Capital Region Native Plant Society

Join us at Deer Mountain Park (Town of Coeymans) as we look for ephemeral spring wildflowers in bloom. The parking area (shown in the photo) is located along the left side of Deer Mountain Village Road approximately 0.8 mile south of its intersection with Jarvis Road North – use the directions available from Google Maps by clicking on the “Deer Mountain Park” link above. We’ll gather around the picnic pavilion (shown in center of the photo). We'll begin by strolling through the woods along the East Trail to about its midpoint, then return. We’ll continue by strolling along the West Trail through woodland and a swamp (on an elevated boardwalk) to about the midpoint of this trail, then return to the parking area. Trail surface is predominantly a dirt path with many exposed tree roots and rocks and some scattered puddles – please wear proper footwear.

We’re hoping to find some ephemeral spring wildflowers and other blooming beauties along our route.

Weather cancellation: This event will be cancelled if any of the following is occurring or is forecast for this destination at that time:

• thunderstorms (or any other severe weather),
• moderate or heavy rainfall (i.e., more than drizzle/mist or intermittent showers),
• gusty or sustained winds (i.e., treetops are noticeably swaying back and forth),
• snow, freezing rain or sleet, or
• air temperature <32°F.

We will stroll along the red trail that crosses a bridge over the pond at Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve to experience up close the beauty and fragrance of some spring wildflowers.

We may encounter any of these native blooming beauties:

• Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
• Early Azalea (Rhododendron prinophyllum)
• Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
• Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
• Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
• Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum)
• Pink Lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium acaule)
• Starflower (Lysimachia borealis)
• Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
• Yellow Clintonia (Clintonia borealis)

Learn more about the following native wildflowers, each of which has appeared on my blog, Curious By Nature, as part of my weekly series entitled "What Wildflower Begins Blooming This Week?"

• Early Azalea
• Jack-in-the-Pulpit
• Mayapple
• Painted Trillium
• Yellow Clintonia

Weather cancellation: This event will be cancelled if any of the following is occurring or is forecast for this destination at that time:

• thunderstorms (or any other severe weather),
• moderate or heavy rainfall (i.e., more than drizzle/mist or intermittent showers), or
• gusty or sustained winds (i.e., treetops are noticeably swaying back and forth).

For this outing, you’ll learn how to identify blooming wildflowers in their natural habitat using your personal copy of Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide (whether its cover is yellow or blue). As we encounter a blooming wildflower along our walk, we’ll use pages x-xiii to answer the following five questions, and then with that info, we’ll use pages 1-14 to direct us to the appropriate subsequent pages of this guide to reveal the identity of that wildflower.

Flower type:

1. Is the flower regular (radially symmetrical) or irregular or are the flower parts indistinguishable?
2. If regular, how many petals or similar parts does it have?
   Plant type:
3. Is the plant a forb or a shrub or a vine?
4. If a forb, is it without leaves, or if it has leaves, are they all at the base of the plant, or are they arranged singly on the stem (alternate), or are they opposite one another in pairs or whorls?
   Leaf type:
   5. Are the leaves entire (with even and unbroken margins), or are they toothed or lobed or divided?

Please join me for this hands-on outing at Veterans Memorial Park (Town of Clifton Park). We will walk along a mowed path and step off it into taller grassy areas and perhaps amongst some brushy areas along our route, so please wear proper attire and footwear.

I’ve scheduled this unique outing at this time to enable you to learn how to use this great information resource for the remainder of this wildflower season to identify the many blooming beauties yet to come.

Weather cancellation: This event will be cancelled if any of the following is occurring or is forecast for this destination at that time:

• thunderstorms (or any other severe weather),
• moderate or heavy rainfall (i.e., more than drizzle/mist or intermittent showers), or
• gusty or sustained winds (i.e., treetops are noticeably swaying back and forth).