2.5.4 Mississip pi 



The following information is drawn from 

 Eleuterius and Jones (1972) unless otherwise noted. 



The westernmost known extension of Atlan- 

 tic white cedar is a small stand along Juniper Creek 

 near Poplarville in Pearl River County, Mississippi. 

 This mixed stand has been considerably disturbed 

 and was actively logged. 



The largest stand in the state grows along 

 Bluff Creek in the small community of VanCleave 

 (Jones 1967). Most of the 11.2 km-long stand is 

 below 3 m elevation, with cedars intermixing with 

 pine and hardwood forest at about 6 m. On the south 

 side of the creek, some cedars grew on a steep bluff 

 at 1 8 m elevation. The widest part of the stand was 

 about 0.8 km. Cedars grow on bluffs of various 

 heights, levees, bogs behind the levees, and on gent- 

 ly sloping floodplain areas that end on white cedar 

 covered sand bars. The largest cedar seen was 

 ca. 30 m high and 71 cm in diameter. 



Better<lrained areas in the Bluff Creek area 

 are dominated by pine or hardwood forest; peren- 

 nially inundated areas are dominated by cypress or 

 black gum. On intermediate areas white cedar forms 

 a mature uneven-aged monotypic stand. In 1967, 

 large numbers of cedar seedlings and vigorous sa- 

 plings were present in the cedar and pine-dominated 

 areas and in a 45 m-wide fire lane. Many of the ma- 

 ture cedars were heavily infested with the galls and 

 witches' brooms of the rust fungus Gymnosporan- 

 gium; many trees have been damaged or chopped 

 for firewood. 



The most abundant associated tree species 

 were: slash pine (Pinus elliottii), black gum, cypress 

 {Taxodium distichum), American holly (Ilex opaca), 

 and red maple. Shrub species were highly diverse: 

 Eleuterius and Jones (1972) classed 21 species as 

 "important." The most important shrubs near the 

 creek were the titis (Cliftonia monophylla, Cyrilla 

 racemiflora); further up the slope, farkleberry (Vac- 

 ciniumarboreum), Elliot's blueberry (V elliottii), large 

 gallberry (Ilex coriacea), cassine (I. vomitoria), and 

 red bay were most abundant in the shrub story. 



Figure 1 8. Atlantic white cedar growing on the banks 

 of a Florida sand-bottom creek (photo courtesy of A. 

 Simmons). 



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