Self Guided Low Boardwalk Tour - Okefenokee Swampokeswamp.com/include/LowBoardwalkTour.pdf · light gray bark and their trunks are straight and tall. Their leaves are leathery with

Self Guided Low Boardwalk Tour

Okefenokee Swamp Park

5700 Okefenokee Swamp Park Road

Waycross, Georgia 31503

Phone: 912-283-0583

Fax: 912-283-0023

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.okeswamp.com

PRIOR TO TAKING THE LOW

BOARDWALK TOUR, YOU MUST

SIGN A WAIVER. WAIVERS ARE

LOCATED AT THE TICKET BOOTH.

BE CAREFUL AS BOARDWALKS MAY

BE SLIPPERY & REMEMBER TO

ALWAYS USE CAUTION AROUND

ALL WILDLIFE

Okefenokee Swamp Park...We are the

World’s Window to the Okefenokee Swamp.

15. Swollen Bladderworts, Utricularis inflate,

are aquatic plants that eat tiny aquatic crea-

tures, like protozoa, larvae, and crustaceans.

Their yellow flowers appear to be suspended

from wagon wheel type spokes. The modified

leaves are little air sacs or “bladders”. The

bladders have a small opening with a mecha-

nism that when touched by the prey, trips the

trap door and sucks the organism in.

16. Spanish Mosses, Tillandsia usneoides, are

one of the plants that give the Swamp its

haunting allure. It is not a true moss, but is an

epiphyte, a plant that gets all of its energy

from the sun and the air around it. Spanish

moss is another of the Swamp’s commensal

organisms. Spanish moss gets its name be-

cause it resembled the beards of the early

Spaniards.

17. Evidence of a predator/prey relationship:

The holes in the railing at the tower are evi-

dence of the relationship between Carpenter

Bees and woodpeckers. The Carpenter Bees

drill and lay their eggs on the bottom of the

railing which allows the larvae a woody food

source. The woodpeckers recognize the larvae

and drill and eat the larvae from the railing’s

top surface.

18. Johnnie Hickox’s Cypress: Johnnie Hickox

cut a small sapling to use as a push pole. He

placed Sphagnum Moss over the cut stump.

Over time, 2 cypress trees grew out of the

same stump. Cypress can regenerate if they

are less than 200 years old.

19. Sphagnum Mosses of which there are about

135 species, are aquatic mosses that are found in

the shallow edges just below the surface of the

water. They are also referred to as Peat Mosses.

They are typical bog/swamp species that contrib-

ute to the swamp’s acidic conditions. Sphagnum

Mosses have antimicrobial and antiviral properties

and were used in WWII to dress soldiers’ wounds.

20. Skull Lake is an excellent example of Succes-

sion. As the plants die and sink to the bottom of

the Swamp, they become part of the peat bed. As

the peat beds undergo anaerobic decomposition,

the methane gas that is produced blows sections

of the peat up to the top of the water. As the

floating peat beds unite, they become batteries

that support grasses, herbs, and shrubs. As the

batteries unite, they form Houses which support

the growth of Cypress trees whose roots secure

the houses to the bottom of the Swamp. The

Houses unite to form Strands and the Strands

unite and eventually climax as Hardwood Forests.

Instructions

Each number corresponds to a sign along

the boardwalk. Take time to enjoy these

specific items and other things of beauty as

you explore the “Land of the Trembling

Earth.”

1. Wax Myrtles, Myrica cerifera, have long,

glossy green leaves with a spicy odor. Female

trees produce clusters of gray berries that are

used to make Bayberry candles. Wax myrtles are

fast growing trees that like full sun. They are fast

growers, up to 5 feet in a growing season, reach-

ing heights of 15-20 feet.

2. Black Gum Trees, Nyssa sylvatica, have cone

shaped bases and a straight trunk. They may

grow 60 to 90 feet tall and are well adapted to

fire. Black gums prefer sandy, nutrient rich soil

but have also adapted to the Swamp’s nutrient-

poor, peaty soils. The trees have dark bark, deep

irregular shaped ridges, and leathery leaves.

Black bears and other wildlife feed on its fruit and

foliage. Black gum trees form coppices, several

trees growing out of one burnt trunk, and can be

found throughout the Swamp.

