PLANTS AND FUNGI

Authors: Scott A. Mori and Robert Naczi

If you wish to go directly to a specific group of plants or fungi click on one of the icons in the left hand panel or click on "Select Group" on the upper side of the top banner. The icons are found only on the home page of the entire site.

In order to increase your ability to use the site, read How to Use and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) before starting your walk in the Preserve.  If you are able to make an internet connection, you will be able to access the site online while you are in the Preserve.

When you search using the "Checklist," "Specimens," "Common Names," etc. you will first see one or more rows of preliminary data. In order to get more information, you will need to click on the name of the species or on the thumbnail image if an image is available. That will take you to an image viewer. If you want to access additional information other than images you will need to scroll down.

The degree of information differs from group to group. For example, the mosses, hepatics, and lichens are traditional specimen based checklists whereas the other groups have more information.

Information About the Preserve

Westchester Wilderness Walk/Zofnass Family Preserve
150 acres
Upper Shad Road, Pound Ridge, Westchester Co., New York
Park on the pull-off on Upper Shad Road, about 1⁄4 mile from Long Ridge Road.
Trail Map

This plant and fungal inventory, a collaboration between The York Botanical Garden and the Westchester Land Trust, was established in the spring of 2013. Our goal is to develop specimen-based inventories of the fungi, lichens, mosses, hepatics, ferns, lycopods, pines and relatives, and flowering plants so that visitors can more fully enjoy the beauty and natural diversity of the preserve.

The Westchester Wilderness Walk/Zofnass Family Preserve encompasses deciduous forests, streams, and wetlands in 150 acres of which 124 acres are owned and managed by the Westchester Land Trust. The variety of habitats increases the diversity of  fungi and plants that occur in the preserve.

A 6.5-mile trail network traverses some of the most rugged terrain in a town noted for its crags and outcrops. Paul Zofnass, a Pound Ridge resident and a former member of the Westchester Land Trust's Board of Directors, first conceived the idea of creating a preserve and worked for over 12 years to put the project together by donating land, persuading his neighbors to donate land, and creating the extensive trail system.

Clck here to see a video showing how we are carrying out our plant and fungal inventory of the preserve. This video features Camila Jiang, a former student of the Taft School, who worked as an intern on this project in the summer of 2013.