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Post Oak-blackjack Oak Barrens
The post oak-blackjack oak barrens is an extremely small and restricted ecoregion only found on Staten Island. It is part of the North Atlantic Coast ecoregion and is characterized by its abundance of blackjack oak (''Quercus marilandica'') and post oak (''Quercus stellata''). The top soil layer is sandy and dry, causing there to be little to no grass and stunted woody growth. Like other pine barrens ecosystems, this habitat is prone to wildfires. It is in severe decline due to human expansion and one of the few places that it is left in is the Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve. Plant species The dry sandy soil along with wildfires and exposure to sea spray make this ecoregion a very harsh habitat for plants. All the plants found here have to be adapted to handling dry conditions by preserving water and growing slowly. * Post oak (''Quercus stellata'') * Scarlet oak (''Quercus coccinea'') * Blackjack oak (''Quercus marilandica'') * White oak (''Quercus alba'') * Black oak (''Qu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated borough but the third largest in land area at . A home to the Lenape indigenous people, the island was settled by Dutch colonists in the 17th century. It was one of the 12 original counties of New York state. Staten Island was consolidated with New York City in 1898. It was formally known as the Borough of Richmond until 1975, when its name was changed to Borough of Staten Island. Staten Island has sometimes been called "the forgotten borough" by inhabitants who feel neglected by the city government. The North Shore—especially the neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville, Clifton, and Stapleton—is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaccinium Corymbosum
''Vaccinium corymbosum'', the northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry which has become a food crop of significant economic importance. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southern United States, from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south as far as Florida and eastern Texas. It is also naturalized in other places: Europe, Japan, New Zealand, the Pacific Northwest of North America, etc.''Vaccinium corymbosum''. accessed 3.23.2013 Other common names include blue huckleberry, tall huckleberry, swamp huckleberry, high blueberry, and swamp blueberry. Description ''Vaccinium corymbosum'' is a deciduous shrub growing to tall and wide. It is often found in dense thickets. The dark glossy green leaves are elliptical and up to long. In autumn, the leaves turn to a brilliant red, orange, yellow, and/or purple. The flowers are long bell- or urn-shaped white to very light pink, long. The fruit is a diameter blue-black berry. This plant is fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Jersey Pine Barrens
The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem, stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. Two other large, contiguous examples of this ecosystem remain in the northeastern United States: the Long Island Central Pine Barrens and the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens. The name pine barrens refers to the area's sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soil. Although European settlers could not cultivate their familiar crops there, the unique ecology of the Pine Barrens supports a diverse spectrum of plant life, including orchids and carnivorous plants. The area is also notable for its populations of rare pygmy pitch pines and other plant species that depend on the frequent fires of the Pine Barrens to reproduce. The sand that composes much of the area's soil is referred to by the locals as sugar sand. The Pine Barrens remains mostly rural and undisturbed despite i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Fence Lizard
The eastern fence lizard (''Sceloporus undulatus'') is a medium-sized species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is found along forest edges, rock piles, and rotting logs or stumps in the eastern United States. It is sometimes referred to as the prairie lizard, fence swift, gray lizard, gravid lizard, northern fence lizard or pine lizard. It is also referred to colloquially as the horn-billed lizard. One of its most notable behaviors is that of its escape behavior when encountering fire ants. Taxonomy The generic name, ''Sceloporus'', is derived from the Greek ''skelos''/σκελος, meaning "leg", and the Latin ''porus'', meaning "hole", referring to the enlarged femoral pores found in this genus of lizards. The specific name, ''undulatus'', is Latin for "wave", referring to the transverse dark crossbars on the backs of these lizards. Liddell HG, Scott R (1980). ''Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition''. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 80 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baptisia Tinctoria
''Baptisia tinctoria'' (common names include yellow false indigo, wild indigo, wild-indigo and horseflyweed) is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to eastern North America. Distribution and habitat ''Baptisia tinctoria'' is found throughout the eastern United States, west to Minnesota, and south to Florida. As it is rare in some parts of its range, it is protected by some state authorities: in Kentucky it is threatened; in Maine it is considered endangered. It prefers dry meadow and open woodland environments. Description The multiple bushy stems of ''Baptisia tinctoria'' reach 2 to 3 feet tall. The leaves are silver-green; each is divided into three leaflets about ½ inch long. The flowers are yellow and grow in spikes 1½ to 3 inches long. The leaves are eaten by some lepidopteran caterpillars, for example the Io moth (''Automeris io''). On Martha's Vineyard, the species is a tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solidago Nemoralis
