on saturday i went to a day-long volunteer training for "rapid natural area assessment" sponsored by the huron river watershed council. over the summer, 90 sites will be assessed by volunteers to determine which are the highest quality places that would be top priority to be protected. one of the most important characteristics is abundant biodiversity: many species of trees, shrubs, and plants.
with this in mind, i took a walk through our strip of woods that borders the hayfield. and, without taking notes and trying to be scientific, here are species that i noticed:
trees:
red, white, and black oak
red maple
black cherry
pin cherry
basswood
shagbark hickory
pignut hickory
blue beech
hopbornbeam
sassafrass
cottonwood
hawthorn
sumac
ash (all dead)
elm (mostly dead)
box elder
poplar
willow
autumn olive (invasive, along perimeter)
buckthorn (invasive)
prickly gooseberry
black raspberry
gray dogwood (or silky?)
red osier dogwood
multiflora rose (along perimeter)
grapevine
native wildflowers and plants:
spring beauty
trillium
trout lily
wild geranium
nodding trillium (white and red)
mayapple
jack in the pulpit
virginia waterleaf
cutleaf toothwort
pale blue violet
yellow violet
ramp
poison ivy
queen anne's lace
bergamot
various asters
various goldenrods
pennsylvania sedge and other as yet unifentified sedges
but also: garlic mustard: vigorous alien invasive, taking over the world
and that doesn't include the wetland itself to the north of the field, pictured above.
the total area may be quite small, but it has excellent biodiversity.
and to keep it that way, i'll go pull some more garlic mustard.
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