Flora of Hastings, Third Edition, 2008
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ii PREFACE The Flora of Hastings is a list and description of nearly 700 plant species identified in the village and nearby communities. Plants listed in the guide are grouped in 10 distinct categories: trees, shrubs, vines, herbaceous (flowering) plants, ferns, horsetails, grasses, sedges, rushes and fungi. The common name, when there is one, of each plant is given in alphabetical order, followed by the scientific name, and the plant family taxonomic botanists have established as the appropriate category, based on identifiable characteristics. The plant’s location is indicated by using acronyms, such as FP for Fulton Park or HP for Hillside Park, which are listed and identified in the front of the guide. Almost all entries indicate when leaves, flowers or fruits, or other distinguishing characteristics appear. Italics are used to indicate plant characteristics to focus attention on when attempting to identify a plant. The geography and geological formations of Hastings are especially conducive to a variety of environmental situations that support a diverse and abundant plant life. This diversity of plant habitats, from the shores of the Hudson River, to the woods and vegetated rocky slopes, to private yards and gardens, to playing fields and dense woods, provide an ecology that supports conditions leading to the quality and abundance of plant life that establishes the green character of the village. Colored photographs in the center of the guide illustrate this diversity in Hastings. The guide is intended to encourage recognition of plants in the green surroundings of the village and to promote appreciation of the quality of environment in which they grow. A strategy is provided for ready identification of plants, without requiring detailed knowledge of what to look for on a particular plant. Knowing the name of a tree and how to identify it, for example, is more rewarding than having to admit knowing little about the green environment surrounding us. The guide will help those with scarce knowledge of plants and help those who do know plants where to find them. Hastings has such a distinctive plant life that the more residents learn about it, the more that life is likely to be preserved and protected. iii Abbreviations and Symbols Used In Text bl black blu blue br brown cm centimeter (0.394 inches) cult cultivated DBH Diameter Breast Height escp escape flwr, flwrs flower, flowers frt, frts fruit, fruits gr green Gk Greek hds heads L Latin lf, lvs leaf, leaves lflt, lflts leaflet, leaflets mm millimeter(s) N,S,E,W North, South, East, West rd round wh white yg young ylw yellow ″ inches ′ feet + or more < less than > greater than iv Acronyms Indicating Where Plants Were Found ADM Andrus Dyckman Memorial A&P Atlantic and Pacific Supermarket area BE Burke Estate CPP Croton Point Park DP Draper Park DPO Draper Park Observatory FP Fulton Park HP Hillside Park HS Hillside School HW Hillside Woods KPP Kingsland Point Park MA Maple Avenue MCo Mercy College MWP MacEachron Waterfront Park NTRA North Tarrytown Recreation Area OCA Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park P.O. Post Office QLT Quarry Lane Trail RBT Rowley’s Bridge Trail RBTEXT Rowley’s Bridge Trail and Extension RE River Edge RF Reynolds Field RH Rockwood Hall RSPP Rockefeller State Park Preserve RVP Riverview Park RVRStr River Street SP Sugar Pond SSA Southside Avenue TM The Meadow VFW Veterans of Foreign Wars Park VP Vernal Pond ZCG Zinsser Community Gardens ZP Zinsser Park v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................. iii Abbreviations and Symbols Used In Text.................................................................. iv Acronyms Indicating Where Plants Were Found........................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ vi INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 References Consulted ............................................................................................1 Acknowledgements.................................................................................................3 HOW TO USE THE GUIDE........................................................................................5 Suggested Procedure for Finding and Identifying Known and Unknown Plants .....6 Finding a Known Plant............................................................................................7 Identifying an Unknown Plant .................................................................................7 What to Look For When Identifying Plants..............................................................7 Order of Recording Data.........................................................................................9 PLANT GROUPS .....................................................................................................11 TREES..................................................................................................................11 SHRUBS...............................................................................................................29 VINES...................................................................................................................41 HERBACEOUS PLANTS......................................................................................47 GRASSES ..........................................................................................................103 SEDGES AND RUSHES ....................................................................................107 FUNGI ................................................................................................................109 ANNEX A. Glossary of Terms Used In Text ...........................................................111 ANNEX B. Names of Individuals Cited in Plant Names..........................................116 ANNEX C. Family Names ......................................................................................119 ANNEX D. Flora Listed in Guide in Areas Adjacent to Hastings ............................121 ANNEX E. Phenological Table 2002 ......................................................................122 ANNEX F. Plants of Rowley’s Bridge Trail (June 2003) .........................................124 ANNEX G. Maps ....................................................................................................125 Trailway Map of Hastings-on-Hudson, 2007.......................................................126 Rowley’s Bridge/OCA Trailway...........................................................................127 INDEX ....................................................................................................................128 vi INTRODUCTION Plants listed and described in this guide grow within the two square miles of Hastings, although a few very interesting plants found outside this area are noted in the main text and listed in an annex. Since the guide describes plants in a relatively limited area, identification is narrowed geographically and by number of species. This limits coverage to a much smaller group of plants then those described in references cited in the INTRODUCTION and thus makes identification easier than referring to these more comprehensive references. Maps showing habitats where plants have been found in Hastings are reproduced in the annex. In this revised edition of the Flora of Hastings and adjacent areas, plants are grouped in 10 major categories: trees, shrubs, vines, herbaceous plants, ferns, horsetails, grasses, sedges, rushes, and fungi. The guide notes where plants are or were found before intentional or unintentional removal. It gives the meaning of the scientific name, the family name botanists use to classify them, essential characteristics, such as color, size and shape of flowers, stems and fruits, and special peculiarities, such as fragrance or sensitivity (to humans) to touch or taste. The number of plants in this revised edition was enhanced by establishment of the Rowley’s Bridge Trail and by donations from many organizations and individuals. An annex lists plants found on the trail, including fungi. Donations of plants on the Rowley’s Bridge Trail and Extension include the following donors and suppliers: Hastings Beautification Committee, Dobbs Ferry Garden Club, Graham-Windham School, Thom Forbes, Tom Donohoe, David Wood, Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, River Edge Apartments, VFW and Boulanger renovation and Fulton Park landscapers. References Consulted General Taxonomic Gray’s Manual of Botany, 1963 Gleason and Cronquist, Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, second edition, 1991 Holmgren, et al, The Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist’s Manual, 1998 Bailey and Bailey, Hortus Third Trees and Shrubs Alfred Rehder, Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs George A. Petrides, Trees and Shrubs C. Frank Brockman, Trees of North America Roger Phillips, Trees of North America and Europe Charles Sargent, Manual of the Trees of North America George W. D. Symonds, The Tree Identification Book George W. D. Symonds, The Shrub Identification Book Roger Phillips and Mertyn Rix, Shrubs 1 Wildflowers Lawrence Newcomb, Newcomb’s Guide to Wildflowers Peterson and McKenny, A Field Guide to Wildflowers, Petersen Field Guide Series Ferns Boughton Cobb, A Field Guide to the