In 2016 I was fortunate enough to consult for the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. My job involved exploring Noblewood Park at the mouth of the Boquet River in Willsboro, NY, and documenting the plants growing there. Noblewood Park is owned and administered by the Town of Willsboro, but TNC advises the town on property use and management.
The park is not that large but is quite diverse with plant communities ranging from eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) dominated flats perched above the river to shrub swamp and emergent wetlands in the floodplain of the river, sugar maple (Acer saccharum) dominated slopes in between, and Lake Champlain and Boquet River shoreline. The land has had a long history of human use dating back to the early 1700’s. There are reports of a very early brick manufactory on the banks of the river on the westerly border of the property. Many of the plant species I found there were very common in the Adirondacks, but some not so much.
The river side emergent marsh had a large population of yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus). It’s unclear when or where this invasive came from but was very widespread throughout the open marsh.
It was good to see one of my favorite native wetland species, tufted loosestrife (Lysimachia thyrsiflora). This plant is not all that common in the central Adirondacks. I’ve only seen it once before in a marsh near Paul Smith’s College.
tufted loosestrife (Lysimachia thrysiflora) growing in open marsh
The slopes from the uplands down to the river exhibited several eroded drainages. These were formed by surface water runoff from the uplands, but also served as groundwater discharge points. The understory of many of these drainages was dominated by dense stands of common scouring rush (Equisetum hyemale).
Under a red oak (Quercus rubra) stand I came across a species I had never seen before. Red pinesap (Hypopitys lanuginosa) is a non-photosynthetic plant species that derives its nutrition from a relationship with soil fungi. The red color is very distinctive and serves to separate this species from the yellow pinesap (Hypopitys monotropa). Both are related to indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora).
Eroded drainage and dense scouring rush (Equisetum hyemale)
Red pinesap (Hypopitys lanuginosa) growing under a red oak (Quercus rubra)
Finally, I came across a unique find. Near the mouth of the river, its floodplain is segmented into low ridges separated by old river channels both of which parallel the contemporary river channel. In cross-section the floodplain looks corrugated. Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum) occur on the ridges, while the old channels are dominated by herbaceous aquatic species. Scattered throughout the ridges were individuals of black gum (Nyssa sylvatica). There were adult trees, saplings, and seedlings present. Nyssa is a relatively common species in downstate NY, but it is almost non-existent in the Adirondacks. I know of several specimens on the westerly shore of Lake George but finding it here at the mouth of the Boquet River extends the northerly range in NY by approximately 50 miles. Is this the furthest north that Nyssa occurs in NYS? Possibly.
black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) leaves
There are other major river mouths such as the Saranac which have well-developed floodplains which would be suitable habitat for this species but there are no reports from further north. The tree is quite characteristic and should be relatively easy to spot. Go explore those floodplains!
black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) tree and bark