“Dennstaedtia punctilobula, the eastern hayscented fern or hay-scented fern, is a species of fern native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to Wisconsin and Arkansas, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Alabama; it is most abundant in the east of its range, with only scattered populations in the west.”
Hayscenter Fern ( Dennstaedtia punctilobula), spreading by underground rhizomes, this hardy fern native to the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, can quickly take over a space, crowding out weeds and other plants with plentiful yellow-green fronds.
“It is a deciduous fern with fronds growing to 40–100 cm (rarely 130 cm) tall and 10–30 cm broad; the fronds are bipinnate, with pinnatifid pinnules about three times as long as broad. It occurs in damp or dry acidic soils in woods or open woods, from sea level up to 1,200 m altitude.”
“Dennstaedtia punctilobula can exhibit varying degrees of phototropism. The common name “Hay-scented Fern” comes from the fact that crushing it produces an aroma of fresh hay.“
“The presence of D. punctilobula influences the dynamics of the understory vegetation of many forests in the eastern United States. An abundance of highbush blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) in open areas encourages new tree seedlings. Where the effects of herbivorous animals (such as deer) reduce the abundance of R. allegheniensis, D. punctilobula, which is not browsed by deer, takes over. Where D. punctilobula becomes common, the growth of tree seedlings is restricted.”
Reference: text in italics and quotes is from the Wikipedia, “Dennstaedtia punctilobula.”
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Today I walked the Gorge Trail to below Lucifer Falls, crossed the bridge and returned via the South Rim Trail, a trip of over 5 miles according to the Apple IPhone 14 Pro Max used for these photographs.
Thankful I was not here when this tree gave way across the trail.
Information about a cultivated fern, followed by a photograph of the wild version, trailside.
Pam examining thick moss growth on the sedimentary rock of Treman gorge. These layers of shale, sandstone, siltstone formed at the bottom of a broad, shallow sea over 380 million years ago.
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Pam examines the moss
Towards the bottom of the 223 Cliff Stair steps moss takes over the Devonian shale of the cliff wall surface. Here, the cliff shelters the wall from sunlight 365 days a year.
Cliff Stair Wall, autumn Moss
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Click for a slideshow of this sequence Lucifer Falls and Cliff Stair Views
Brink of Lucifer FallsLucifer Falls Overlook from the Gorge TrailLucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookPam on the Cliff StaircaseUnidentified TreeThis geranium species (scientific name Geranium robertianum) are also called “Herb-Robert” for a reputed ability to ward off disease and, in the Scottish Highlands, “red-shanks” for the deep red color of the stalks, seen in this photograph. Robert H. Treman New York State Park. Source, “How to Know the Wildflowers” by Mrs. William Star Dana, 1989, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.Autumn foot BridgeWoman on Footbridge, ContemplationOver the bridge
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
This geranium species (scientific name Geranium robertianum) are also called “Herb-Robert” for a reputed ability to ward off disease.
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Cliff Stair Wall, autumn Geranium and mosses
Scottish Highlands residents call these wild geraniums “red-shanks” for the deep red color of the stalks, seen in both photographs.
This geranium species (scientific name Geranium robertianum) are also called “Herb-Robert” for a reputed ability to ward off disease and, in the Scottish Highlands, “red-shanks” for the deep red color of the stalks, seen in this photograph. Robert H. Treman New York State Park. Source, “How to Know the Wildflowers” by Mrs. William Star Dana, 1989, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Source, “How to Know the Wildflowers” by Mrs. William Star Dana, 1989, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Click for a slideshow of this sequence Cliff Stair Views
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookLucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookUnidentified TreePam on the Cliff StaircaseCliff Stair Wall, autumn with fern generationsCliff Stair Wall, autumn Geranium and mossesThis geranium species (scientific name Geranium robertianum) are also called “Herb-Robert” for a reputed ability to ward off disease and, in the Scottish Highlands, “red-shanks” for the deep red color of the stalks, seen in this photograph. Robert H. Treman New York State Park. Source, “How to Know the Wildflowers” by Mrs. William Star Dana, 1989, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.Wild geranium leaves tinged with autumn color above a gathering of spent oak and elm leaves. Robert H. Treman New York State Park of the Finger Lakes Region.
