Plants

The three main habitats on the refuge where you will find wildflowers are:

Field: Open spaces with lots of sun light, usually sandy soil.
Forest: Mostly loblolly pine and oak woods, moist and shady.
Marsh: Fresh water impoundments, rich in soil nutrients.

Below are some of the plants and trees you will see at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

Flowers in the field (Sand)

Seabeach Amaranth

(Amaranthus pumilus) is an annual plant, has fleshy rounded dark green leaves around1-2 cm grouped near the tips of fleshy, reddish steams. The plant germinates from April to July.Flowering starts in June and the seed production in July. Seeds measure about 2 – 2.5mm.This plant species was listed as endangered in 1993.

Hedge Bindweed

(Calystegia sepium) Flowers can be white or pale pink with white stripes, between 2 to 4 inches long and 2-3 inches across. After flowering the fruit develops in a spherical capsule of 1 cm diameter containing two to four large, black seeds that are shaped like quartered oranges. Flowering occurs from June to September. The leaves have a triangular form and are arranged in a spiral.

Mayweed

(Anthemis cotula), June – October. The white daisy-like blossoms (3/4-1” wide) of mayweed show themselves in summer along the refuge’s roadsides. The lacy leaves have a heavy odor.

Blue-eyed Grass

(Sisyrinchium atlanticum), March- June. If you look down at your feet when walking in open fields, you might see long-stalked, bright blue or violet “eyes” looking up at you from the grassy leaves.

Camphorweed

(Heterotheca subaxillaris), August – November.  The strong scent of the camphorweed leaves fills the air as the yellow aster-like blossoms (1/2-3/4” wide) brighten the roadsides.

Meadow Beauty

(Rhexia virginica or mariana), June-September. Two species of this flower can occur here, the pale pink Maryland meadow (mariana) and the deeper pink Virginia meadow – beauty (virginica). The four petals of the flower are so delicate they often fall off when touched by a raindrop.

Pink Wild Bean

(Strophstyles umbellate), July – September. This legume twines its tendrils around other plants in order to reach the sunlight- similar to the peas or beans in your garden. Pink wild bean’s long, narrow pods resemble miniature string beans.

Horse Nettle

(Solanum carolinense), May- October. This plant protects itself with sharp prickles on its stem. It has pale purple or white star- shaped flowers in summer and later bears orange- yellow berries.

Pink Lady’s Slipper

(Cypripedium acaule), April – July. This flower has a distinctive pink pouch and two broad, ground level leaves. Be sure not to touch the pink lady’s slipper, as it has been know to cause skin inflammation.

Northern Red Oak

(Quercus rubra) has leaves between 5 -8 inches long with 7 to 11 lobes. Each lobe is usually 3-toothed, sharply pointed. Leaves turn red in fall before dropping off. The tree can be between 60 -80 feet tall with 3 or more feet’s in diameter.

Water Oak

(quercus nigra) leaves are small, between 2 – 4 inches long and wider in the tip that in the base. The leaves have various shapes but usually they have three indistinct lobes. Leaves drop off in the winter. The trunk is usually slender and can reach 125 feet of height.

White Oak

(Quercus bicolor) is a deciduous tree. They are approximately 5-6 inches long, with margins that have bluntly-pointed lobes of varying size and depth. The underside of the leaf is hairy. They are almost always oval. The tree is usually 60-70 feet tall with a 2 to 3 feet diameter.

Red Maple

(Acer rubrum) leaves contain 3 – 5 lobes with margins that are coarsely-toothed, between 2 -6 inches long. Leaves turn bright scarlet, orange, or bright yellow in autumn. It flowers in spring before the leaves show. The fruit is reddish; V shaped and matures in early summer dropping the stem about 3-4 inches long. The tree is usually 75 – 90 feet in height and 1½– 2½feet in diameter. The buds and samaras (seeds) are a great food resource for squirrels during winter and spring.

Loblolly Pine

(Pinus taeda) has slender 6-9 inch long needles in groups of three. During their third season needles fall from the tree. The cones have an oblong shape, measure between 2 -6 inches long, and have a spine at the tip of each scale. Color can vary from reddish to brown. Cones drop their seeds during autumn but will remain on the tree for another year. The trunk is usually straight, reaching 100 feet in height with a diameter between 2-3 feet. The seeds are eaten by the Delmarva fox squirrel, wild turkeys, and some songbirds.

Sweet Gum

(Liquidamber styraciflua) leaves are easy to recognize because of their star-shape composed of 5 (rarely 7) separated loves. They also have long stems, a toothed margin, and are 5-7 inches long. During autumn they turn into deep red color. They have a round, bur-like hard, woody fruit that is 1 – 1½inches in diameter with a long stalk that remains through the winter. The tree can reach 120 feet in height and four or more feet in diameter.

Eastern Red Cedar

(Juniperus virginiana) grows as a tree or as a shrub in a variety of sites. Leaves grow in an opposite pattern, meaning that there is 180 degrees between them. They also have a shiny dark green color. Old leaves are thicker than the younger leaves and are needle-shaped and pointed. The cones are round, with a diameter of ¼ - 1/3 inches, and bluish in color with a waxy grayish-white cover. Commonly it reaches 40-50 feet in height with a diameter of 1-2 feet.

Rose Mallow

(Hibiscus palustris), June – September. In mid-summer the large flowers of the rose mallow cover the marshes with pink and with. Do you see any red in the center? These are “crimson- eyed” rose mallow. (Hibiscus palustrisnpeckii)