By Barbara A. Preston | Posted Feb. 14, 2025
Restoration ecologist Jared Rosenbaum talked about “Rare Plants and Primary Forests of the Sourlands” to a standing-room only crowd at the Montgomery Township Municipal Building on January 9.
Why are the plants rare? Rosenbaum explained it often has to do with human beings.
“We are part of the picture,” he said. “It’s the choices we each make about how we manage our landscapes. We decide what local agriculture looks like. This includes our yards, our public right-of-ways, our pipelines, and what our roadsides look like.
“All are factors in plant dispersal and maintenance of our plant habitats.”
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to New Jersey that has become rare. The Lenni-Lenape used it for pain and fever relief, and healing.
Rosenbaum grew up in New York City, and said he didn’t know the difference between a maple and an oak.
As a musician and punk rocker, he didn’t imagine he would one day be hanging out with wildflowers. (See his recent video titled, “Wild Ginger: Mystery of an ancient migration.”)
Restoration ecologist Jared Rosenbaum.
“So, what happened?” he asked. “I got angry. If we [people] continue to strip places of sacredness, we’ll destroy them one-by-one. And slowly dismantle the living earth.”
Rosenbaum is a podcaster, author, and an owner of Wild Ridge Plants in Alpha, NJ. Many of the plants he sells were originally seeds collected in the Sourland Mountain region.
The Sourlands are important, because, thanks to the rocky, steep slopes, they remain in a natural state -— as a primary forest. It has become a place where native soils persist, and native seed banks may still survive.
Less than 10% of primal forests remain in New Jersey. The land has been recklessly timbered, then farmed, then largely developed.
“It’s time to expand our vision past supporting birds, butterflies, and bees, and fully integrate the most challenging animal of all, the human being, into our native plant gardens,” he said.
“The short version of my job,” Rosenbaum said, “is that I go out and make lists of plants that I see. So I’m often working in county parks, nature preserves.
“I think what my job really involves, is to observe the plant life at a given site and to come up with a narrative about it. So to look at the health, diversity and abundance of the different wild plant species there and try to figure out, ‘Why are these plants here?’ or, ‘Why are they thriving?’ or, as is so often the case, ‘Why are they not thriving?’”
Conservation is a global issue — at the same time it is at the local level where the conservation happens.
Above: Native plants that have become rare in Central New Jersey: Prickly Pear photographed in Rocky Hill, Paw Paw tree fruit, Gentianopsis crinita/Fringed Gentian, Service Berry tree, Blue Bells, and Indian Paintbush (Castilleja coccinea).
Mayor Neena Singh said Montgomery is fortunate to live in a community surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape.
“There are countless ways a healthy and prosperous ecosytem benefits the air we breathe and the water we drink,” she said
She thanked the Sourland Conservancy, Somerset Park Commission, and Native Plant Society of NJ for bringing their valuable programs to central New Jersey. She said she was especially grateful for their efforts in preserving, protecting, and stewarding our open space across the region.
“We frequently hear of worldwide goals to reduce carbon emissions and to slow the rate of climate change, Singh said. "It’s easy to become complacent and to think there is not anything one person can do to have an impact.
“The reality is quite different. Together, we must think global and act local. Our three partners are prepared to share ways in which each of you can have an impact — one step at a time.
“When we follow their advice, protecting our rare plant species and helping them thrive, it can have widespread impact.”
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Watch the full presentation at https://montgomerynj.new.swagit.com/videos/325451. ■
Wild Plant Culture, A Guide to Restoring Edible and Medicinal Native Plant Communities by Jared Rosenbaum.
Resources
Wild Ridge Plants
Each episode features one wild plant species, an unlikely ecologist, and a distinctive habitat.
Videos follow field botanist Jared Rosenbaum on a tour of some of the most compelling habitats and native plant species in his home state of New Jersey.
Documentary filmmaker Jared Flesher directs the series. Rooted is distributed free to all viewers on YouTube.
Learn more at https://wildplantculture.com. ■
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