''Solidago nemoralis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widely found in Canada (every province except Newfoundland and Labrador) and the United States (all states wholly or partially east of the Rocky Mountains). Its common names include gray goldenrod, gray-stem goldenrod, old-field goldenrod, field goldenrod,''Solidago nemoralis''. NatureServe. 2012. prairie goldenrod, dwarf goldenrod,Belt, S. 2009 Plant Fact Sheet for gray goldenrod (''Solidago nemoralis''). USDA NRCS, Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center, Beltsville, MD. 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schizachyrium Scoparium
''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of the Canada–US border and northern Mexico. It is most common in the Midwestern prairies and is one of the most abundant native plants in Texas grasslands. Little bluestem is a perennial bunchgrass and is prominent in tallgrass prairie, along with big bluestem (''Andropogon gerardi''), indiangrass (''Sorghastrum nutans'') and switchgrass (''Panicum virgatum''). It is a warm-season species, meaning it employs the C4 photosynthetic pathway. Description Little bluestem grows to become an upright, roundish mound of soft, bluish-green or grayish-green blades in May and June that is about two to three feet high. In July, it initiates flowering stalks, which reach four to five feet in height. In fall, it displays a coppery or mostly orange c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panicum Virgatum
''Panicum virgatum'', commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the central North American tallgrass prairie and can be found in remnant prairies, in native grass pastures, and naturalized along roadsides. It is used primarily for soil conservation, forage production, game cover, as an ornamental grass, in phytoremediation projects, fiber, electricity, heat production, for biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and more recently as a biomass crop for ethanol and butanol. Other common names for switchgrass include tall panic grass, Wobsqua grass, blackbent, tall prairiegrass, wild redtop, thatchgrass, and Virginia switchgrass. Description Switchgrass is a hardy, deep-rooted, perennial rhizomatous grass that begins growth in late spring. It can grow up to high, but is typi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comandra Umbellata
''Comandra'' is a monotypic genus containing the single species ''Comandra umbellata''. Its common names include bastard toadflax, umbellate bastard toadflax, and common comandra. The plant has a disjunct distribution; its four subspecies occur in North America and the Mediterranean. Description ''Comandra'' is a perennial herb growing from rhizomes, often in drier or semi-sandy soils, to about tall. The leaves are up to 3.3 cm long and are alternately arranged. Growing in flat or roundish clusters, the flowers lack petals, but have five greenish-white sepals. The flowers contain both male and female structures, and are insect-pollinated. The fruit is a drupe 4–6 mm thick.''Comandra umbellata''. Arches National Park, Utah. United States National Park Service. Subspec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteridium Aquilinum
''Pteridium aquilinum'' (bracken, brake or common bracken), also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North America, the extreme lightness of its spores has led to it achieving a cosmopolitan distribution. Etymology Common bracken was first described as ''Pteris aquilina'' by Carl Linnaeus, in Volume 2 of his ''Species Plantarum'' in 1753. The origin of the specific epithet derived from the Latin ''aquila'' "eagle". In the reprint of the ''Flora Suecica'' in 1755, Linnaeus explains that the name refers to the image of an eagle seen in the transverse section of the root. In spite of this, the opinion has been forwarded that the name pertains to the shape of the mature fronds appearing akin to an eagle's wing. However, medieval scholars, including Erasmus, thought the pattern of the fibres seen in a transverse section of the stipe resembled a double-headed eagle or oak tree. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuttallanthus Canadensis
''Nuttallanthus canadensis'', the blue toadflax, Canada toadflax, or old-field toadflax, is a species of ''Nuttallanthus'' in the family Plantaginaceae, native to eastern North America from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south to Texas and Florida.USDA Plants Profile''Nuttallanthus canadensis''/ref> Description It is an annual or biennial plant growing to 25–80 cm tall, with slender, erect flowering stems. The leaves are slender, 15–30 mm long and 1–2.5 mm broad. The flowers are purple to off-white, 10–15 mm long, appearing from mid spring to late summer.Huxley, A, ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Distribution and habitat It is grown as an ornamental plant in its native area. It has been introduced to western North America and Europe, and is now locally naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smilax Glauca
''Smilax glauca'', the cat greenbriar or catbriar is a woody vine in the family Smilacaceae. It is native to central and eastern portions of the United States, where it is a common and conspicuous part of the forest vegetation. It is also common across much of Mexico. ''Smilax glauca'' has prickly stems and climbs by means of tendrils. Leaves are notably gray-glaucous to whitish beneath. It commonly inhabits wooded areas and fences and is often found growing with other species of ''Smilax''. The plants tend to be evergreen in the more southern United States. Description ''Smilax glauca'' is a woody vine that succeeds in most soils in sun and in semi-shaded areas. It can grow over trees, shrubs, or stumps. It is a dioecious plant; an evergreen climber that can grow to 5 meters, it flowers in June and is leafy all year. This species can survive in sandy, loamy, and clay soils. ''Smilax glauca'' produces berries, generally in the winter. The leaves of the species are simple; the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
