I enjoy being outdoors. I like being surrounded by trees of all sizes and shades of green. One of the most stimulating experiences of my life was definitely smelling real pine for the first time while hiking in Montreal. Although our time at Bioblitz was brief, we learned a great deal about plant observation methods.

Our exploration took place in the Thain Family Forest. The ‘Plant’ group was fairly large, so we split into smaller groups to survey the place. My group decided on focusing on trees as there were many different species to look at and we enjoyed looking through the tree guides to identify them.

While a few of the trees we found were very familiar to us, such as the Norwegian Maples and the Red Oaks, others were like nothing we had seen before. Sassafras trees have leaves with three lobes that are very fragrant when crushed. These trees are especially important in the production of root beer, and its parts were often used as antiseptic treatments by Native American tribes.

The leaves of the Tuliptree were the most interesting to look at; they resemble tulips!

While some trees towered over us like skyscrapers, others where low and had different conformations. The American Hornbeam tree shown below, for example, grows in a “crown formation”, which means that it spreads radially from its trunk.

Plants seem to only contribute to the ambience around us, but they can be as complex as we are. Scientists specializing in this field have extensive knowledge about all kinds of traits of plants: what they look like, how they’re useful to humans, and how they interact with other organisms in their environment. I was honestly amazed at the number of idiosyncratic facts our scientist shared with us during our shift. Considering that he worked at the New York Botanical Gardens as a graduate student, he was very familiar with the environment. He showed us one type of plant was capable of stinging, and another that is used in birch beer and tastes like wintergreen when chewed. I honestly never thought I would pick a leaf off a tree and start chewing on its stem but he convinced me to do so.

I’m happy that I finally got the chance to visit the New York Botanical Gardens. It’s amazing how much variety there is in the environment of NYC due to green spaces like parks and gardens. I’ve heard of Central Park being referred to as the “lungs of Manhattan”, and I’ve always liked that comparison because the dramatic change in scenery is refreshing for us and beneficial for other organisms that can now thrive in an environment that may otherwise be unsuitable. I appreciate getting the chance to finally smell Sassafras without having to leave the city; it’s not the kind of tree you’d see in Flatbush.