry Bog County Park, Riverhead. More information on the NYFA blog: http: / / nyfablog .or g / April 15-19— 12th Northeast Natural History Conference (NENHC). This conference promises again to be the largest regional forum for researchers, natural resource managers, students, and naturalists to present current information on the varied aspects of apphed field biology. Syracuse Convention Center. Registration: http:/ /www.eaglehih.us June 10-14— Joint Field Meeting of the Botanical Society of America, Northeast Section, the Torrey Botanical Society, and the Philadelphia Botanical Club. Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA. Explore the botany of Western Pennsylvania near the Ohio border. Contact Nan Williams, 413-339-5598 or E-mail: nnwrowe@gmail.com SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 (SATURDAY) 10 AM Goldenrod Workshop, Northville, Suffolk Co., NY Trip leader: Eric Lamont, Ph.D. (Co-listed with the Torrey Botanical Society and New York Flora Association) Registration is required: You must be a member of one of the sponsoring organUations to register, and the workshop will be limited to 24 participants. Please email Eric at elamont@optonline.net . The purpose of this free workshop is to teach participants how to identify goldenrods in the field. The workshop will begin with an introduction by Eric who will explain how to use a key to the goldenrods of Long Island. Participants will key out a few species together and then try their skills keying out live specimens on their own or with a partner. We will then ID all of the species together, check our determinations, and explain where participants might have gone wrong in the key. The workshop will end with a walk through North Fork Preserve, Northville. (Purchased in 2011 by Suffolk County and Riverhead Township, these 300+ acres were the largest unprotected tract of open space remaining in Suffolk County.) Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 22 No. 2 Page 15 (St. Ronan ,r Well cont. from cover) Botanical Hot Spot Our professional interest in St. Ronan’s Well is based on the site’s historical significance as once supporting an exceptionally rich flora, unmatched elsewhere on Long Island. Among many other rare plants, twelve native orchid species once occurred in this immediate region, including Corallorhiya maculata, Cypripedium pariiflorum, Goodyera pubescens, liparis liliifolia, A loeselii, Platanthera blepharighttis, P. clavellata, P. lacera, P. pycodes, Spiranthes cernua, and S. lacera var. gracilis? In the early 1880’s, St. Ronan’s Well was a favorite plant collecting locality for Julius A. Bisky, Flushing pharmacist, who could have easily walked to the site from his pharmacy in Flushing. Bisky had studied botany with Joseph Schrenk 8 and Alphonso Wood 9 and was a well-respected member of the Torrey Botanical Club. He compiled some important early botanical records for Queens County 10 and for Nassau County 11 which was part of Queens County at that time. Bisky authored the first (unpublished) flora of Queens County 12 and collected and donated more than 400 vascular plant specimens to the Kings County Pharmaceutical Association. 13 Many of these collections were specifically cited by Smith Ely Jelliffe in his 1899 “Flora of Long Island.” Fortunately, many of Bisky’s collections have survived to this day in the herbaria of Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BKL) and The New York Botanical Garden (NY). See Figure 2. A list of plants collected by Bisky from St. Ronan’s Well and deposited at BKL is presented in Table 1 . Eight of the species collected are especially noteworthy for Long Island: Aureolaria flava (yellow false foxglove) has not been recently collected on Long Island, Ceanothus americanus (New Jersey tea) has been a seriously declining species on Long Island during the past 50 years, Desmodium glutinosum (pointed-leaved tick-trefoil) is uncommon in western Long Island and rare in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Galactia volubilis (downy milkpea) is currently considered to be extirpated in New York, Galium pilosum (hairy bedstraw) has not been recently collected anywhere on Long (Cont. on page 16) Table 1. List of specimens collected by Julius A. Bisky at