2010 Alpine Garden Tour
Specific trails and areas are mentioned in this gallery. An internet inquiry regarding any trail mentioned in this article should bring up a map or further information regarding the trail. All the trails mentioned are within 700 feet of the top of Mt. Washington, in New Hampshire.
The Appalachian Mountain Club has authored a book, AMC Field Guide to the New England Alpine Summits, by Nancy Slack and Allison Bell, published by The Appalachian Mountain Club Books, Boston, Massachusetts, 2006. This article uses that book as its prime reference source. Specific quotes are identified by {AMC Guide} after the paragraph. Information from Wikipedia is identified by [Wikipedia] after the paragraph. An AMC naturalist at the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitors Center, Ms. Carolyn Loeb, was very helpful in identifying the plants, shrubs, trees and wildlife in these pictures.
This area of Mt. Washington is definitely above tree line, as these pictures of the alpine garden attests. The garden is also within what is called “the alpine zone”. It is well named. Mt. Washington is constantly about 10 to 20 degrees below the temperature at the base of the mountain. The winds are almost always blowing and they can be very cold. Fog is not unusual and can be seen in various pictures in this gallery. It can be a very harsh environment.
From these photographs, and others taken on other hikes in the Presidential Range, I have developed a presentation titled "Those Amazing Plants in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains". If you are interested in further details about the presentation, please e-mail me at info@AlbertMartinPhotography.com
Bunchberry
Cornus Canadensis
Bunchberry is a slow growing perennial herbaceous sub-shrub growing 10–20 cm tall, forming a carpet-like mat. It is a member of the dogwood family. The above ground shoots – which are pictured here - rise from slender creeping rhizomes that are placed 2.5–7.5 cm deep in the soil. The shoots produce above ground stems are slender and without branches. In the fall, the leaves have red tinted veins and turn completely red. Plants are for the most part self-sterile and dependent on pollinators for reproduction. The fruits look like berries but are drupes (a fruit with a outer fleshy part surrounding a pit, example: cherry). These are green, round in shape and turn bright red at maturity in late summer. Each fruit is 5 mm in diameter and contains typically one or two ellipically shaped stones. [Wikipedia]
Alpine GardenMt. WashingtonJune 2010Alpine Garden Trailbunchberry