Vocabulary
- Bedrock – the hard, solid rock that lies beneath unconsolidated surface materials such as soil and gravel. Bedrock formations, therefore, are natural stone formations, in contrast to a large stone or boulder deposited by a glacier.
- Dioecious tree – a tree where the male and female reproductive parts are on separate trees. Eastern Red Cedars are dioecious, with the females producing green flowers in late winter and bearing small, fleshy, berry-like cones that appear in spring, while the males produce yellow flowers and bear brown, pollen-bearing cones on the branch tips.
Fun Facts
- The Post Oak is a member of the White Oak family, and got its name from its widespread use for fence posts.
- Lichen can speed up erosion of rock by the excretion of various organic acids, particularly oxalic acid.
- The Norway Maple is an invasive tree that has a leaf similar in appearance to the Sugar Maple. One way to tell them apart is to break off a stem. The leaf of a Norway Maple releases a milky substance, while the substance released from the Sugar Maple is clear.
Click on this link to download the Self-Guided Nature Trail Map with lots of information about many of the things seen on this walk! https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/stateparks/parks/FarmRiverNatureTrailSelfGuidepdf.pdf