Warren Grove Pygmy Pine Forest
I was born in Ocean County and lived here most of my life, but I had never heard of a pygmy pine forest. The class took a short van ride to Warren Grove to check out this phenomenon in the heart of Ocean County.
This forest consists of pitch pines who’s growth has been stunted and research has yet to reveal exactly why.
They pygmy pines have been this way in this area for at least 100 years and no recent fires have occurred. Many factors likely contribute to the unique growth habit of these trees including historic fires, very sandy soil with poor soil nutrients and/or Ph, and the strong winds.
Other plants we observed among the pygmy pines were broom crowberry… a low growing, mounding ground cover that looks like heather from a distance. It’s evergreen with tiny needles and a little reddish flower on each branch tip. We also saw bearberry, another evergreen groundcover, but this one had oval leaves. Small flowers bloom and develop into berries – unsure if they are edible. I took cuttings to root in the greenhouse at home.
