Do not go where the path may lead, go

instead where there is no path and leave

a trail.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

SHARK RIVER PARK

FLORA GUIDE

Kim Boggio

Temperate Deciduous Forest

The temperate deciduous forest biome occupies most of the eastern part of the United States and a small strip of southern Ontario. Precipitation varies from 28 inches per year in the northwestern section of the biome to 60 inches per year in the southeastern part; in most areas the precipitation is distributed evenly throughout the year. Frost occurs throughout the biome, and summer and winter are distinct seasons.

The dominant plant species of the biome are broad-leaved deciduous trees. Because the biome covers such a large geographical area, large differences have led to the recognition of eight major forest regions within the biome, each dominated by a different species or association of species. These are: mixed mesophytic, Appalachian oak, hemlock-white pine-northern hardwoods, oak-hickory, maple-basswood, beech-maple, oak-pine, and southern pine.

The mixed mesophytic (moderately moist) forest region is in the centrally located and topographically diverse Appalachian and Cumberland Plateaus. Geologically, it is the oldest region in the biome and is the most complex and highly developed biotically. Nearly all the dominant species in the entire biome are found here, and many reach their maximum development here. The mixed mesophytic region is thought to be the center of dispersal from which the other forest regions in the biome were formed. In all, there are about 30 tree species which assume dominance in the region; however, in most areas dominance is shared by two or three of these species, depending on differences in microclimate and other factors. Yellow buckeye (Aesculus octandra) and white basswood (Tilia heterophylla) are the most constant dominants and are considered the indicator species for the region. Other common dominants include yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), white oak (Quercus alba), and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis).

Trees of the Eastern Deciduous Forest

Family – Genus - Species

New Jersey (Coastal Wetland Protection Act -N.J. STAT. ANN. Section 13:18-1 to 13:9A-10):

"Coastal wetlands" are "any bank, marsh, swamp, meadow, flat or other low land subject to tidal action in the Delaware Bay and Delaware River, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Shrewsbury River including Navesink River, Shark River, and the coastal inland waterways extending southerly from Manasquan Inlet to Cape May Harbor, or at any inlet, estuary, or those areas now or formerly connected to tidal areas whose surface is at or below an elevation of 1 foot above local extreme high water, and upon which may grow or is capable of growing some, but not necessarily all, of the following:" (19 plants are listed.) Coastal wetlands exclude "any land or real property subject to the jurisdiction of the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission...."

Wetland Types

• Pinnately compound leaf

• Weed tree

• Invasive species

• Conifer

• Pointy buds

• Beechnut fruit

• Smooth grey bark

• Alternate branching

• White Bark

• Catkin fruit

• Deciduous

• Alternate branching

Birch Trunk

• Horizontal lenticels

• Lowland species

• Pinnately compound

• Produces walnuts

• Beautiful wood

• Roots emit toxins

• Opposite branching

• Genus Acer has

opposite branching

• Samaras - fruit

• Acorns – fruit

• Alternate branching

• “Mitten” leaves

• Spiked ball fruit

White Pine

Pinus Strobus

• 5 needles to a fascicle

Bryophyte – Moss

Non Vascular plant

Mountain Laurel – related to Rhododendron

Rhododendron - Rhododendron Macrophyllum

Fern Lace - Microlepia strigosa

Poke weed - Phytolacca americana

• Indians used

berries as dye

Kudzu – Invasive Species

Wild Raspberry

• Opposite branching