fourth 180° turn. There is a very small marsh on the east side of 

 the point consisting of Hibiscus mosheutos , Cicuta maculata, Typha 

 latifolia . Polygonum arifolium , Pontederia cordata , Asclepias 

 lanceolata , Ludwigia alternif olia , Thelypteris palustris , young 

 red maple and Vernonia noveboracensis . 



Farther down the creek, near the mouth, was found a species 

 of Sagittaria not in fruit. This plant was growing on the water's 

 edge along with Polygonum arifolium , Thelypteris palustris , 

 another species of Sagittaria , Rosa palustris and Osmunda regalis . 

 This is a very marshy area that is fairly narrow. The shrub and 

 tree zones are no more than 50 feet away. 



At the junction of Chowan River, Catherine Creek and a small 

 unnamed tributary of Catherine Creek (Snake Creek?), is a narrow 

 marsh whose predominant cover is Polygonum arifolium . Typha 

 latifolia , Sagittaria sp . , Pontederia cordata , Cicuta maculata . 

 and Rosa palustris occur along the shoreline. Scattered shrubs 

 and trees ( Acer rub rum , Nyssa sylvatica biflora, Alnus serrulata , 

 Myrica cerifera ) are found inland. The west side of this marsh 

 is bordered by shrubs and trees, mostly Acer rubrum . 



Near the mouth of the unnamed tributary there is a large 

 cypress fringe along the shore. The major tree species behind 

 this fringe are Nyssa sylvatica biflora and N. aquatica . Viburnum 

 dentatum , Myrica cerifera and Alnus serrulata appear to be the 

 dominants in the subcanopy, along with a few Magnolia virginiana . 

 There is no Fraxinus and very little red maple. There is a shrub 

 area along the west side. 



Between this small tributary and Bennett's Creek there are 

 a number of pines behind Nyssa sylvatica biflora and N. aquatica . 

 The only cypress here occur as a fringe along the water's edge. 



BENNETT'S CREEK 



On the Chowan River side of the marshy point along the west 

 side of Bennett's Creek at its mouth, the vegetation is mainly 

 Acer rubrum forest with Salix as an infrequent associate. There 

 are some shrubby areas consisting of red maple and Arundinaria 

 gigantea that approach the shoreline. 



On the southwest side of Bennett's Creek at its mouth, there 

 is a marsh that is predominantly Spartina pectinata . Behind the 

 marsh is a shrub zone that is contiguous with the Acer - Salix forest. 

 The marsh itself is well above water level — quite a bit of leaf 

 litter covering the ground (mostly from Spartina pectinata ) — one 

 of the only areas in the swamp that might become dry enough to 

 support a fire. There are a few small Acer rubrum and Nyssa 

 sylvatica biflora. In the shrub zone and beneath the trees there 

 is a stand of Arundinaria. 



170 