St. Ronan’s Well, housed in the Herbarium of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. “Number” is BKL collection entry. Number Family Scientific Name Common Name 348784 Apiaceae Ziyia aurea (L.) WD.J. Koch golden Alexanders 289877 Asclepiadaceae Asclepias ampkxicaulis Sm. blunt-leaved milkweed 290155 Asclepiadaceae Asclepias syriaca L. common milkweed 293922 Asteraceae I \e Han thus divaricatus L. woodland sunflower 293967 Asteraceae He/ianthus giganteus L. giant sunflower 294016 Asteraceae Helianthus strumosus L. pale -leaved wood sunflower 294017 Asteraceae H dianthus strumosus L. pale -leaved wood sunflower 294519 Asteraceae Hactuca canadensis L. wild lettuce 294538 Asteraceae I xictuca canadensis L. wild lettuce 295258 Asteraceae Prenanthes alba L. white rattlesnakeroot 295337 Asteraceae Prenanthes trifoliolata (Cass.) Fernald gall of the earth 295830 Asteraceae Solidago bicolor I white goldenrod 297755 Asteraceae Symphyotrichum ericoides (L.) G.L. Nesom heath aster 298003 Asteraceae Symphyotrichum hwrieanum (Porter) G.L. Nesom Lowrie’s aster 298204 Asteraceae Symphyotrichum patens (Aiton) G.L. Nesom late purple aster 49887 Boraginaceae Myosotis verna Nutt. spring forget-me-not 303344 Caryophyllaceae Silene stellata (L.) WT. Aiton starry campion 307198 Convolvulaceae Cuscuta gronovii Willd. ex Schult. dodder 316201 Fabaceae Desmodium glutinosum (Muhl. ex Willd.) A.W Wood pointed-leaved tick-trefoil 316843 Fabaceae Galactia volubilis (L.) Britton downy milkpea 316937 Fabaceae Lathyrus japonicus var. maritimus (L.) Kartesz & Gandhi beach pea 317137 Fabaceae Hspedeya intermedia (S. Watson) Britton \ = L frutescens (L.) Hornem.] wandlike bush-clover 317138 Fabaceae ijespedeya lirginica (L.) Britton slender bush-clover 317748 Fabaceae Strophostyks helvola (L.) Elliott trailing wild bean 38616 Fabaceae Vicia sativa ssp. nigra (L.) Ehrh. garden vetch 323183 Lamiaceae Hamium amplexicauk L. henbit 328481 Orchidaceae Liparis liliifolia (L.) A. Rich, ex Ker Gawl. large twayblade 6513 Primulaceae lysimachia dliata L. fringed loosestrife 324430 Ranunculaceae Thalictrum dioicum L. early meadow-rue 324562 Ranunculaceae Thalictrum revolutum DC. waxy meadow-rue 39068 Rhamnaceae Ceanothus americanus L. New Jersey tea 325406 Rosaceae Geum canadense Jacq. white avens 332671 Rubiaceae Galium pihsum Aiton hairy bedstraw 6252 Salicaceae Populus grandidentata Michx. big-toothed aspen 333475 Scrophulariaceae Aureolaria flava (L.) Farw. yellow false foxglove Page 16 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 22 No. 2 (St. Ronan ’s Well cont. from page 15) Figure 2. Herbarium label of specimen collected at St. Ronan’s Well by Julius A. Bisky in June of 1 886. Island, Lysimachia dliata (fringed loosestrife) is uncommon in western Long Island and rare in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Thalictrum revolutum (waxy meadow-rue) is uncommon on Long Island with only one recent collection, and Ziyia aurea (golden Alexanders) is also rare on Long Island with only one recent collection. St. Ronan’s Well was also intensely botanized during the 1880’s by Denis A. Faivey, another pharmacist in Flushing and a native of Elmhurst, Queens. Some of Falvey’s plant collections are currendy located in the herbarium at NY His collection of the very rare large twayblade orchid (Liparis liliifolia ), a species currently considered extirpated from Long Island and exceptionally rare in New York (Fig. 3), is annotated with the following data: “Thesis of Denis A. Faivey, Jan. 1887, Flushing, L.I.: Flora of St. Ronan’s Well, Flushing, Queens, Long Island” (Fig. 4). Tragically, Julius Bisky died at the early age of 26, and Denis Faivey left the New York city area for health reasons when he was 32 and died at age 34. 