IRbodora 
JOURNAL OF 
THE NEW ENGLAND BOTANICAL CLUB 
Vol. 13. 
May, 1911. No. 149. 
BOTANIZING IN CENTRAL CONNECTICUT. 
Emma J. THOMPSON. 
EIGHTEEN years ago, when we first visited Pine Swamp, a grove of 
noble trees (Pinus Strobus) gave meaning to the name. These trees 
were cut half a dozen years or more ago, and though their absence 
changes the character of this region somewhat, still it is a place rich 
in possibilities for the botanist. 
This particular Pine Swamp (we understand several other places 
in the state bear that name), is located in the towns of Cromwell and 
Rocky Hill, Connecticut, about a mile west of the Connecticut River. 
Its centre is a long, narrow, low-lying strip of sphagnum marsh, so 
level that the cold sluggish brook that drains it makes many long 
curves and loops. Here and there, in the more treacherous part of 
the bog, are a number of sunken places filled with dark, still water, 
each pool only a few feet in diameter and so regular in outline as to 
suggest it may have been cut out for some purpose of man. Stained 
black by the roots decaying moss and leaves, the water gives one the 
impression of mystery and infinite depth. Here the shrubs and young 
growth are so thick overhead, the weeds and ferns so rank beneath 
and the brook so twisting in its course, that one may wander for hours 
over the same few rods of ground, unless provided with a compass. 
Here in the heart of the swamp we find 
Habenaria blephariglottis (Willd.) Torr., one of the most beautiful 
of its genus. A few of these plants have held this station for many 
years. Our first specimen was taken in 1894, and this past summer 
Mr. C. H. Bissell found a single plant. 
Habenaria fimbriata (Ait.) R. Br. occurs frequently along the brook- 
side. 
