Last updated: August 31, 2021
Article
Long 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 Long 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
Access to Long Island was limited during the 2001 field season, and it was only possible to survey intensively the areas around Long Island Head on the island’s north end and West Head on the south end. Brief surveys were done in sections in the middle part of the island, much of which is developed.
Almost all of the island’s habitats are disturbed and weedy. Upland communities include shrub-dominated thickets, especially around Long Island Head, a black pine (Pinus nigra) woodland (former plantation) on West Head, and disturbed, open grounds in the vicinity of roads, buildings, and old military structures throughout the island.
The southwest side of the island has two freshwater marshes. The smaller of these two marshes, near the island’s southwest corner, has the most “native” plant association of any wetland I saw on the Harbor Islands. A fine stand of broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia) (Cattail now identified as T. angustifolia) and swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus palustris), which bloomed spectacularly in August, dominates this marsh. Other native wetland species occur here (Boehemeria cylindrica, Ranunculus sceleratus) that were not found on any other of the Harbor Islands. The larger and more northerly marsh has vegetation typical of degraded sites, with large stands of common reed (Phragmites communis) and purple loosestife (Lythrum salicaria). When visited on June 13, this marsh had approximately one foot of standing water in the Phragmites stands, and a muskrat was observed swimming around the reeds. Karnauskas (2001) found few aquatic invertebrates in either marsh, and concluded that both habitats are highly polluted.
The island has stretches of sandy beach around West Head. These beaches have a number of characteristic beach strand plants, both native and non-native, including: Ammophila breviligulata, Artemisia stelleriana, Cakile edulenta, Datura stramonium, Lathyrus japonicus, Salsola kali, and Xanthium echinatum.