LONG ISLAND
BOTANICAL SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER

Vol. 8, No. 7

Nov. - Dec. 1998

Preliminary Atlas of the
Berberidaceae through Fumariaceae
of Long Island, New York

The Flora Committee
Long Island Botanical Society

This fifth contribution to an atlas of L.I. plants treats
25 species included in five families: 1) Berberidaceae, the
Barberry Family, 2) Lardizabalaceae, the Lardizabala
Family, 3) Menispermaceae, the Moonseed Family, 4)
Papaveraceae, the Poppy Family, and 5) Fumariaceae, the
Fumitory Family.

Eighteen of the 25 species included in this treatment
are non-native species (= alien), most being garden
escapes. Although the wild bleeding-heart ( Dicentra
exima) is native to New York, the LIBS Flora Committee
considers this species to be a garden escape on L.I. The
same is probably true for the may-apple (. Podophyllum
peltatumy, all of the populations reported by the Commit-
tee appear to be introduced. The five-leaf akebia ( Akebia
quinata ) is persistent after cultivation but seeds usually
are set only after hand pollination. Japanese and common
barberry ( Berberis thunbergii & B. vulgaris) are two of
the most invasive non-native plants in New York State.
Wintergreen barberry {B. julianae ) is recently escaped
and established in central Suffolk Co., and has not yet
been added to the Checklist of N.Y.S. Plants (Mitchell &
Tucker). Yellow harlequin ( Corydalis flavula) is a N.Y.S.
threatened species, and golden corydalis (C. aurea ) has
been recorded for Long Island but no voucher specimen
or verified published report has been found.

Highlights

Atlas of Long Island Plants: Part 5 39

Distribution Maps 40

Environmental Initiatives 42

Plant Sightings 43

Programs 44

Key to Map Symbols

Closed circle [•] = there is a specimen for this area
collected after 1980.

Open circle [o] = there is a specimen for this area
collected before 1980.

Closed square [■] - there is a specimen from this
area collected before 1980 and a report
(based upon a visual sighting or published
literature report) from this area after 1980.

Closed triangle [a] = there is a report (based upon
a visual sighting or published literature
report) from this area after 1980.

Open triangle [a] - there is a report (based upon a
visual sighting or published literature report)
from this area before 1980.

Opium Poppy ( Papaver somniferum )

One of the more frequent poppies in garden cultivation
prior to regulation under U.S. federal law.
Illustration from Mitchell, 1983.

LA, Botanical Society

Nov. - Dec. 1998

Page 39

Maps

BERBERIDACEAE

KS7

Berberis julianae Schneid -

Alien WINTERGREEN BARBERRY

[•/s

■/V

i|

C?“

Berberis thunbergii DC.
Alien

JAPANESE BARBERRY

lo

■

u

Berberis vulgaris L. -
Alien

COMMON BARBERRY

CL/~i

Caulophyllum thalictroides (L.) Michx. -BLUE COHOSH
Native

^ <P-

Podophyllum peltatum L. - MAY-APPLE

Native

LARDIZABALACEAE

MENISPERMACEAE

PAPAVERACEAE

Argemone albiflora Homem. -WHITE PRICKLY-POPPY
Alien

L.I. Botanical Society

Nov. - Dec. 1998

Page 40

Eschscholzia califomica Cham, ex Nees -

Alien CALIFORNIA POPPY

f*£q

7 ,

Glaucium comiculatum (L.) J. Rudolph -

Alien HORNED POPPY

i / ^

Glaucium flavum Cranz
Alien

HORNED POPPY

aT 9 ®

1

1 / ^

^ r ^ r ^+Jy~ qJy L ' s '*

SiP=~

33^

Macleaya cordata (Willd.) R. Br. PLUME-POPPY

Alien

L_U~

yC~* <7”

Papaver dubium L. -

CORNFIELD POPPY

Alien

Papaver orientale L. -
Alien

ORIENTAL POPPY

^32

3 ^^

Papaver rhoeas L. -
Alien

CORN POPPY

!

<?"

Papaver somniferum L. -
Alien

OPIUM POPPY

Sanguinaria canadensis L. - BLOODROOT

Native

FUMARIACEAE

(SQ,

Lx*

\lA

33 ^

Adlumia fungosa (Ait.) Greene ex BSP. -

Native ALLEGHENY VINE

L.I. Botanical Society

Nov . - Dec. 1998

Page 41

Native YELLOW HARLEQUIN

Corydalis sempervirens (L.) Pers. - PINK CORYDALIS
Native

Dicentra eximia (Ker) Torr. - WILD BLEEDING-HEART
Native

Key Environmental Initiatives
on Ballot this Fall

Election Day 1998holds the promise of being a
very special day for the protection of wild land and
open spaces in Suffolk County that naturalists care
so much about. Seven different land acquisition
measures are on the ballot for Suffolk County
residents to consider on November 3, 1998. They
include one county wide measure and six town
propositions.

If approved by voters, the Suffolk County Propo-
sition, entitled the “Farms, Field, and Fun” Bond Act
authorizes an expenditure of $62 million to be used
for various purposes. These include $20 million
each for:

* the purchase of watershed lands to protect ground-

water supplies such as the pine barrens;

* farmland development rights to continue the

County’s hallmark program; and

* active recreational sites such as soccer and ball

fields.

It also authorizes $2 million for the establishment of
a much needed regional natural history center to
interpret the Island’s rich natural legacy.

