Summit stewards in the Adirondacks have found an alpine plant species that had been believed to be eliminated from New York’s high elevation peaks.
The Adirondack Mountain Club says on August 15th High Peaks Summit Steward Katie Leton identified a population of dwarf willow on the summit of Algonquin Peak during a botany survey.
One of the smallest woody plants in the world it was last documented on that mountain in 1980. The only other place it is found in the Adirondacks is on Mount Marcy.
The dwarf willow is considered critically imperiled and at risk of eradication in New York state, although the species is widespread globally.