News and Events for Nantucket Island
If you’ve spent any time on the south shore of the island (i.e. the wavey beaches) you have probably seen one of our most resilient residents. They may be a bit secretive, a little camouflaged, but these shoreline residents are a fun find and great to explore with kids. We’re talking about the Atlantic mole crab.
There once was a plant from Nantucket
Purple flowers so gorge they would pluck it
Blue-eyed grass is her name
A rare species they claim
So please don’t put in your bucket
Did you know that there once was a tree that spiked an economic bubble in the US? And there are Nantucket ties with a legacy that we can still see (and visit) on the island today?
Right now is the perfect time to go on a hunt for one of Nantucket nature’s treasured beauties, the pink lady’s slipper orchid.
The pink lady’s slipper orchid (Cypripedium acaule) is Nantucket’s most popular orchid (or the one most often seen), likely because it is hard to miss when in bloom. As the name suggests, the bloom resembles a small, pink ballet slipper fit for a squirrel. This orchid is locally common with each plant growing a single f lower. These individual f lowers tend to grow in clusters, so where you see one, you may see several. This grouping lends itself to magical thinking, imagining a dancing troupe of forest creatures. And while this isn’t a fairy tale, there is something magical about orchids and where they grow. It’s nearly impossible to duplicate the conditions necessary to cultivate these lady slippers. That’s why seeing them in the wild along a trail can feel so special.
by Dr. Sarah Treanor Bois, PhDDirector of Research & Conservation at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation Nantucket is home to many rare plant species, but few bear its name. Nantucket Shadbush (Amelanchier nantucketensis) is a globally-rare shrub that was once thought to be limited to our island. This small shrub […]
Summer on Nantucket is coming to an end. Usually at this time of year I try to hold on to summer. Phenologically, September is still part of the growing season, and it’s peak time for many of our wildflowers. That’s what I usually say. This year, however, is a bit different. We’re starting to see fall colors in August (!), plants going dormant earlier than usual, and some things withering before our eyes—more typical late fall activity.
We’re halfway into August, and it starts to feel a touch like fall. There’s a slight crispness to the air in the early mornings, and the humidity of July has waned. The August Blues Fishing Tournament, which I love to participate in, has me thinking about August blues—I mean the kind of feeling that has less to do with bluefish and more to do with disappointment at the end of something. Of course, I’m reading way too much into the name of a fishing tournament, but there is an element of sadness that summer might soon be coming to a close.