The town-level land protection initiatives would
allow the towns of Shelter Island, Southold,
Riverhead, Southampton, East Hampton, and
Huntington to purchase various types of lands
including farmland, watersheds, wildlife habitat,
wetlands, and coastal areas that were identified and
prioritized in a townwide open space plan. The east
end towns would secure the necessary funding to
purchase key properties through the establishment of
a 2% tax on real estate transfers while Huntington’s
$15 million program is proposed to be funded
through the sale of general obligation bonds. The
east end initiative is expected to generate about $110
million for land protection over the life of the
program (the tax sunsets in 12 years).

This Election Day vote in support of protecting
the fields, forests, and wetlands that we care so
much about by voting for all of the land acquisition
proposals.

John Turner

Conservation Chairman

L.I. Botanical Society

Nov. - Dec. 1 998

Page 42

Plant Sightings

Mile-a-minute ( Polygonum perfoliatum )
Invades Long Island

Seabeach Amaranth:

Increased Numbers Again in 1998

Stephen Young
NY Natural Heritage Program

A total of just under 8600 plants of the federally
threatened seabeach amaranth ( Amaranthus pumilus )
were counted on Long Island beaches this year.
Annual counts have taken place on Long Island
since 1990 (see Table below) when the plant was
rediscovered and this year’s count is the highest
ever, surpassing the 8000 plants observed in 1997.
Most of the plants are concentrated at three sites in
central Suffolk, western Nassau and eastern Queens
counties, but plants are found east to Westhampton
Island. Because North and South Carolina plants
have suffered from numerous recent hurricanes,

Long Island has the most flowering plants in the
world at this time (only 8 10 plants were counted on
half of the known sites in NC this year; the other
half was not counted). The recent success of Long
Island plants seems to be primarily due to the
protection provided by the fencing of beaches for
rare piping plovers and terns and lack of hurricanes.

Numbers of Seabeach Amaranth Plants
Observed on Long Island, N.Y. (1990-1998)

Year

Number
Plants Obs<

1990

331

1991

2100

1992

442

1993

195

1994

182

1995

599

1996

2263

1997

7990

1998

8600

Eric Lamont

While walking along the Greenbelt Trail in eastern
Nassau County this past summer, my attention was drawn
to a tangled mass of vegetation sprawling over the ground
and clambering up and over shrubs and small trees. Upon
closer examination I observed a prickly -stemmed vine
with perfectly triangular leaves and bizarre sheaths that
were expanded into saucer-shaped collars clasping the
stem. The immature fruits were berry-like, fleshy, and
approximately pea-sized. I immediately knew that the
plant was the dreaded mile-a-minute weed. For a brief
moment I was excited, for I realized that this was the first
time the species had been observed on Long Island. But
then the magnitude of the discovery set in.

A native of Japan, mile-a-minute was accidentally
brought to Pennsylvania in the 1930s with a shipment of
rhododendrons. Its seeds were soon spread by birds and
rodents that ate the fruits. It crept down the coast into
Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. In eight
years, from 1981 to 1989, mile-a-minute extended its
range in Pennsylvania from five to eleven counties. It
crept into New Jersey, northern Virginia, West Virginia
and Ohio. In 1994 Sara Stein reported mile-a-minute
from Westchester County, New York. A conference on
the spread and potential control of the weed was held at
the University of Pennsylvania in 1995.

Mile-a-minute thrives in areas with plenty of direct
sunlight and damp soil. It is especially abundant along
roadsides, ditches, stream banks, wet meadows, and
clearcuts. Rapidly growing at about half a foot per day,
mile-a-minute can reach lengths of 20 feet. Its rapid
growth and viney nature allow it to overtake the native
vegetation of an area, smothering seedlings and out
competing mature plants for space, nutrients, and sun-
light.

Because mile-a-minute is an annual with a shallow
root system, it is best removed from lightly infested areas
by hand-pulling (with gloves to protect hands) and
disposing of them before they go to seed.

Considering the apparent attraction of birds and small
rodents to the sweet, berry-like fruits, this invasive weed
is likely to become quite common throughout Long Island
in the near future.

L.I. Botanical Society

Nov . - Dec. 1998

Page 43

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

Program

Membership

Conservation

Education

Hospitality

Editor

Eric Lamont
Skip Blanchard
Carol Johnston
Barbara Conolly
John Potente
Steven Clemants
Allan Lindberg
Tom Meoli
Skip Blanchard
Lois Lindberg
John Turner
Karen Blumer
Mary Laura Lamont
Thomas Allen Stock
Betty Lotowycz
Jane Blanchard
Eric Lamont

Membership

Membership is open to all, and we welcome new members.
Annual dues are $10. 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

10 November 1998 - 7:30 pm*

Dr. Gilbert Hanson

Dept, of Geosciences, SUNY at Stony Brook
"How the Glaciers Really Formed L.I."
The old textbook theory of how glaciers formed L.I.
has been largely discredited by geologists. Glacial
tectonics & push moraines provide better answers.
Location: Museum of L.I. Natural Sciences,
Room 123, SUNY at Stony Brook.

8 December 1998 - 7:30 pm*
Richard Murcott
(American Rhododendron Society)
"Rhododendrons of the World"
Location: Bill Patterson Nature Center,
Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich.

♦Refreshments & informal talk begin at 7:30pm, the
meeting starts at 8pm. For directions to 1) Muttontown
Preserve call 516/571-8500; 2) MOLINS call 516/632-8230

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

L.I. Botanical Society

Nov. - Dec. 1998

Page 44