At the end of my street in the Capital District of New York, there is a beautiful red maple swamp. Even though I don’t own it I think of it as mine because I probably venture into in more often than anyone in the neighborhood. Red maple swamps are some of my favorite places because of the variety of plants and the beauty of the mosaic of plants and water. Here are some photos of the plants I saw today between the thunderstorms.
One of the first plants I noticed was the early azalea, Rhododendron prinophyllum, not only the flowers but the fragrance!
Early azalea in the swamp
Closeup of the flowers
Here you can see the glandular hairs on the flower tube.
The vegetation was so lush after the rain.
Dominants include skunk cabbage and sensitive fern.
Pools of water provide great reflections.
The rain caused the starflowers to reveal their undersides.
Royal fern spore leaves glistened with raindrops.
Ill be back soon! – Steve Young