Stop 6: Swamp

Now you are in the swamp. This flooded forest is made up of sweet bay, tupelo, maple, cypress and laurel trees. The sweet bay has smooth bark and evergreen leaves. It is a magnolia relative and produces lovely ivory-colored flowers in summer. The tupelo is deciduous, that means it loses its leaves in winter. This mix of evergreen and deciduous trees means the swamp can look and feel very different at different times of the year. During the winter months, when the deciduous trees lose their leaves, you may become more aware of all of the other plants growing on the trees. These are called epiphytes. Epiphytes are not parasites; they have their own roots that they use to cling to the branches. Most of the ones you can see are pineapple relatives called bromeliads. There are also ferns and orchids growing on the tree trunks. Keep an eye out for hawks in this part of the preserve!