Border lands

Natural History, May, 1998 by Robert H. Mohlenbrock

RELATED ARTICLE:

Bogs contain numerous rare species. In addition to the yellow fringed orchid, the small green wood orchid, and the grass-leaved ladies' tresses, others that may be found in or near bogs are green adder's mouth orchid, southern twayblade, large whorled pogonia, autumn coralroot, Indian pipe, and American pinesap. All but the last two are orchids.

Glades are rocky, relatively treeless areas. Goodwater Glade has some blue ash, cedar elm, and red cedar. Golden glade cress and two other miniature mustards--thread-leaved bladderpod and a plant known as Selenia--grow there. Other plants in this glade are often found in prairies in the Midwest. The common grass is little bluestem, while among the wildflowers are orange puccoon, purple coneflower, yellow coneflower, purple prairie clover, and two types of bluets.

Mesic woods harbor bitternut hickory, sugarberry, green ash, and the rather uncommon nutmeg hickory and swamp chestnut oak. The canopy is so dense during the summer that little sunlight penetrates to the forest floor. As a result, most of the wildflowers in this habitat bloom in the spring, before the trees have put out all their leaves. Among them are wild blue phlox, Solomon's seal, the spectacular red-and-yellow Indian pink, and bee balm.

Upland woods are composed principally of white oak, chinquapin oak, mockernut hickory, red mulberry, wild black cherry, and black gum. There is also an ample midcanopy layer of small trees such as red buckeye, hop hornbeam, redbud, and rough-leaved dogwood. Spring-flowering wildflowers include hairy phlox and goat's rue, the latter a hairy-leaved member of the pea family with pink and cream flowers. In the summer, yellow crownbeard and two species of sunflower bloom on the forest floor.

Cypress swamps, besides hosting bald cypress, are home to swamp red maple, water hickory, and water elm. Buttonbush, Virginia sweet spire, and storax, all with attractive white flowers, fill in the shrub layer. When trees die and topple into the murky water, they often form a suitable place for wildflowers to take root. Species that commonly grow on the half-submerged logs in the Little River National Wildlife Refuge include three different kinds of beggar's-ficks, a pink Saint-John's-wort, false nettle, pinkweed (a type of smartweed), and a small white aster (Aster lateriflorus).

Sloughs have southern wild rice, beaked rush, soft rush, and several kinds of sedges, all of which grow in standing water. The muddy banks support meadow beauty, cowbane, bur reed, monkey flower, and two kinds of Hibiscus, or rose mallows. All of these bloom in summer. Autumn brings the flowering of Letterman's ironweed and a white aster (Aster simplex). The only woody plant common along the sloughs is the shrubby swamp privet.

Bottomland forests are a mixture of loblolly pine and broad-leaved deciduous trees. Common are green ash, cherrybark oak, pecan, sweet gum, and musclewood. Overcup oak is at the edge of its range here. American beautyberry and deciduous holly are frequently encountered shrubs. Giant cane, a type of bamboo, is plentiful, while sensitive fern and netted chain fern are found occasionally. One of the few wildflowers that bloom in the spring is jack-in-the-pulpit; summer flowers include white mock bishop's-weed, yellow loosestrife, blue waterleaf, purple false dragonhead, and the fire red cardinal flower.