The Schenectady County Flora Project

By Ted Baim

Schenectady County, although small in size, with an area of about 195 square miles, is in a natural position to produce both an indigenous and an adventive flora with as great a variety of plant life as can be found in many localities of much larger size. The county is located in eastern New York State about midway between two large physiographic provinces, the Adirondack Mountains to the north and the Catskill Mountains to the south. These two mountain areas undoubtedly have had a certain amount of influence in the development of the native plants of the county.

The topography of Schenectady County is for the most part hilly except for the sand plain bordering on Albany County that has a fairly uniform elevation of 350 to 400 feet. The lowest point in the county is in Niskayuna with an elevation of less than 200 feet. The highest point is situated two miles west of Featherstonhaugh Lake in Princetown at 1440 feet elevation. Featherstonhaugh Lake at 1290 feet and Mariaville Lake at 1275 feet are located in an area of 25 or 30 square miles having an altitude of 1100 feet or more. In this elevated area much of the flora is distinctly boreal in character. Other parts of the county however, also have a certain percentage of northern species even at lower elevations.

The development of the vegetation has also been influenced by the underlying bedrock, which in Schenectady County consists mainly of gray and black sandstone and shale. This geological formation, the Schenectady sandstone, has a thickness of more than 2000 feet and overlies the Canajoharie shales. Where the sandstones and shales lie close to the surface the soils derived therefrom are of an argillaceous composition, usually intermixed with glacial till, often with angular rocks of local origin. This type of soil is found on the hills throughout the county. West of the Hoffman Fault the underlying geological structure consists of a thin layer of Potsdam sandstone, a massive layer of Little Falls dolomite topped with thinly bedded Trenton and Black River limestones. In the eastern part of Glenville Township there are extensive deposits of Pleistocene sands and gravels. In the southwestern part of Duanesburg Township insignificant beds of Manlius limestone, Rondout water lime and Cobleskill limestone extend into the county. The Hudson River formation is found in the eastern end of Niskayuna where outcrops of this formation are to be seen along the lower part of the Lishakill and in the vicinity of Lock 7.

There are other sources of vegetation development responsible for more recent additions to the county flora. Among these is the Mohawk River flowing eastward through the county and the proximity of the county to the Hudson River valley a short distance eastward. The Mohawk River was the chief artery of travel and commerce during the original occupation of New York State and continued to be during the settlement of the region by Europeans. Owing to its position along one of the earliest roots of travel to and from the west, the county has acquired a large number of plants foreign to its soil. The constant increase in the plant population of any area situated along the main routes of travel takes place by the accidental introduction of many of the more or less weedy species. With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 there was probably a great influx of weedy plants coming in with shipments of grain and other products.  Many of the weeds so introduced became permanent members of the flora and in some cases undoubtedly became so abundant as to choke out more desirable species. Other plants brought into the area may be considered mere transients, a plant or two growing by the wayside or on the lawn, lasting only one season and then dying out altogether. Invasion of weeds is still going on and will continue as long as there are plants to produce seeds to be carried by one means or another from distant places of origin. An example of weed introduction can be seen in the vicinity of grain elevators such as at the Albany Port District, and in railroad yards, where the sweepings from railroad cars bring in grain from the west and have given rise to a very local weed flora different from that of closely adjacent areas.

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