North Shore Baldcypress Stand 



This natural area is located along the north shore of 

 Lake Phelps between the park headquarters on the east and 

 the park boundary along Moccasin Canal on the west. State 

 Road 1166 runs along part of the northern edge of the natural 

 area. The 180-acre tract is very narrow and linear in shape, 

 ranging from 350 to about 1300 feet wide, and is parallel to 

 a three-mile section of the north shoreline. The boundaries 

 of the natural area follow the park boundary on the north and 

 the open water of the lake to the south. 



The vegetation of the natural area is composed of an old- 

 growth stand of very large trees dominated by baldcypress. The 

 community type is Taxodium distichum/ Asimina triloba/mixed herbs 

 and ferns (baldcypress/tall pawpaw/mixed herbs and ferns; CT 1) . 

 This community also contains scattered tulip-poplar (Liriodendron 

 tulipifera) , sweetgum ( Liquidambar styraciflua) , and American elm 



( Ulmus americana) in the canopy. The closed canopy averages 

 about 90-100 feet in height. A distinct closed shrub layer 

 dominated by tall pawpaw, 10-30 feet tall, is located under- 

 neath. There is a 75-100% ground cover composed of various 

 species of herbs and ferns. Most common species are Japanese 

 honeysuckle ( Lonicera japonica ) , jewelweed ( Impatiens capensis ) , 

 false nettle ( Boehmeria cylindrica ) , and Southern lady fern 



( Athyrium asplenioides) . High-climbing vines are abundant and 

 include species such as poison ivy ( Rhus r ad i cans ) , Virginia 

 creeper ( Parthenocissus guinque folia ) , cross-vine (Anisostichus 

 capreolata ) , trumpet creeper ( Camp sis radicans ) , wild grape 



( Vitis sp.) , and rattan-vine ( Berchemia scandens ) . 



The sheer size of the baldcypress and other canopy trees 

 is very impressive. Baldcypress average about 50 inches in 

 diameter at breast height (dbh) with many trees exceeding 100 

 feet. The maximum dbh and height recorded is 76 inches and 

 120 feet, respectively. Sweetgum, tulip-poplar, and American 

 elm also reach outstanding size. Average dbh values for the 

 three species respectively are: 39, 27, and 21 inches. Tall 

 pawpaw, usually a small to medium sized shrub, reaches a height 

 of about 30 feet with dbh's better than 7 inches in the natural 

 area. Although no tree cores were taken, the age of the bald- 

 cypress is estimated to be close to 300 years (Department of 

 Natural Resources and Community Development, 1977) . 



The baldcypress stand (CT 1) is situated on Fortescue 

 mucky loam, a very poorly drained soil limited in the county 

 to narrow, slightly elevated rims along the northern and 

 northwestern sides of Lake Phelps. This soil is characterized 

 by an upper layer of mucky or silty clay loam about 21 inches 



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