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Phragmites

Phragmites, Phragmites australis, also known as Common Reed, is an aggressively growing species, which outcompetes many other native plants. It can grow to a height of ten feet, and often grows in disturbed areas. It forms a "monoculture," which lowers biological diversity. Phragmites reproduces mainly by underground runners, with one plant often giving rise to dozens of shoots. It is also the main fuel for fast-moving and dangerous grassland fires at Gateway.

Poison Ivy

First written about in North America by Captain John Smith in the Jamestown colony, Poison Ivy, Toxicodendron radicans, is a misunderstood and often maligned plant. It is also one of the most common plants at Gateway. It provides cover and food for a wide variety of animals, and in many places its roots stabilize critical sand dunes. It is important that visitors be familiar with this plant�s three leaves, which can vary from bright green to reddish in spring and fall, with white berries in summer and fall. Poison Ivy at Gateway can grow as a low, trailside plant, as an aggressive tree-climbing vine, as a shrub, and even as a small tree. All parts of the plant contain the oil urushiol, which causes a skin rash in about half of the U.S. population.

Poison Ivy is common to abundant throughout Gateway, providing shelter and food for wildlife and anchoring critical dune systems.