Last updated: August 31, 2021
Article
Rainsford 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 Rainsford 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
This dumbbell shaped island consists of two drumlins connected by a narrow sandy and stony neck of land. Due to a long history of institutional use and occupancy, Rainsford’s vegetation is more weedy and less diverse than it is on most islands of similar size.Rough old fields of perennial forbs and grasses dominate the uplands on the southwestern half of the island. A long border of lilac (Syringa vulgaris) crosses this side of the island on a north-south axis. Rainsford’s higher, northeastern drumlin features dense, shaded thickets of shrubs (Lonicera japonica, Rhus typhina, Rosa multiflora) and non-native trees, including Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila), English oak (Quercus robur), and small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata). The shoreline is both sandy, especially on the southeastern side, and rocky.
Mossy stonecrop (Sedum acre) and three-lobed violet (Viola palmata) are two species found on Rainsford that were not seen on any other Harbor Island. The stonecrop population grows on a ledge at a high point on the western drumlin. These plants were first noted by Dale Levering (1978). The three-lobed violet, one of only two violet species observed on the Islands in 2001, was found along a high, open overlook on the northern side of the eastern drumlin.