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Notes on the Vegetation 



The following observations are for the most part set forth 

 in the form of a guide, and apply mainly to the woody plants, 

 for the reason that these plants form the most conspicuous 

 features of the vegetation. They are given partly for the sake 

 of a record and partly to assist beginners who wish to become 

 acquainted with the plants of this interesting region. 



1. Ostrya Hill. To explore the southern slope of Ostrya 

 Hill we may enter the Park via Dyckman Street and Payson 

 Avenue, turning in from the street to the woods on the left, 

 just after passing a road on the left, and a vacant lot. A few 

 paces bring us to a path which circles the south side of the hill, 

 and nearby we find the black cherry, sassafras, bitternut hick- 

 ory, a lone tree of black walnut (close to the path), hackberry, 

 ailanthus, and staghorn sumac — the last not common in Greater 

 New York. Thick mats of Japanese honeysuckle cover much of 

 the ground; and here and there also the poison ivy, really a 

 creeping or climbing species of sumac, may be distinguished by 

 its three leaflets. The common elder grows near the path, as 

 also a lone, young pear tree, and further on an apple tree, as 

 well as the black locust and American elm. The slippery elm, 

 with larger, rougher leaves, ash-gray twigs and mucilaginous 

 bark with its peculiar flavor, grows a few yards farther to the 

 north in this same section, near a wildling peach. The last, 

 together with the pear, apple, ailanthus, and Japanese honey- 

 suckle are living testimonials of the white man's invasion. 



Further up the hill to the northward we find a small tree 

 of the comparatively rare red mulberry — the native species, 

 with larger, rougher leaves than the far more common and in- 

 troduced white mulberry. This little mulberry grows in a com- 

 paratively open space bordered by white ash and black cherry. 

 Continuing up the hill past a large white oak, the path leads 

 past the rear of a house. Near this point, on the left, climbing 

 high on dead elder stems and other upright supports, we rec- 

 ognize the moonseed, an attractive native vine which grows 

 also just across the river along the Palisades. 



Continuing northward we come out opposite a large tulip 

 tree onto a road, and a few paces bring us to the brick piers 

 of the rear entrance to the "House of Rest." This has for many 



