NYFA’s June Bog Trip
Members of the NY Flora Association helped inventory a couple of beautiful bogs in Delaware County this spring. It was a rainy day but we saw some great plants and scenery. A fun time was had by all and we hope our efforts will add to the knowledge of the flora of Delaware County and provide information to the owners who are concerned about the effects of a new gas pipeline that might be built in the area. Here is a sample of what we saw. Photos by Steve Young.
The first wetland we visited may be only the second dwarf shrub bog documented for Delaware County. It is dominated by low shrubs of Leatherleaf, Chamaedaphne calyculata.
Pitcher plants were fairly common and in flower.
Here is the nodding flower of one of the pitcher plants shining in the rain.
The blue-green color of a small black spruce stands out in contrast to the surrounding shrubs.
Spatterdock was common in the bog lake.
White water lily was there too (darker red leaves) as well as water shield (Brasenia schreberi) that beads up rain water into perfect circles.
An old boardwalk affords access to the lake across the bog and here we saw a variety of wetland wildflowers, shrubs and ferns.
On the way to the other bog we walked through an eerie forest where flooding rains had washed the soil from around the roots of the trees.
Another beautiful sight awaited us as we broke through the surrounding shrubs into the open wetland.
We saw lots of wild calla, Calla palustris, in fruit here.
Some very tall specimens of sheep laurel, Kalmia angustifolia, grew on the edge of the bog.
After a day of slogging through bogs, Alex Young and Laura Lehtonen finally found a nice log where they could rest and take in the scenery. It was a great day despite the rain.
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