NYBG’s science division has a longstanding history of field-based botanical research which continues to this day. Not long ago, we had an opportunity to see this in action and were invited by Rob Naczi, the Arthur J. Cronquist Curator of North American Botany, to jump into the exotic (to us) world in which our scientists work. The location: New Jersey? In Rob’s words: “New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the USA. Astoundingly, it also hosts the most significant natural area in the Mid-Atlantic coastal region, the New Jersey Pine Barrens,” the largest remaining ecosystem of its kind.

When I first met Rob many years ago, I had to just take his word for it. As a native New Yorker, I’m not sure what entered my mind when he mentioned the Pine Barrens to me back then, but admittedly it probably wasn’t great. I likely envisioned a location close to congested roadways and industrial exhaust chimneys; my main impressions since childhood. Still, I had never been there, and if one of our scientists said it was worth the trip, it must be. I suggested I’d love to go with him someday to see what it was all about, and this summer we finally got together to do just that.

After an early wakeup call and a 2.5hr drive, our media team met a cohort of science colleagues in the very heart of the preserve for a day of learning and botanizing led by Rob and local expert Russell Juelg of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. The day involved walking around the various environments, pausing for informational discussions and exchange, as well as training young botanists in practical field observation and collection methods. Plant samples collected from the field would be added to the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium in support of NYBG projects as well as providing a physical record of the area for future study. As we continued to traverse the landscape, group leaders shared knowledge from their different areas of expertise while looking for iconic Pine Barrens flora.

But how could New Jersey compare to the extreme ecosystems I had visited before with other members of our science staff, like the cloud forests of Peru, or the Brazilian Amazon? NYBG conducts its conservation research in locales both near and far, so I was curious to see how the state next door compared to those alluring and romanticized places.

Through Rob and Russell’s deep knowledge of the land, we learned about the defining characteristics that make this part of NJ special and no less extreme than other more far-flung locations. Pine barrens are named for their combination of fast draining, nutrient poor, acidic, and sandy soil, conditions which would otherwise prove inhospitable for most plants. Still, strong competition for the limited resources available results in only the most well-adapted and hardy of plant species being able to survive. Other conditions such as forest fires are also essential to the reproduction of some flora here, like the rare pygmy pitch pine. Those same environmental stressors are responsible for the suppression of invasive species which would otherwise require large amounts of resources to take hold and become invasive in the first place. Being able to study stable ecosystems such as this is scientifically invaluable. As Rob put it, “studying a healthy ecosystem helps us strategize conservation efforts in degraded ecosystems elsewhere.” What makes the environments close to you special or unique? How does it all work together? Fostering that baseline curiosity and trying to understand the interconnections of our world is the first step to becoming better stewards of it.

As the heat of the day built, memories of human encroachment and industrialization were replaced by orchids and carnivorous plants like sundews and pitcher plants, things usually cataloged into tropical rainforests of the mind, but here they were. Ankle deep in the marsh and armed with a turkey baster, Rob sampled water from the interiors of pitcher plants, going on to say that some even have their own trophic zones (areas of differing nutrients and life). Fun fact: there is even a species of fly (Fletcherimyia fletcheri; commonly, flesh fly) whose larvae are only found in a specific type of pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. This symbiotic relationship is just another example of the hyper-specificity that makes the Pine Barrens not only a botanical hotspot, biodiversity hotspot as well.

The cumulative effect of the extreme environment (and conservation strategy) is a rare, pristine functioning ecosystem which people can study AND enjoy. And I for one, thoroughly did, my impressions happily changed forever. Perhaps, if nothing else, this is the point. We can live with our preconceived notions, never broadening our worldview and understanding, or we can be open to the possibility of more. Without conservation and research (read: curiosity) we may never know what secrets to life nature holds. At the very least, it was incredible to see so much knowledge and mutual passion for the natural world in full view, even if the botany jokes flew way over my head. In the best way possible, I’ll never think of New Jersey the same way again.