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Each autumn, species of fern turns yellow towards a winter death. Here we see growing from Devonian shale, both the yellowed and desiccated fern fronds. Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
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Cliff Stair Wall, autumn with fern generations
Click for a slideshow of this sequence Cliff Stair views
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookPam on the Cliff StaircaseCliff Stair Wall, autumn with hemlock
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
On a day in late October 2017 Pam and Mike did a photography walk. Here is Pam pausing to pose during a descent into the gorge on the cliff staircase after visiting the overlook high above Lucifer Falls, Robert H. Treman New York State Park in the Finger Lakes Region.
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Pam on the Cliff Staircase
Grasses, hemlock saplings, goldenrod, spent leaves and ferns on the wall of the 223 Cliff Stair steps.
Cliff Stair Wall, autumn with hemlock
Click for a slideshow of this sequence of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.
Pam on the Cliff StaircaseCliff Stair Wall, autumn with hemlock
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Visitors to Robert H. Treman park think nothing of crushing millipedes on the trail, it is concerning to encounter evidence of such disrespectful and boorish behavior. Here is an intact millipede I found last week. Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterized by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; […]
Visitors to Robert H. Treman park think nothing of crushing millipedes on the trail, it is concerning to encounter evidence of such disrespectful and boorish behavior. Here is an intact millipede I found last week.
Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterized by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a tight ball. Although the name “millipede” derives from Latin for “thousand feet”, no species was known to have 1,000 or more until the discovery of Eumillipes persephone, which can have over 1,300 legs.
There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into 16 orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes centipedes and other multi-legged creatures. Most millipedes are slow-moving detritivores, eating decaying leaves and other dead plant matter. Some eat fungi or drink plant fluids, and a small number are predatory.
Millipedes are generally harmless to humans, although some can become household or garden pests. Millipedes can be an unwanted nuisance particularly in greenhouses where they can potentially cause severe damage to emergent seedlings. Most millipedes defend themselves with a variety of chemicals secreted from pores along the body, although the tiny bristle millipedes are covered with tufts of detachable bristles. Its primary defense mechanism is to curl into a tight coil, thereby protecting its legs and other vital delicate areas on the body behind a hard exoskeleton. Reproduction in most species is carried out by modified male legs called gonopods, which transfer packets of sperm to females.
Millipedes are among the first animals to have colonized land during the Silurian period. Early forms probably ate mosses and primitive vascular plants. Millipedes also exhibit the earliest evidence of chemical defense, as some Devonian fossils have defensive gland openings called ozopores. Millipedes, centipedes, and other terrestrial arthropods attained very large sizes in comparison to modern species in the oxygen-rich environments of the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, and some could grow larger than one meter. As oxygen levels lowered through time, arthropods became smaller.
Most millipedes are detritivores and feed on decomposing vegetation, feces, or organic matter mixed with soil. They often play important roles in the breakdown and decomposition of plant litter: estimates of consumption rates for individual species range from 1 to 11 percent of all leaf litter, depending on species and region, and collectively millipedes may consume nearly all the leaf litter in a region. The leaf litter is fragmented in the millipede gut and excreted as pellets of leaf fragments, algae, fungi, and bacteria, which facilitates decomposition by the microorganisms.
Reference: “Millipede” Wikipedia
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Looking back after crossing the Gallery Footbridge we are rewarded with this view, providing a better understanding of the site. It is evening on a mid-September evening, Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Here we are on the Gorge Trail of Treman State Park. My readers have seen this marvelous stone bridge from a distance. Here it is on the west side, facing east/northeast and looking down into the gorge. It is evening on a mid-September evening, Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York Copyright 2023 […]
Here we are on the Gorge Trail of Treman State Park. My readers have seen this marvelous stone bridge from a distance. Here it is on the west side, facing east/northeast and looking down into the gorge.
Spanning the eastern side of the gallery entrance of the gorge.
It is evening on a mid-September evening, Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 