Greetings from New England! It has been a truly lovely summer up hear in the northeast. The New England Seeds of Success (SOS) team has been getting lots of sunshine while we travel to project sites. We’ve continued our focus on salt marsh habitats but have also added projects inland such as a dam removal site in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
New England SOS team plus Laney Widener, NEWFS Botanical Coordinator
Last week we attended a Survey of Grasses workshop at Garden in the Woods, New England Wild Flower Society’s headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts. The workshop was led by Dennis Magee, author of Grasses of the Northeast (2014). We spent a good chunk of the day reviewing over 40 genera that Magee divides into 12 tribes (groups of genera with common characteristics). Using informational handouts, dried specimens, dissecting scopes and a 10x lens, our group dove into the taxonomy of one of the largest plant families. It was a fantastic opportunity to work with a plant family I personally struggle to identify in the field. With each genera we discussed a variety of field characters that will help us be able to feel more confident in our accurate identification of grasses.
This week we have finally collected seed! After what seemed like months of training, preparation, research, and communication with land and property managers, our first common native plant species of interest are producing seed. Our first collection was Triglochin maritima (seaside arrowgrass) in the Juncaginaceae family. We found a viable population in the Scarborough Marsh in Scarborough, Maine (about 15 minutes south of Portland, Maine). We’re still waiting on seed collection bags, so we used a large brown paper bag and my lunch bag to make the collection! As we surveyed the marsh and upland margins, I was happy to notice my improvement in recognizing plant species and being able to recall their latin name and whether they were native or invasive. Although our first few weeks were slow in field work, this time for me has been well spent with my head deep into Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide (1989), A Field Guide to Coastal Wetland Plants of the Northeastern United States (1987), Life in the Shifting Dunes (1960) and A Beachcomber’s Botany (1963).
Salt marsh in Rowley, MA.
The rest of the week the New England SOS team is heading to Charlestown, Rhode Island and then to the Cape. We’ll be camping at Nickerson State Park to get an early start to our collection in the Cape. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to camp during my work week – what luck! Until next time!