This past weekend we had the chance to visit the ice meadows along the Hudson. They are so named because in the winter the rock ledges accumulate great depths of ice, especially frazil, a slushy type of ice. This creates a unique eco-system and a home for many rare or unusual plant species. It's a beautiful site and thankfully is protected.
This purple pitcher plant (
Sarracenia purpurea) isn't rare,
but so beautiful.
This smooth carrion flower (
Smilax herbacea) doesn't smell quite so bad as its name suggests...still, it's pretty bad.
And this anemone (Anemone sp.) is simple but sweet. There are several closely related species in the northeast. We won't know which one till the specimen can be checked in the herbarium (prob. sometime in November).
Daniel and local naturalist Evelyn Greene search for the dwarf sand cherry (
Prunus pumila) which is so fussy it only grows in ice meadows. Evelyn is very knowledgeable about the ice meadow and about frazil ice. She shared this link to a video about frazil ice in Yosemite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=9V9p4mFEYXc&vq=medium#t
No comments:
Post a Comment