Plant Walk 10/16

I wanted to explore a different part of Newton, so I went to the Hammond Pond Reservation off of Hammond Pond Parkway.

During my walk, I found it the most difficult to find flowering plants as I went on a particularly chilly day. Last week, in the cold weather, most of the flowering plants had lost their petals, so it was hard to spot them amongst the rest of the plants on the forest floor. Interestingly enough, my favorite flowering plant that I found was on my walk back to campus along Hammond Pond Parkway (although it was on a main road, it was still wild).

Throughout my walk, I found it easier to spot different species of fungi. Because of the last nature walk that we had done, I was primed to spot fungi in their typical niche: on rot and decay or in dark, wet places. I found myself seeking out interesting fungal species more than looking for ferns or other plant classes.

When I finally focused on taking photos of the large trees that surrounded me in the forest, I took special interest in the shapes that their hard exterior had managed to wind itself into. I wondered how a shared trait--vascularity (if that's even a word)-- between the seedless vascular plants like a fern and the seeded (non-flowering) plants could look so different. The ferns that I saw all had relatively "regular" stems/"trunks" that did not wind into weird shapes.

Posted on October 21, 2024 08:18 PM by p_roy_