Surrounding vegetation: vegetation that can grow in shallow water or moist soil in wetland margins

Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis):

• Native herb

• There are separate vegetative and fertile fronds.

  • Sterile leaves are light green, are divided into about 12 opposite pairs of leaflets, and have wavy edges

  • Fertile fronds have a dark brown spike with hard spherical spore cases

  • Fertile fronds appear in July-August and remain throughout the winter

• Can grow in groups at the edge of wetlands and provide cover in the summer for small animals

• In the winter, the fertile fronds provide food for Chipmunk and Whitetail Deer

• The fibrous roots reduce soil erosion

Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea):

• A woody, deciduous shrub that can grow up to 6 m tall

• The bark and twigs are a reddish purple color

• The leaves are simple and opposite and are hairy and a lighter green on the underside

• The flowers are white or cream colored and bloom between June and August

• The berries are also a white color

• This dogwood prefers wetland margins, where soils are nitrogen-rich and only shallowly inundated in the spring

• The berries of Red Osier Dogwood are an important food source for birds in the fall and winter

Speckled Alder (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa):

• Tall shrub or tree that can grow up to 6 m tall

• The leaves are dark green and lighter green and hairy on the underside

• The bark is smooth with conspicuous orange lenticels

• Commonly found in pond and stream margins and in marshes and swamps

• Beavers use speckled alder to build dams

• Small mammals and birds eat the seeds of speckled alder