3. Loblolly Pine, Pinus taeda, with Climbing

Heath, Pieris phillyreifolius: Climbing Heaths are

woody shrubs that are typically found growing in

the furrows of Cypress trees. Don Berryhill has

studied the Swamp’s flora and fauna for over 50

years and this is the only Pine with Climbing

Heath that he has ever seen. This is a good

example of Commensalism, as the Climbing Heath benefits by

having a place to live, but the Conifer is not helped or hurt as

the roots of the Climbing Heath do not penetrate the trees

cambium. 4. Golden Clubs/Never-wets, Orontium aquaticum, are one of

the most abundant of the emergent plants in the Swamp. Their

leaves have a waxy cuticle with millions of microscopic bumps

that cause water to roll off the top surface of the leaves. The

bright yellow flowers are visible on its white and red stalk which

announces spring in the Swamp.

5. Red Bays, Persea borbonia, are evergreens on the verge of

extinction. Laurel Wilt, a fungal disease that is carried by the

Ambrosia Beetle, has decimated the Red Bay population in the

South. The beetle was detected in 2002 and appears to have

been brought into Savannah via a container ship. The leaves of

the Red Bays are more crooked than the other Bays. They also

often contain midge galls that cause misshaped leaves. Red

Bays are aromatic plants and their leaves are used for

seasoning foods.

6. White Water Lilies, Nymphaea odorata, are among the

Swamp’s most beautiful flowers. They are also one of the domi-

nant floating plants. The tops of their leaves are round, green,

and flat with a cleft in the middle. The bottoms of the leaves are

purplish. The flowers, with their white petals and yellow

stamens, open in the morning around 9:00a.m. and close

around 4:00 p.m.

7. Sweet Pepperbushes, Clethra alnifolia, are also known as

“poor man’s soap” because when the leaves and crushed, wet,

and rubbed between your hands, they lather and clean like

soap. The leaves have rough surfaces and serrated edges. They

have a sweet fragrance, thus the name, Sweet Pepperbush. 8. Virginia Chain Ferns, Woodwardia virginica, are some of the

most primitive plants in the Swamp and can grow to be two to

three feet tall. Although they are terrestrial ferns, they can be

found in watery areas because their stems and rhizomes are

adapted to remain under water. They tend to look like wiry

grass in the winter as only the central vein of the plants remains

intact during the winter months. The brown spore casing on the

back of the fond resembles chains.

9. Pond Cypresses, Taxodium ascendens, are the dominant

trees of the Okefenokee Swamp. They are rot resistant, decidu-

ous conifers. They have wide trucks and thickly furrowed, fire

resistant bark. The leaves/needles lie flat and point upwards.

The trees narrow as they grow, may reach heights of 80 feet,

and live for over a 1000 years. They can live in acidic,

nutrient poor soil. Both Pond and Bald Cypress have

knees, but there is disagreement whether they are for

stability or air exchange.

10. Bald Cypresses, Taxodium distichum, like Pond

Cypresses are members of the Redwood family. Bald

cypress can grow to be 150 feet tall and live hundreds of

years. They like faster moving water and more nutrient

rich soils. Their bark is shallowly furrowed and has a

flaky appearance. The leaves/needles are open and

feathery. Over 400,000,000 board feet of cypress was

cut in the Swamp from 1909-1922. Both Bald and Pond

cypresses have cones that are round, green balls about

one inch in diameter that become woody over the win-

ter. As the cone disintegrates, the seeds are dispersed.

11. Red Maples, Acer rubrum, are some of the first

trees to flower in January and February. Their distinctive

3-5 lobe leaves with its red stem aid in its identification.

Red Maples are aptly named as their buds, flowers,

leafstalks, and autumn foliage are all red. 12. Yellow Bonnet Lilies, Nuphar luteum, or Spatter-

docks, like deeper water and are more shade tolerant

than the White Water Lilies. Their round yellow flowers

about the size of golf balls which do not fully open. The

leaves are oblong. The starchy stems are long and

scared. They were eaten by Swampers who called them

“Gator Taters.”

13. Loblolly Bays, Gordonia lasianthus, are the largest

and most common of the Bays in the Swamp. They have

light gray bark and their trunks are straight and tall.

Their leaves are leathery with serrated edges. Their

1 ½ - 2 inch flowers bloom from June through August.

Their winged seed are carried by the wind which

distributes them throughout the Swamp. Red leaves

scattered among the green leaves help distinguish

Loblolly Bays from other trees.

14. Hurrah Bushes, Lyonia lucida, are fast growing

shrubs that out-compete other native shrubs. Also

known as the Fetterbush, Hurrahs are evergreen plants

that live in shady areas. Their dark green, leathery leaves

have marginal veins that run along the bottom of the

leaves. The flowers are bell-shaped and may be white or

pink.