What I Saw Part 2

In this post I’m going to get more in depth about what species of plants I saw.  I saw quite a few of the indicator species and here they are-

Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) is one of the biggest tip offs that you are in a rich conifer swamp.

Creeping Snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula) is seen below weaving across the conifer swamp floor.

This next species, Goldenthread (Coptis trifolia), gets its name from the yellow/orange rhizome.

Another species I saw that was everywhere among the floor was Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis).

I can’t skip the fact that my entire time spent in the rich conifer swamp consisted of stepping on sphagnum mosses.

Lastly Balsam fir (Albies balsamea) were abundant as well.

Some other pretty cool species I saw are as follows-

Sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis).

Fragrant Bedstraw  (Galium triflorum).

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata).

 

There were many types of ferns I saw along the way as well.

I kept an eye out for invasive species as I believed I had seen Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) when I went with my class the first time but I was not able to spot it.  I was able to find a thistle residing on the edge of the swamp, which could be the invasive Cirsium although I was not able to identify it to the exact species.