Last updated: August 30, 2021
Article
Calf Island Plants
In a two-year project funded by the Island Alliance to study the vegetation of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area, 32 islands were surveyed and inventoried for vascular plant species. Field surveys began on 9 June 2001 and ended on 30 September 2002.
Below is the data collected for Calf Island.
Data Notes:
* = introduced species
(v) = voucher specimen
(p) = photograph
Due to formatting restrictions, species scientific names are not italicized in the data table.
* = introduced species
(v) = voucher specimen
(p) = photograph
Due to formatting restrictions, species scientific names are not italicized in the data table.
| Species_Scientific_Name | Species_Common_Name | Family | Date_Observed | Habitat |
|---|
Notes on Habitats and Flora
Calf Island is one of the most diverse of the outer Harbor Islands. The island’s habitats include thickets, rough old fields, exposed ledges, rocky beachfront, sandy beach strand, a large brackish marsh in the central part of the island, and a moist old field south of the marsh. Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) dominates the shrub thickets, and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) is abundant in old fields.The marsh has a mixture of native (Scirpus americanus, Typha latifolia) and invasive plant species (Lythrum salicaria, Phragmites communis). A healthy stand of 80 seaside angelica (Angelica lucida) plants, discovered by Julio Hernandez in 1976, flanks the southwest side of the marsh. There are no threats to this vigorous population. Plants associated with seaside angelica on the upper edge of the marsh include: Calystegia sepium, Cuscuta gronovii, Elytrigia pungens, Lepidium latifolium, and Solidago sempevirens.
Hernandez also reported another watch-listed species, Rich’s sea-blite (Suaeda richii), on Calf Island, but this species was not found in 2001. Both tall sea-blite (Suaeda linearis) and salt-marsh sea-blite (Suaeda maritima) are abundant around the marsh.