PLANTS OF THE OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

By: Donna J. Carley

My hometown is Seattle, Washington, and I am living in Valdosta, Georgia courtesy of the U.S. Air Force. Currently in the pre-pharmacy program, I plan to continue studying at VSU until my husband's transfer from Moody AFB. My topic is unusual plants of the Okefenokee Swamp.

Not just in the United States, but worldwide, there is no other formation the equal of the Okefenokee Swamp. As early as 1916, local citizens had attempted to gain protection for the Okefenokee, a formation, "unique in its nature not only in this country, but in the world. The character of its fauna, its flora, and its human life is unsurpassed."³,p8 So wrote Jean Sherwood Harper in a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 25 November, 1933. Her perseverance and the support of President Roosevelt finally resulted in the creation of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge by Executive Order 7593, March 30, 1937.³,p9

The Okefenokee owes its very existence to "the famous Trail Ridge, which acts as a natural land dam along its eastern border."³p13 Trail Ridge is the remnant of a 130 mile long coastal sandbar from when the ocean covered as much as one third of southern Georgia, what is now Georgia's coastal plain. As the waters receded the sandbar trapped some of the waters, which were replenished and freshened by the abundant rains of the area. Water outflow is restricted, and "leaves, dead vegetation and decaying substances fell into the water for thousands of years forming layers of peat . . . between five and ten feet thick."²p1 "Some of these masses are thin and sponge-like, yet many are thick enough to support a man. Since there is no solid base, the land will rise and fall with one's weight as he walks - thus the Indian name OKEFENOKEE, which means 'Land of the Trembling Earth'."²p2 These peat layers have taken up to 9000 years to build at a rate of only one inch per 50 years.⁵p5

Not truly a swamp ("swamp means a low lying area with still and stagnant waters"²p1) due to its 120 foot elevation above sea level, the Okefenokee is "in reality a watershed, and gives birth to two well known rivers, the Suwanee and the St. Mary's."²p1 The Okefenokee is a "complex and dynamic system, with diverse plant and animal life intricately connected by a web of interactions."⁵pxi Thousands of species, from bacteria to panthers live in the area's swamps, species ranging from the common to the unusual, from the typical to the truly rare and exotic. The swamp's ecosystem can recover from most damage if allowed enough time, "amazingly it has withstood disasters brought by both nature and by man,"³p13 the big fire of 1844, the 1889-1895 abortive Suwannee Canal, the 1916-1927 Herbert Lumber Company cypress mill.³p15 According to Will Cox, a former Swamper from Cownose Island, "We did everything we could to destroy it. We skinned alligators until we like to drove every last one off. We killed the bears, otters, foxes, and almost got rid of them. We went after the cypress and cut down 3,000 acres of trees. I was a part of all that - we didn't know any better. But the old swamp came back. Okefenokee is God's work - man couldn't destroy it."⁵p5 "And so, the Okefenokee endures. It not only has survived, but apparently has benefitted from severe burnings. The devastation caused by men is not as obvious as it once was."³p16

However, "because of their dependence on water, wetlands are easily affected by drainage and overpumping of shallow aquifers,"⁵p34 and any damage done to the water retaining ability of Trail Ridge may deprive us permanently of this unique and beautiful natural feature of our environment. "Without sufficient water, wetlands lose their ability to benefit humans and the environment. As we are now finding out, it is extremely expensive to repair damaged habitats."⁵p34 "The cost of repairing environmental damage once it occurs is greater than the cost of protecting fragile areas in the first place."⁵p185

Tools to protect our wetlands are twofold, 1) education, as to the importance of the wetlands, what they really do for us, and 2) advocacy. On the subject of education, Ron Larson puts it, "Our environmental problems are chiefly caused by lack of environmental understanding. Much of the damage originated before we had adequate information on the consequences of our actions. This is no longer the case. We now have considerable empirical data on the results of human environmental alteration. We also know that technical solutions to environmental problems are nearly always flawed."⁵p186

As for advocacy, "Many of our environmental problems have arisen because the public hasn't exerted enough pressure to halt the destruction. Proponents of development projects generally have something tangible to gain, while opponents are only indirectly affected. Also, environmental damage may go unnoticed for years; by the time people do notice they can rarely trace the cause of damage back to a single action. This is often true in wetlands, where problems accumulate over years until they finally result in an ecological crisis."⁵p187

