Here are some pics I took yesterday in Maryland, in and near a headwater swamp on one of the dozens (hundreds?) of tidal rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay, the world's largest estuary.
Here's an Iris, either Iris virginica or I. versicolor, I guess. Feel free to add any comments or ID's.
Ludwigia ? growing on an old cypress log.
Mountain Laurel / Kalmia latifolia growing a few feet above sea level.
It can be a scraggly thing but the blooms will stop you in your tracks
This one has a little more red in it:
The old cypress log is home to lots of marsh mallows (Hibiscus moscheutos), swamp milkweeds, swamp roses (Rosa palustris), Ludwigia, and a couple blueberries. Maybe I can find a pic from last summer when it was all blooming
Whorled Marsh Pennywort, Hydrocotyle verticillata. That's a Pitch Pine cone on the left, Pinus rigida
This message was edited Jun 4, 2008 9:05 PM
All kinds of neat stuff in here
Elderberries, maybe the native Sambucus nigra subsp.canadensis, maybe not.
Up close, they look a lot like some Viburnums, to me anyway.
Sweetbay Magnolia, M. virginiana. Birds and bugs get to see what this looks like from above, I've yet to get a decent look at one myself. They're just too high up. The birds always get the berries first, too.
This message was edited Jun 4, 2008 9:20 PM
Back on the ground, a three-foot tall Jack in the pulpit Arisaema triphyllum
Buttonbush / Cephalanthus buttons forming
Ferns (forget which) growing with sweet pepperbush Clethra alnifolia
The Clethras are really easy to propagate by softwood cuttings, as are the Viburnums.
Chokeberry / Aronia growing out of a fallen tree.
A really tall Royal Fern Osmunda regalis
There's a whole bunch of 'em this year, last year there was just a few.
Beautiful photos, Claypa. Thanks for sharing - we see nothing like that here.
Red maple, alders and a bald cypress are about the only trees actually IN the swamp. Lots of other tree are right next to it, with their roots almost in the water: hollies, pines, black gum, willows, etc.
Thanks KaperC. But there's really poor surfing here. The tide is maybe two feet / .6m or so. This spot is spectacular in August, lots of cardinal flowers Lobelia cardinalis, swamp milkweeds Asclepias incarnata, marsh mallows, on and on... I'll post more pics next time I get down there. Lots of plants there I didn't mention, blueberries, azaleas, ericaceous groundcovers, vines like Mikania scandens and a funny little potato-like one Apios americana, winterberries... always something to see. Lots of good birding too.
This message was edited Jun 4, 2008 10:21 PM
Very nice. I love the little pennywort leaves, and it's always a wonder when you meet a jack of that size.
What is it about swamps that is so attractive? We'll even put up with the bugs to take a wander through. I'm always amazed by the swamp rose. Stan got me a cutting from one that was standing in a foot of water and blooming away. Mine is in a relatively soggy part of the yard in heavy clay and seems to just love it.
Wonderful, wonderful.
I love a walk in the swamp (and the bugs are bad). There are some here that I don't see in my swamp.
Swamps are just so fasinating! Thank you, thank you for sharing this walk in the muck!
Kathleen, I'm sure that was a rhetorical question, but I think swamps offer something for all the senses like nowhere else, the sights, sounds, smells, even tastes. And there's seldom anyone there, so it's a good place to get away to.
I do have a bunch of swamp rose seedlings from this place, so far, so good. They were easy to collect and winter sow.
cpartschick, I'm surprised I didn't get any mosquito bites, I don't know where they are. And I already got a poison ivy rash in my own yard. The shoes are the hard part - I usually just wear old sneakers. I clean 'em good before I go in there too, because I don't want to track in a bunch of lawn weed seeds.
lol, even rhetorical questions should occasionally be answered.
Merril makes a great pair of swamp shoes with vibram soles for gripping. A little pricey, but cheaper then a broken leg or hip. But I walk in the woods and swamp everyday.
You are lucky about the skeeters. I have to marinate myself in deet to keep sane. Then they still fly in your eyes. But it is worth it.
Or maybe I am a bit crazy. LOL
I've had a pair of these for 22 years. They need to be re-soled now. I paid three hunnerd for 'em. I see they're cheaper now? It worked out to be a lot cheaper than a bunch of fifty dollar boots. Sometimes it pays to spend the extra money. The "cheapest" guy I ever knew always said he couldn't afford to buy cheap things that wouldn't last.
http://www.merrell.com/Product/NZGP/Mens-Active-Footwear/Hiking/Mens/Wilderness.aspx
If I went and bought another pair my girlfriend would act like I'm nuts, but I only have a few pairs of shoes/boots/sandals and flops. She's like Imelda Marcos with the whole closet full. Oh well.
I posted this tree/ shrub in the trees forum. I had a glimmer of hope that it was an American Chestnut but it's an Allegheny Chinkapin / Dwarf Chestnut Castanea pumila. I wonder what the odds are of finding a nut before the squirrels do.
Great shots, claypot.
You are going to have to show me around your swamps when I come up to PA in late September/early October.
I don't have a bunch of shoes either, and try to be thrifty. DD had a fit when I showed her my new shoes to wear in the swamp. (she didn't think they looked new) But you are right, they last, they are comfortable, safe and cheaper all around.
That'd be great, Vermiform Ventricle. That's a good time to go, too.
Bald cypress (on the left) pitch pines, black gums, maples, etc., taken from the water last year