14 Because Bisky was an active member of the Torrey Botanical Club his botanical accomplishments have been recorded for posterity, 8 but we have been unable to learn any more about the botanical contributions of Faivey. Neither the manuscript of Bisky’s unpublished flora of Queens, nor that of Falvey’s thesis have as yet been located. Information on Julius A. Bisky Born: 1860 New York City (“of Hungarian parentage”) Graduate, College of Pharmacy of the City of New York, March 16, 1880: Second in his class. Proprietor of a pharmacy in Flushing from 1881 until his “sudden death.” Wife: Mary Strickland (as listed in Ryerson Family genealogy) Died 1886, aged 26 yrs Acknowledgements: Thanks go to Ian Lewis, Archivist, for assistance at The Queens Library, Archives Division, 89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, NY, and to Margaret Conover, LIBS Newsletter Editor, for various contributions to this manuscript including the reference cited in endnote 6. Editor’s Postscript: About 5 years ago, LIBS was contacted by a woman whose husband is the great-grandson of Julius Bisky’s sister. Through an internet search, the woman had discovered Eric Lamont’s mention of Bisky in the 1994 article, “Long Island Botanical Society in Historical Perspective” (Long Island Bot. Soc. Newsl. 4:1-2) which is available on the LIBS website. A brief correspondence provided new information to both parties, and we remain in contact. Figure 3. Liparis liliifolia. Photographed by LIBS member Tom Nelson along the Sussex Branch Trail in Kittatinny Valley State Park, Sussex Co. New Jersey on June 5, 2010. Only one plant could be located! Figure 4. Liparis liliifolia. Herbarium specimen collected at St. Ronan’s Well, Queens, Long Island, by Denis Faivey on June 18, 1886. Now in the permanent collection of the New York Botanical Garden. Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 22 No. 2 Page 17 THE STORY OF ST. BORAH'S WELL. Romance and Mystery of a Ruined Old Mansion In Flushing. FI/USMTfCr, h, I„ June 17.— Romance and mystery are mingled with, the story of St, Ronan’s Well, a ruined mansion that stands on a green wooded knoll overlooking Flush- ing Bay. Years ago a handsome mansion stood there, hut now blackened and rain- soaked ruins mark , the site, and the place is given over to reptiles. The historic well is filled with weeds and noxious vines, and uncanny figures are said to hold nightly revels through the Quaint mansion. Local tradition says that many years ago a Frenchman, supposed to be a noble- man in exile from his native country, went to live In the old mansion, that was then known as " The Hall/* He was accompa- nied by a son named Francois, a handsome, stalwart youth, and a daughter, Gertrude, who was said to be remarkably beautiful. She had wealth and many suitors, and finally became ' an affianced bride. The young couple appeared greatly attached to each other, and the wedding day was set. In preparing for that happy occa- sion the lover took a friend to the Hall to see his. promised bride. His name was St. Ronan Carlyle. At their first meeting young Carlyle be- came ^deeply enamored of the young wo- man, and, forgetting friendship and every- thing else, swore that he would make the girl his bride or die. It does not appear that his love was returned. Finally the old Frenchman ordered him to leave the place. The night set for his departure was cold and damp. It was in the Fall of the year. Pleading for a last interview, young Carlyle at length succeeded in enticing the hapless girl into the grounds. Here he entreated her to fly with him, but she re- mained true to her first lover. As they talked they fiiade a circuit of the grounds and gradually drew near the well, which, was hidden from the house by a patch 'of shrubbery;, Suddenly there was a piercing -shriek that arose above the noise of the; storm. It was followed by a smoth- ered report. The party in the house rushed out. With lanterns they scoured the grounds. In the shrubbery near the well they found young Carlyle's body. There was a. bullet hole through his heart and his hand still grasped a pistol. But no-‘ trace of the girl was to be found. All that night the ago- nized father, and brother, with the aid of the servants, .searched for her, without avail. In the morning they found her body In the well. Immediately following the tragedy the Frenchman moved away and was never more heard from. The place became known as St, Honan's Well. Villagers said the spot was haunted, and no one courageous enough could be found who would dare live in the house. One bleak Autumn night it went.up In flames, and no one has since ever attempted to reclaim the spot. According to. village, historians, the place was first taken possession of by Adrian von. der Douch. It was known then as Yonkers Island, and after a number of vicissitudes finally passed into the hands of the French nobleman, whose sad history changed' the name of the island and Its surroundings. or k Cimcs Published: June 18, 1894 Copyright © The New York Times End Notes and References Cited 1 The Story of St. Ronan’s Well; Romance and Mystery of a Ruined Old Mansion in Flushing. New York Times, June 18, 1894. (See clipping in the adjacent sidebar.) 