Even before reaching NC 53 on an upstream trip, one encounters 

 segments of sluggish water followed by narrow, sharp bends where 

 river birches bridge the canopy, snags project from the banks, and 

 the water swirls and eddies more like the channels of Piedmont streams. 



Vegetation is predominantly a cypress-hardwood forest in the 

 floodplain swamps, until one approaches NC 53. Suddenly a grove of 

 large cypress trees appears on the north bank. The trees are flat- 

 topped, and the horizontal branches contain a profusion of resurrection 

 ferns and Spanish moss. Infrequently, clumps of green-fly orchid can 

 be detected with binoculars. Beyond NC 53, the cypress forest (which 

 we have named the "Larkins Cove Cypress Forest" after one of the 

 owners) becomes more spectacular. The stand extends to the south 

 bank (Bladen County) and partly into the lower reach of Colly Swamp. 

 Ancient individuals have diameters above the swollen buttresses of 

 6 or more feet; the buttresses themselves may be 15-20 feet in 

 thickness. This forest is unique for Pender (and Bladen?) County 

 and is in need of additional study. During the latter part of the 

 survey, an examination of one small area revealed May hawthorn and 

 sarvis holly, and other rare species are likely to occur there. 



Fauna in the area is likewise diverse, particularly birds, and 

 probably amphibians and reptiles. Extremely heavy rains during August 

 prevented intensive investigation. 



11B. Prose Description of Site Significance: Several noteworthy plants 

 were found in the Black River corridor during the survey, but the 

 most important feature of the natural area is the Larkins Cove 

 cypress forest. Not only are the trees extraordinarily large, but 

 the shrub stratum and herb layer contains rare species. The area 

 is not delineated on our map, partly because the extent of the forest 

 in Bladen County was not investigated. In all of Pender County, we 

 did not see any counterpart forest, either in overall size of trees, 

 species composition, or size of stand. Future reassessment of this 

 basin may warrant a map revision in order to include more of the 

 Larkins Cove stand and less of the floodplain downstream. 



12. Significance Summary (see TABLE 3) 

 Legal Status, Use, and Management 



13. Ownership type by percent area: Private: 100% 



14. Number of owners: Approximately 20 



15. Name(s) of owner(s) and/or custodian(s) (with addresses, phone numbers, 

 and other pertinent information) : 



Major landowners are C. Haymore Larkins, Jr., John D. Larkins, Jr., 

 Canal Industries, International Paper Co., Georgia-Pacific, Corbett 

 Industries, David A. Barefoot, Catharine Lewis heirs, Benjamin Cone, 

 A. Wallace Moore, R. S. Hilburn, Carole Keith Bruning heirs. 



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