10/18 Walk at Bare Pond

Today I walked at Bare Pond. The weather was slightly muggy, sunny and in the high 50s. There was no water in the pond itself (which is what makes it a vernal pool, I suppose). While walking around, I noticed that the most clearly visible plants were trees, naturally, mostly deciduous, which means the majority of the organisms I was observing were angiosperms. I noticed that mosses (nonvascular plants) thrived on the bases of trees and on rocks, and generally in damper places where water might run down. I had difficulty finding any vascular seedless plants (ferns) at the start of my walk, but as I walked down in elevation I noticed some patches of brown shriveled up ferns and when arrived at a small brook there were actually some ferns still well and alive. This made me think about our conversation about water in class and the challenges plants face when living out of or further from water.

Posted on October 20, 2022 12:47 AM by cunninc