Groundcover Information
During the fall of 1996, a 5% systematic survey was conducted on McDonald Island to survey the forest and groundcover layers. Variation was found throughout the groundcover layer on the Island. Differences in soil moisture conditions appear to be the greatest contributor to this variation. Heavy deer browse is also noticeable through the Island, especially on the southern end. Dominant species of the ground layer include: wood nettle (Laporta canadensis), wood sorrel (Oxalis spp.), round lobed hepatica (Hepatica americana), butter-and-eggs (Linaria vulgaris) and various sedge (Carex spp.) species. A wide variety of mushrooms and other fungi were found on the Island, especially on the wetter south and east sides.
On the western side of the Island, an exotic shrub, Japanese Barberry (Berbis thunbergii) is taking over the open areas. The seeds of this shrub are transported by birds. The birds eat the berries of the plants that are in the landscaping of the homes along West River Road.
Groundcover Information (<3.5' tall)*
| Common Name
American Elm seedling American Fly Honeysuckle Aster Balsam Fir seedling Bedstraw Big Bluestem Black Cherry seedling Boneset Bugleweed Bull Thistle Butter-and-eggs Canada Mayflower Common Buckthorn Common Greenbriar Common Milkweed Common Mullein Common Witch-hazel seedling Daisy Fleabane Early Meadow Rue Field Pussy-toes Figwort Flowering Spurge Goldenrod Gooseberry Harebell Hog Peanut Horsetail Indian Pipe Jack-in-the-Pulpit Japanese Barberry Little Bluestem Maidenhair Fern Northern Bush-honeysuckle Orange Hawkweed Ostrich Fern Pea Shrub Pearly Everlasting Poison Ivy Quackgrass Red Maple seedlings Round-lobed Hepatica Royal Fern Sedge Sensitive Fern Sheep Sorrel Smooth Solomon’s Seal Spinulose Shield Fern Staghorn Sumac Stinging Nettle Trillium Trout Lily Virginia Creeper Virginia Waterleaf White Pine seedling Wild Asparagus Wild Bergamot Wild Blue Phlox Wild Geranium Wild Grape Wild Iris Wild Rose Wild Sarsaparilla Wood Anemone Wood Nettle Wood Sorrel Wood Violet Yarrow Yellow Hawkweed |
Scientific Name Ulmus americana Lonicera canadensis Aster spp. Abies balsamea Galium aparine Andropogon gerardii Prunus serotina Eupatorium perfoliatum Lycopus virginicus Cirsium vulgare Linaria vulgaris Maianthemum canadense Rhamnus cathartica Smilax rotundifolia Asclepias syriaca Verbascum thapsus Hamamelis virginiana Erigeron annuus Thalictrum dioicum Antennaria parlinii Scrophularia lanceolata Euphorbia corollata Solidago spp. Ribes spp. Campanula rotundifolia Amphicarpaea bracteata Equisetum spp. Monotropa uniflora Arisaema atrorubens Berbis thunbergii Andropogon scoparius Adiantum pedatum Diervilla lonicera Hieracium aurantiacum Matteuccia struthiopteris Lathyrus spp. Anaphalis margaritacea Toxicodendron radicans Agropyron spp. Acer rubrum Hepatica americana Osmunda regalis Carex spp. Onoclea sensibilis Rumex acetosella Polygonatum biflorum Dryopteris spinulosa Rhus typhina Urtica dioica Trillium spp. Erythronium americanum Parthenocissus spp. Hydrophyllum virginianum Pinus Strobus Asparagus officinalis Monarda fistulosa Phlox divaricata Geramium spp. Vitis spp. Iris versicolor Rosa blanda Aralia nudicaulis Anemone quinquefolia Laportea canadensis Oxalis spp. Viola latiuscula Achillea millefolium Hieracium florintinum |
% of Cover 0.05 0.80 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 1.40 0.10 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.23 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.10 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.17 0.05 0.05 1.40 0.05 0.86 0.05 0.05 2.50 0.05 0.05 0.05 5.80 0.05 2.90 0.05 37.50 0.05 0.05 0.23 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.23 0.75 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.86 0.17 35.50 4.60 1.00 0.05 0.05 |
*Groundcover information collected by Sue Kissinger on September 1996, July 1997 & October 1997.
Mushroom and Fungi Information**
| Common Name
Bitter Oyster Carbon Ball Cartilage Cap Deer Mushroom Gem Studded Puffball Hedgehog or Coral Mushroom Oak Mazegill Orange Milkcap Oyster Mushroom Smooth Puffball Sulfur Shelf or Chicken Mushroom Turkey Tail Fungus |
Scientific
Name Pannellus stipiticus Xylaria daldania Psuedocollema cartilagneum Pleutus cervinus Lycoperdon perlatum Hericium coralloides Daedalea quercina Lactarius thyinos Pleurotus ostreatus Lycoperdon molle Laetiporous sulphureus Coliolus versicolor |
**Mushroom & fungi information collected by Sue Kissinger & Matt Welter on October 3, 1997