The Pine Barrens gentian is one of several rare species of plants native to the Pinelands that can be seen blooming along the region's roadsides. (Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
By Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media
The New Jersey Pine Barrens is more than just pitch pines.
Countless varieties of flowers and other flora bloom throughout the million-acre expanse, many of them sprouting up through the sandy soil along the hundreds of miles of local, county and state roads that cut through the environmentally sensitive region.
Since 2009, the New Jersey Pinelands Commission has catalogued these vibrantly colorful roadside attractions, and at the same time develop ways of mowing and maintaining the 11,000 acres that lie along Pinelands roadways while sparing the flowers.
Those practices are contained in a memorandum of understanding with five counties that make up the Pinelands area -- Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Ocean -- which the commission's executive director, Nancy Wittenberg, said was bearing fruit, or petals.
"While it took some time to adjust to these practices, the counties are doing an excellent job," Wittenberg, stated in a press release issued last week.
Robyn A. Jeney, a resource planner with the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, along Route 563 in Burlington County during a survey of roadside vegetation. (Paul Leakan | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
A survey of roadside vegetation
A day before the commission's announcement last Tuesday, the non-profit Pinelands Preservation Alliance held a Statehouse rally in Trenton demanding that Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy overhaul the commission through his authority to appoint seven of its 15 members and to name its chairman.
The alliance insists that, led by appointees of Murphy's Republican predecessor, former Gov. Chris Christie, the commission has made several decisions favoring development proposals over environmental concerns -- an assertion Wittenberg rejected.
A spokesman for the commission, Paul Leakan, said the timing of the announcement one day after the alliance's was a coincidence. Even this late in the year, Leaken said, there are "late bloomers" showing their colors even now, including yellow and purple aster and goldenrod.
Despite last week's rally, the alliance's head of conservation science, Ryan Rebozo, applauded the roadside program in a statement noting that his group has supported the roadside flora program since its inception.
"The commission renewed its efforts to educate county workers and officials on best management practices for roadsides," Rebozo stated. "Continued efforts by the commission and county workers can ensure that roadsides continue to be habitat for our native flora."
Here are eight species to look out for on Pinelands roadsides, according to the commission.
(Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
Blazing star
Blazing star (Liatris spicata) can be seen blooming along Pinelands roadsides in the fall. Sometimes called the gayfeather, it's a native perennial with spiky purple blooms and grass-like foliage, which attracts butterflies, birds and bees, according to Americanmeadows.com.
(Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
Cinnamon fern
Cinnamon ferns (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) do not yield the spice sprinkled on buns or toast. But they do possess "dramatic architectural form and color" that "makes a striking focal point near the edge of water features," according to GardeningKnowHow.com Their 4-foot fronds are blue-green in summer, turning a cinnamon brown when fertile.
Cinnamon ferns (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) produce two distinctly different types of fronds. Fertile, plume-like, cinnamon colored fronds grow at the center of the plant, giving way to the plant’s name. They are surrounded by larger, green, sterile fronds. The contrast between the two results in an appealing, multi-dimensional plant.
Read more at Gardening Know How: Cinnamon Fern Plant Info: How To Grow A Cinnamon Fern
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/cinnamon-fern/growing-cinnamon-ferns.htm
Cinnamon ferns (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) produce two distinctly different types of fronds. Fertile, plume-like, cinnamon colored fronds grow at the center of the plant, giving way to the plant’s name. They are surrounded by larger, green, sterile fronds. The contrast between the two results in an appealing, multi-dimensional plant.
Read more at Gardening Know How: Cinnamon Fern Plant Info: How To Grow A Cinnamon Fern
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/cinnamon-fern/growing-cinnamon-ferns.htm
Cinnamon ferns (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) produce two distinctly different types of fronds. Fertile, plume-like, cinnamon colored fronds grow at the center of the plant, giving way to the plant’s name. They are surrounded by larger, green, sterile fronds. The contrast between the two results in an appealing, multi-dimensional plant.
Read more at Gardening Know How: Cinnamon Fern Plant Info: How To Grow A Cinnamon Fern
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/cinnamon-fern/growing-cinnamon-ferns.htm
(Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
Goat's Rue
Goat’s Rue (tephrosia virginiana) is a native Pinelands plant with red petals, once used to treat ailments such as tuberculosis.
(Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
Orange Milkwort
Orange milkwort (polygala lutea) is native to the Pinelands and several eastern states, from the Adirondacks to the Gulf of Mexico, according to the USDA.
(Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
Pine Barrens heather
Pine Barrens heather (Hudsonia ericoides) is a low-growing shrub that thrives in the sun.
(Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
Pine Barrens sandwort
Pine Barrens sandwort (minuartia caroliniana), while named for the Pinelands, is found from northern New York State to southern Florida, according to CUMauriceRiver.org. It grows out of the sand.
(Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
Sand myrtle
Sand myrtle's (leiophylium buxifolium) "slender stems bear dark, lustrous green leaves which become bronzy in cold weather," according to Wildflower.org. "Rose-colored flower buds open to white flowers tipped with pink in small, terminal clusters."
(Robyn A. Jeney | N.J. Pinelands Commission)
White fringed orchid
The white fringed orchid (platanthera blephariglottis) is among nearly 30 different wild orchid varieties that grow in the Pinelands, according to the commission.
Read more
- Politics are killing the Pinelands and we want Murphy to fix it, group says
- N.J. rejects key permit in controversial 4,000-unit Pinelands project
- Pedal power is helping preserve N.J.'s unique Pinelands
- Former Gov. Brendan Byrne wanted to be remembered for saving the Pine Barrens
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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