Download Self Guided Low Boardwalk Tour

15. Swollen Bladderworts, Utricularis inflate,
are aquatic plants that eat tiny aquatic creatures, 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 mechanism 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 because it resembled the beards of the early
Spaniards.
17. Evidence of a predator/prey relationship:
The holes in the railing at the tower are evidence 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 contribute 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 Succession. 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.
Self Guided Low
Boardwalk Tour
PRIOR TO TAKING THE LOW
BOARDWALK TOUR, YOU MUST
SIGN A WAIVER. WAIVERS ARE
LOCATED AT THE TICKET BOOTH.
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
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.
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, reaching 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 nutrientpoor, 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 dominant 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, deciduous 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 winter. 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 Spatterdocks, 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.