NYFA Blog
Plants of St. Lawrence County Book Now Available!
Local botanists Nancy Eldblom & Anne Johnson have just published the Plants of St. Lawence County, New York. Contains write-ups of over 1,300 plants growing wild in St. Lawrence County-- Learn if a plant has been found in the county where in the county it grows...
Web Sources for Old Aerial Photographs
Wouldn't it be nice to see what your area looked like from the air as far back as 1938? Vegetation changes are readily apparent when you compare them to aerial photographs of today. For New York I have found two sources that have old aerial photographs available for...
Keep Your Eye out for Rare Bumblebees
Since we are out observing and photographing wildflowers all the time, our friends over on the zoology side of the Natural Heritage Program are asking us to keep our eyes out for a couple of bumblebees which might be in severe decline. On February 10, 2010, a broad...
Allegany State Park Field Trip a Success
We had nine enthusiastic plant people participate in two days of plant walks in Allegany State Park. On Saturday morning May 15 we traveled to the southern end of the park and hiked up the trail to Bear Cave Rocks and Mount Seneca. At Bear Cave Rocks we wanted to...
“Wildflowers and other Invasive Species”: a nature walk in Otsego County
Butternut Valley Alliance and the New York Flora Association sponsor “Wildflowers and other Invasive Species”: a nature walk Sunday, June 6 from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Along the Butternut Creek (Otsego County) At “Elmwood”, 133 Peet Road, Morris, NY (Turn off State Hwy 51 and...
My Red Maple Swamp
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...
Will Cheap Aerial Drones Improve Plant Surveys?
From Steve Young - Inventors are coming up with cheaper and cheaper aerial drones that may be used to look at plants in inaccessible areas like deep marshes, cliffs and in the canopy. I have not seen any of them being used for this purpose yet but it is a matter of...
FrOGS – Friends of the Great Swamp
We have added this organization to our links list on the right side of the blog. Visit and learn all about this beautiful and diverse swamp in Putnam County.
Is Nodding Trillium (Trillium cernuum) Becoming More Rare in New York?
Steve Young at the NY Natural Heritage Program would like to know if you have seen nodding trillium lately. There is some discussion among NY botanists that it is becoming more rare in New York and may be in trouble. If you know of any populations of this trillium...
In Search of Nantucket Juneberry
From Steve Young, NY Natural Heritage Program. At the request of the Long Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, I spent two days on the South Fork of Long Island evaluating the condition of Nantucket Juneberry (Amelanchier nantucketensis), a globally rare shrub...
Will the iPad Revolutionize Field Studies?
The iPad promises to revolutionize botanical field studies by providing a place to store field manuals as well as accessing plant keys and photos over the web. Can you think of how you would use the iPad to help you in the field? Comment below.
NYS DEC Launches Thier New Blog “State of Green”
You can view it at State of Green.
Bird’s-Foot Violet on Long Island
Here is a recent photo by photographer John Heidecker of bird's-foot violet (Viola pedata) on a roadside on Long Island. A sight like this is becoming more rare on the island and the NY Natural Heritage Program will be putting this violet on their watch list and...
Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide Plant Names Update
Steve Young has updated the scientific plant names in Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. It is available in a Google Document at: Newcombs Name Update. It was first updated by Steve in 2007 and the 2010 changes are at the bottom of the document. If you like, you can contact...
Search for NY Plant Lists on Google Maps
Steve Young has started a Google Map called "New York Plant Lists" that shows places where there are plant lists available. If you click on the link with the map marker you can see the list. The effort has just begun and many more lists will be put up as they become...
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