Plants of the Okefenokee:

Plants are an integral component of the swamp, and the quality and quantity of water are integral to the types of plants found in the region. The natural cycle of flooding and drying is essential to the survival of the swamp, "wetland plants like bald cypress, water tupelo, cattails, and others that are adapted to long-term flooding can pump oxygen down from their leaves to their roots,"⁵p32 and are an integral part of its ecology. Differing distribution of plants is found "along the water-depth gradient, depending upon the plants' hydroperiod tolerance. Bald cypress, water tupelo, pond apple, swamp tupelo, pop ash, and buttonbush are flood tolerant species, and are the only woody plants to live where the hydroperiod is longest."⁵p32 (The hydroperiod is the length of time the plant's root system remains under water.)

Insectivores

Pitcher Plant leaf Sarracenia Psittacina1

Some of the more unusual plants that can be found in and around the Okefenokee include the insectivorous plants - pitcher plants, sundews, butterworts, and bladderworts. The pitcher plants, butterworts, and bladderworts actually feed off insects which enter their blossoms and cannot escape, while the sundews feed off insects stuck in the 'dew drops' on their leaves.

The pitchers (leaves) of the pitcherplants are lined with downward facing hairs, and are partially filled with a sweet smelling liquid. When insects are attracted to the pitcher by the aroma they slide down the hairs, and attempts to climb out are blocked by the hair tips. Eventually the insects drown in the liquid and are digested.

Yellow bladderwort blossoms Utricularia Inflata carpet the[carnivorous plants 1] Okefenokee 'prairies' in the springtime. The floating or underwater leaves have air sacs (bladders) interspersed on their surfaces. These bladders each have one opening through which minute insects can enter and become trapped. Eventually the trapped insects die, feeding and fertilizing the plant. The Yellow blossoms rise above the water's surface creating a beautiful panorama of waving yellow blossoms.

Sundew, Drosera1

Sundews are covered by what appears to be drops of dew on their rayed leaves. Small insects, such as gnats, get stuck in the 'dew' when they land to drink. The leaf then slowly folds around the trapped insect, and digests its body.

State of Georgia Protected Species

Three varieties of the pitcher plants: Sarracenia minor, the Hooded Pitcherplant (right), Sarracenia psittacina the Parrot Pitcherplant (see photo above), and Sarracenia flava, Golden Trumpet, also known as Fly-catcher or Yellow Flytrap [carnivorous plants 4], are among Georgia's protected species of plants which can be found in the Okefenokee. Georgia's protected plant ratings for these striking plants are: UNUSUAL for the Hooded Pitcherplant and Golden Trumpet[illustration8, below], and THREATENED for the Parrot Pitcherplant.6 "The [Hooded] pitcherplant (Sarracenia minor), grows nearly a yard high on the Okefenokee prairies - twice the height it's known to reach in other locales. May 1932."³p19

The Parrot Pitcherplant [illustration2] is the only variety of this family with reclining leaves (leaves laying along the ground) rather than erect leaves (leaves sticking up in the air), making it the most difficult species to identify in the wild. The best time for identification of the Parrot Pitcherplant is during its flowering period, March to May.

Other Georgia Protected Plants to be found in the Okefenokee or its surrounding areas include three CANDIDATES for inclusion on the federal endangered list: Balduina atropurpurea Purple Honeycomb Head or Purple Balduina, and Hartwrightia floridana Hartwrightia, both in the aster family, and Litsea aestivalis Pond Spice in the Laurel family. Hartwrightia and Pond Spice are both classified THREATENED in Georgia, while Purple Honeycomb Head is classified RARE.

Greenfly Orchid, Epidendrum conopseum1

The green fly-orchid Epidendrum conopseum (see illustrations), is the only atmospheric or 'air plant' (epiphytic) orchid found in the continental United States, and may be seen in the Okefenokee Swamp. If you know what to look for, you can find this shy plant hiding on live-oak

Close up of blossom1

branches nestled amidst the ferns. Its flowers, visible in summer and fall are small, and vaguely resemble a green fly, hence its name.

