As part of the littoral picnic one of the activities was to go on a walk to study plants by the shore. Alex and Zi showed us many plants. Sandy Hook’s ecology is part of the Pine Barrens which where there before the glaciers. Atlantic coastal pine barrens – Wikipedia
Between 170–200 million years ago, the Atlantic coastal plain began to form.
The Barrens formed in the southernmost and newest land area in New Jersey 1.8 to 65 million years ago, during the Tertiary era.
Over millions of years, the rising and falling of the coastline deposited minerals underground, culminating with the end of the last ice age about 12,000 years ago, when plants and trees began growing in what is now New Jersey.
Forest fires have been a common occurrence before habitation by humans. Fire has played a major ecological role in the Pinelands, and the ecotypes “suggest that short fire intervals may have been typical in the Pine Plains for many centuries, or millennia.” New Jersey Pine Barrens – Wikipedia
Sherry Felix - port4u 
What a marvellous spot to visit. Some lovely finds!
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Thanks. It was lovely.
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I expect you had to crouch for these
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Only a little. I have a monitor on my camera that tilts 😉
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🙂
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There’s a place where I see several of these plants, including pepperweed, St. John’s wort, prickly pear, and a very similar sedge. My ‘spot’ is called the Sandyland Sanctuary in east Texas, and it’s a combination of sandy prairie and pines. I suspect it’s no coincidence that it shares so much with your Sandy Hook, including the sandy soil!
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Probably a very similar ecosystem.
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