During her 2000 inventory at Gratiot, Janet and her husband Bob Marr identified a rare aquatic plant, awlwort. Awlwort, Subularia aquatica, an aquatic plant in the mustard family, is a Michigan endangered species. It has only been found within the state at Isle Royale, in the Saint Mary's River, and at Gratiot Lake! So far 286 species of vascular plants have been documented near the lake.
Subularia aquatica L.
Water Awlwort
Identification: Submerged aquatic herb characterized by ring of narrow basal leaves, 1-5 cm long. The flowering stalk is 2-10 cm long with 2-10 tiny white flowers with 4 sepals and petals and 6 stamens. The dehiscent fruit is 2-4 mm long. Often occurs on sand-bottomed ponds and lakes. Annual. Flowers June - August.
Habitat: Sandy or gravelly margins of lakes and slow streams. Open water (non-forested, wetland).
Range: South to northern New England, northern New York, Minnesota, Wyoming, and California.
On August 11, 2001, Botanist Janet Marr who is surveying the plants of Gratiot Lake for the Conservancy led a walk to examine some typical and uncommon plants of the area.
Participants in Janet's walk learned rules every good botanist lives by... "Tread softly and carry a powerful magnifying lense!" The walk began on the shoreline on the preserve and proceeded carefully so as not to squash the delicate beach vegetation.
Janet showed the fine points of distinguishing the rare awlwort from more common plants such as pipewort and water lobelia. Pipewort has concentrically striped roots as seen through the lense, and awlwort has pure white roots. Lobelia can sometimes be seen mostly submerged in the lake with bell-like, pale lavendar flowers sticking out above the water’s surface. All three form neat rosettes of leaves, one to three inches in diameter, at their base underwater. The group also carefully examined two bladderworts whose name belies their delicate beauty. These tiny yellow and purple flowers formed a patchy beach carpet of color. Bladders in their root system suck in tiny insects and then the plants digest them.
Along the Bear Paw Path, Janet pointed out red, striped, and sugar maples. In the shaded areas many mosses appeared—most fascinating were pillow moss which forms like green cushiony mounds and sphagnum which can hold great quantities of water. Several varieties of conifer, spruce, fir, hemlock, pine, and cedar were seenalong the shore which has not been logged in a very long time. Two varieties of native holly and winterberry were also found. Rattlesnake plantain, Orchids with white flowers on a spike and a rosette of striped leaves were spotted here and there.