One Federally ENDANGERED plant may be found at the northern edge of DuPont's proposed mining area. The plant Baptisia arachnifera [illustration 9]is commonly known by several names, Hairy Rattleweed, Hairy Wild Indigo, or Hairy False Indigo, and has been found in only one state, Georgia, and there in only two counties. It lives in "sandy soils in open pine flatwoods, persisting on intensively managed slash pine plantations."6p24 These are the very areas DuPont plans to mine.7,map

[map]

The most important consideration for preservation of any or all of these bog-loving species is "avoid drainage of site."6(management considerations for each species) Any damage to the water-retaining capability of Trail Ridge will deprive these unusual plants of their natural habitat, and deprive us of enjoyment of their diversity.

Other plants

Yellow Fringed Orchid, Platanthera ciliaris1

Many other varieties of water plants are found in the Okefenokee, among them Water Lily, Swamp Iris, Swamp Lily, Grass Pink, Pickerelweed, Yellow Fringed Orchid, and Red Choke Berry, all

Swamp Lily, Crinum Americanum1

adding vivid color to what many people would expect to be "dark, drab colors characterized in pictures of a dark, dismal swamp."2p27 "Mosses and liverworts are small leafy green plants that lack roots and connective tissues and thus must absorb minerals and water directly through their leaves."5p74 Especially noticeable after rains, many moss varieties can be found in all wetland areas, growing on trees or occasionally on the ground. A prominent ground species, "sphagnum moss forms green and red carpetlike mats" in the Okefenokee, and "in colder climates it can fill lakes and other depressions forming Sphagnum bogs."5p74

Ferns are a varied family of plants found in swamps and wetlands. Though they have no flowers, their varied shapes and forms make them appealing. Ferns reproduce by means of spores found on the underside of their fronds.

The best known tree of the southeastern swamps is the bald cypress. "Cypress are conifers or evergreen trees, but they are unusual because they shed their needle-bearing twigs in winter. Where water levels remain high or vary considerably, the trunk is often swollen into a bulging base ten feet or more in diameter."5p80

Two varieties of cypress grow in the swamps of the area, bald cypress, with needles extending perpendicular to the twigs, and pond cypress, with the needles overlapping along the twigs. Bald cypress grows to 130 feet tall, with a diameter of twelve feet, pond cypress grows to less than 100 feet with a diameter of only one to two feet. Cypress seeds must soak for one to three months to germinate, but if wet too long will die. "Only a small fraction of the seeds will germinate and survive beyond the critical seedling stage."5p83 This is why the cypress poulation of the Okefenokee has been so slow to recover after the logging operation of the 1920's.

Spanish Moss, found draping many trees and bushes in the Okefenokee is an atmospheric bromeliad. These unusual plants "obtain water and minerals directly from falling rain."5p90(see illustrations) "Abundant, soft, resiliant, and easily gathered, Spanish Moss was used by Indians to make garments. Later, it was collected to stuff matresses and furniture cushions."5p92 Birds use it for nesting material, some constructing their nests entirely from Spanish moss, and some rearing their young in clumps of it.5p93

Vines covering the trees are also common in the Okefenokee. One of the more unusual is the climbing heath. "Although it grows like a vine, it is in actuality an ericacious shrub that climbs more than forty feet inside the bark of pond cypress and Atlasntic white cedar. The climbing heath is especially common on pond cypress in the Okefenokee Swamp."5p100

Resources

1] Abrams, Michael E.: http://www-wane-leon.scri.fsu.edu/~mikems/;. Florida Plants Page. (some photographs)

2] Gibson, Dot Rees. The Okefenokee Swamp. Dot Gibson Publications. 1974, 1991.

3] Harper, Francis and Delma E. Presley. Okefinokee Album. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia & London. 1981.

4] Hotchkiss, Neil. Common Marsh, Underwater & Floating-leaved Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, New York. 1972.

5] Larson, Ron. Swamp Song : A Natural History of Florida's Swamps. University Press of Florida. 1995.

6] Patrick, Thomas S., James R Allison, Gregory A. Krakow. Protected Plants of Georgia: An Information Manual On Plants Designated By The State Of Georgia As ENDANGERED, THREATENED, RARE, or UNUSUAL . Georgia Department of Natural Resources. 1995.

7] Proposed E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Company, Inc. Titanium Mining Project, Charlton County, Georgia; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, April 4, 1997.