area became the patchwork of federal 

 and private lands that characterizes it 

 to this day. 



Covering twenty-five square miles, 

 Finger Lakes National Forest includes 

 pastoral woodlands brightened in the 

 spring by numerous wildflowers and 

 azaleas and, in the fall, by the au- 

 tumn foliage of American beeches, 

 birches, red maples, and sugar 

 maples. County roads form the west- 

 ern and northern boundaries of the 



Spotted salamander 



forest, and New York State routes 79 

 and 227 lie along its southeastern 

 side. Trails for hiking and horseback 

 riding, as well as several black-top 

 and gravel town roads, crisscross it as 

 well, offering easy access. The Blue- 

 berry Patch Campground provides 

 facilities for camping and picnicking. 

 Groups can use the Potomac Group 

 Campground; the Backbone Camp- 

 ground is open to equestrians. One 

 parcel of the forest even offers 

 Seneca Lake frontage on what is 

 called Caywood Point. 



My favorite trail, which gives a 

 good cross section of the natural fea- 

 tures, is one of the shorter ones: 

 Gorge Trail. Not far from the park- 

 ing area where it begins, the trail 

 passes Gorge Pond on the left. A 

 marshy habitat with a diverse array of 

 wetland plant species extends from 

 the pond to the edge of the trail. To 

 the right is a dry woodland. Farther 

 along, the trail gradually descends in- 



VISITOR INFORMATION 



Finger Lakes National Forest 

 5218 State Route 414 

 Hector, NY 14841 

 607-546-4470 



www.fs.fed.us/r9/gmfl/fingerlakes 



to a narrow valley — the gorge — and 

 the woods become more moist. 



Robert H. Mohlenbrock is a distin- 

 guished professor emeritus of plant biology at 

 Southern Illinois University Carbondale. 



Habitats 



Woods The tallest trees include Ameri- 

 can beech, basswood, black gum, 

 black walnut, northern red oak, red 

 maple, shagbark hickory, slippery elm, 

 sugar maple, white ash, white oak, 

 white pine, and yellow birch. Shorter 

 trees scattered throughout the woods 

 are arrowwood, common elder, hop 

 hornbeam, maple-leaved viburnum, 

 musclewood, and witch hazel. River- 

 bank grape, a vine, climbs high up 

 many of the tree trunks and branches. 



Among the more common ferns in 

 the understory are Christmas fern, lady 

 fern, New York fern, and spinulose 

 wood fern; sensitive fern occupies the 

 wetter areas. Spring wildflowers in- 

 clude false Solomon's-seal, hooked 

 crowfoot, jack-in-the-pulpit, lady's slip- 

 per, mayapple, red columbine, 

 starflower, tall white beardtongue, 

 white avens, white trillium, and wild 

 geranium. During late summer and au- 

 tumn, flowering species include com- 



mon enchanter's nightshade, downy 

 pagoda plant, hog peanut, roadside 

 agrimony, wrinkle-leaved goldenrod, 

 and two kinds of little white asters. In 

 wet areas are scattered attractive 

 white turtlehead plants. 



Pond Submerged aquatic plants such 

 as brittle water nymph, coontail, sago 

 pondweed, and waterweed grow in 

 most ponds. The muddy shorelines 

 support strawstem beggar-ticks, 

 bristly sedge, bur reed, common 

 spike rush, gray dogwood, narrow- 

 leaved cattail, needle spike rush, 

 pussy willow, soft rush, wool grass, 

 and many other species. 



Marsh Among the marsh plants are 

 bluntleaf bedstraw, common flat- 

 topped goldenrod, fowl manna grass, 

 purple-stem aster, sensitive fern, 

 smooth goldenrod, spotted joe-pye 

 weed, rice cut-grass, rough-leaved 



goldenrod, and tall flat-topped white 

 aster. Scrambling over the vegetation 

 is bittersweet nightshade, a nonnative 

 species that pioneers planted for its 

 pretty purple flowers, bright red 

 berries, and intriguing leaves (they 

 have one large lobe in the middle and 

 two small lobes near the base). 



Open areas Fields that are no longer 

 cultivated, roadsides, and trails provide 

 open habitats. Many of the plants that 

 grow here are invasive species from 

 Europe and Asia, such as bouncing 

 Bet, common yarrow, garlic mustard, 

 hairy woodland brome, Japanese hon- 

 eysuckle, multiflora rose, musk mallow, 

 ox-eye daisy, and self-heal. Among the 

 native species are bitter dock, com- 

 mon blackberry, common cinquefoil, 

 common goldenrod, common yellow 

 wood sorrel, hairy white oldfield aster, 

 hemp dogbane, path rush, and 

 staghorn sumac. 



April 2006 NATURAL HISTORY 63 