2 Charles A. [Arthur] Conant. 1913. The progress of the Empire State: a work devoted to the historical, financial, industrial, and literary development of New York, Volume 1, p. 26. 3 1859, Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of the State of New York edited by John Homer French, p. 549, Queens County. 4 Wikipedia contributors. “Adriaen van der Donck.” Wikipedia, The Tree Encyclopedia. 19 Mar. 2012. 5 Harry R. Gelwicks, 1907. “Reminiscences of Flushing; 1847 to 1864.” Address Before the Flushing Historical Society. 6 St. Ronan’s Well: A Historic Spot Near Flushing That Will Soon Be Obliterated by the March of Improvement. Brooklyn Eagle, Dec. 14. 1897. 7 Lamont, E. 2007. One hundred fifty years of change in the orchid flora of Brooklyn and Queens, New York. Transactions of the Linnaean Society of New York 10: 123-132. 8 “The sudden death of Mr. Julius Bisky in the midst of his life’s usefulness and success is not only a heavy calamity to his family but to the community in which he lived and to this Club, of which he was one of the most promising and useful among the younger members. He was born of Hungarian parentage in New York City, twenty-six years ago. At the age of 13 years he was fortunate in becoming a pupil of Professor Schrenk and under his instruction developed a remarkable love of flowers and an unusual talent for botanical study. He subsequently studied at the New York College of Pharmacy and was graduated 2d in his class. He commenced business as a druggist in Flushing, in 1881, and soon became a favorite in all classes of the community for his professional skill and his genial manner. His proficiency also as a botanist caused his speedy recognition as the local authority on all botanical questions. Mr. Bisky had nearly completed at the time of his death an exhaustive catalogue of the Flora of Queens County, a work which had engaged his attention for more than three years. By his patient industry and discrimination he had added largely to the list of Long Island plants and by his intelligent grouping and selection he has greatly simplified the work of those who shall follow him in this field, and the many excellencies of his character will endear his memory to all who knew him. J. W BARSTOW, J. F. POGGENBURG.” [Report of the Bisky Memorial Committee.] Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, Volume 14 (2): 251 (1887). 9 Reported in: New Remedies, 1880, vol. 9, p.127. 10 Bisky, Julius A. 1887. Notes from Queens County, Long Island. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 14: 13-14. 11 Bisky, Julius A. [reported four plants] Aster radula, Aster acuminatus, Mimulus moschatus (bog near Locust Valley), Amianthium muscaetoxicum (Valley Stream; NYS Museum of Natural History Annual Report for the Year 1886 (transmitted Jan. 14, 1887).) (Note: The last two plants were noteworthy range extensions, previously unknown in New York State.) 12 Bisky, J. A., Ph.G. 1886. “Catalogue of Phanerogamous and Vascular Cryptogamous Plants of Queens County, Long Island, Showing Distribution through Various Townships.” Flushing, Long Island. (Con t. on page 18) Page 18 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 22 No. 2 (Honan’s Well cont. from page 1 7) Unfinished manuscript deposited in Flushing High School. (Note: When the new Flushing High School was built, Bisky’s herbarium was sent to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden where it has been integrated into the general collections; the manuscript has never been recovered.) 13 Reported in: Pharmaceutical Record, 1880, vol. 6, p. 216. 14 1901. Anonymous. [Obituary] Dennis A. Falvey. Newtown Register [Queens County, N.Y], January 24, 1901. “Dennis A. Falvey, who for several years was head clerk in Gerretsons’s pharmacy at Flushing, died in Highland, Cal. last week. Mr. Falvey was well known to Elmhurst ...[and attended] the College of Pharmacy in New York. Mr. Falvey was 34 years of age and went to California some two years ago for his health...” Palm Trees at Jones Beach by Rich Kelly I went to Jones Beach State Park West End 2 several times last summer in search of beetles and other insects that may have been washed in along the shore lines. One day I noticed that a bunch of live palm trees and palmettos had been planted in the grassy areas along the sides of the road. I didn’t pay much attention to them originally and subsequently found out that they had been planted to provide a Florida-like setting in which to film a scene for the movie, “Men in Black III.” On my visit on August 21, 2011, 1 decided to get a closer look at the palms in case any odd insects had been attracted to these out-of-place plants. No such luck with bugs, but I did notice a flourishing flora coming up out of the root balls of the palms. The very rainy season and the passage of time had transformed the empty sandy patches into miniature gardens of exotics. At one tree alone there were Spanish needles (Bidens alba) in bloom, something that looked like a very tall white- flowered Galinsoga, some possible spurges, and other things I had no clue about. Andy Greller later photographed and documented some of this material. After a few e-mails on this subject, Steve Young quickly recommended that the newcomers be dispatched before they could go to seed and have unintended consequences. New York State Parks personnel became involved and sprayed the invaders with pesticide. Although this wasn’t the most preferred approach, it was felt necessary because Hurricane/ Tropical Storm Irene was about to strike our area. Sweet birch roots growing over glacial erratic, Aurthur Kunz Park, San Remo, Suffolk County, NY. Illustration by LIBS member and professional artist, Jan C. Porinchak http://natureworks-illustration.com Artist’s statement: “I’ve become very interested in the physiology of trees, their roots, and how these are shaped by the environment. I also show how other flora and fauna use these structures as habitat.” Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 22 No. 2 Page 19 Field Trips APRIL 14, 2012 (SATURDAY) 10 AM Coffin Woods , Locust Valley, Nassau Co., NY Trip leader: Carol Johnston Email: johnfjohnston2@optonline.net Coffin Woods Preserve is a 70-acre mature oak-beech-tulip tree woodland. Besides our native trout lily {lirythronium americanum), there is a stand of the lavender European trout lily {lirythronium dens-canis ), red trillium ( Trillium erectum) in abundance, wood anemone ( Anemone quinquefolia), Siberian geranium ( Geranium sibericum), and Galax , among other wild flowers. Rarely seen on Long Island is a healthy stand of strawberry bush ( Luonymus americanus). We will also look in detail at an invasive Leucothoe that has overrun many parts of the woods. The trails are easy. Bring a bag lunch. Directions: Coffin Woods Preserve, part of the North Shore Sanctuaries, is located behind Portledge School, Duck Pond Road, Locust Valley, 7/10 of a mile east of the intersection with Piping Rock Road, and on the left. Enter the Portledge campus, go past the Lower School on the left, past the Middle and Upper Schools, and at the end of the parking lot you will see tennis courts. Park behind the tennis courts. APRIL 28, 2012 (SATURDAY) 10AM Massapequa Preserve, Massapequa, Nassau Co., NY Trip leader: Andrew Greller, Ph.D. Email: agreller2@optonhne.net Botanist Andrew Greller will guide us through this delightful Nassau County-owned 423-acre preserve that was voted Long Island’s best nature preserve by Long Island Press in 2006. Directions: We will meet at the north side of the Long Island Railroad Massapequa train station in the far east parking lot. May, 17, 2012 (THURSDAY) 10AM (NOTE: NON-WEEKEND DAY!) Forest Park, Queens Co., NY Trip leader: Michael Feder Email: mdfeder2001@yahoo.com Designed by Frederick Olmsted in the 1890s, Forest Park is the third largest park in Queens. We will get a last look at some fading spring ephemerals, visit some oddball plant populations, see a restoration site that was formerly a Norway maple stand and find good representation from the parsley (Apiaceae) family. If you’d like to do some bird watching before or after the walk, bring binoculars. Forest Park is an excellent place to view migrating warblers. Directions: We will meet at 10AM at Wallenberg Square which is located at the southwest corner of Park Lane South and Metropolitan Avenue in Kew Gardens. Take the Grand Central Parkway or Van Wyck Expressway to the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Get off at exit 6, Metropolitan Avenue. Make a left onto Metropolitan Avenue. Wallenberg Square will be about 1/4 mile down the road on your right at the intersection with Park Lane South. JULY 14, 2012 (SATURDAY) 9 AM (NOTE EARLY START TIME) Montauk Point for seaweeds, Suffolk Co., NY Trip leader: Larry B. Liddle, Ph.D. Email: larry.Hddle@gmail.com We will meet an hour before low tide for a Httle talk in the parking lot and to walk the tide out. We will walk in the intertidal (very rough walking) pools below the Hghthouse and then walk north on land about 150m to a “cove” to see the drift, which also could involve wading but on sandy bottom. There will still be plenty to see for those not wanting to risk wading and walking on shppery rocks. Directions: Meet at the Montauk Point parking lot. Go East on 1-495 to Exit 70, south on County Road 111 to Route 27 and east on NY Route 27 to Montauk Point. Please note there is an $8 parking fee. UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS (Details will be pubfished in upcoming newsletters and are available on the LIBS website.) SEPTEMBER 8, 2012 (SATURDAY) 10 AM Hempstead Plains, Uniondale, Nassau Co., NY SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 (SATURDAY) 10 AM Goldenrod Workshop, Northiille, Suffolk Co., NY (Registration Hmited, see notice on page 14.) SEPTEMBER 29, 2012 (SATURDAY) 10AM Hither Hills State Park, Suffolk Co., NY OCTOBER 6, 2012 (SATURDAY) 10AM Mutton town Preserve, East Norwich, Nassau Co., NY OCTOBER 27, 2012 (SATURDAY) 10AM Alley Pond Environmental Center (APEC) and Oakland Lake Park, Douglaston, Queens Co., NY Long Island Botanical Society PO Box 507 Aquebogue, NY 11931 Page 20 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 22 No. 2 Upcoming Programs April 10, 2012* Tuesday, 7:30 PM Jennifer Dean: “Tracking Invasive Species in New York with Volunteers and Professionals.” Invasive species are a major threat to biodiversity, particularly at localized scales. In New York, the State invasive species database (/Maplnvasives) was developed to provide an online mapping tool for aggregating and sharing invasive species data. Since 2010, the NY Natural Heritage Program has been training users to enter data into /M- aplnvasives to gain a better understanding of infesta- tions and to help with the early detection of, and rapid response to, new invaders. Jennifer earned her Ph.D. from Penn State University in Entomology with a focus on plant-insect interactions, and a B.S. in Plant Biol- ogy from Ohio University. She is the Invasive Species Biologist for the New York Natural Heritage Program, where she provides biological expertise for the data- base, conducts state-wide outreach, and collaborates with other groups throughout the state that are con- cerned with — and track — invasive species. Location: Museum of Long Island Natural Sciences, Earth and Space Science Building, Gil Hanson Room (Room 123), Stony Brook University, Stony Brook May 8, 2012* Tuesday, 7:30 PM John Potente: “Ethnobotany of Costa Rica.” Learn about the practical uses and applications of plant materials in this Central American country. John has been the LIBS Corresponding Secretary, the news- letter editor, and editor of the 2010 LIBS/Torrey book on tidal marshes. Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich June 12, 2012 Tuesday, 5:30 PM (please note early start time for the barbecue) Annual Barbecue: The annual barbecue, featuring Chef Eric’s made-to-order hot dogs and hamburgers. Salads, deviled eggs, desserts, etc. gladly accepted. The traditional location - on the green behind the Muttontown Preserve meeting house. Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich * Refreshments and informal talk begin at 7:30 p.m. Formal meeting starts at 8:00 p.m. Directions to Muttontown or Stony Brook: 516-354-6506