Bill's Botanical Forays

Although this seepage swamp, which is located in the northwest part of the North Tract along Sweet Gum Lane, is only a short distance from the road, it is not clearly visible unless you are carefully looking for it. It is named for the abundance of Clethra alnifolia L. (Sweet Pepperbush) found here.

During my foray today to this site, I took a cursory inventory of the plants. There were several species of Carex  (Sedges) popping up among the sphagnum moss.  Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (L.) C. Presl (Cinnanom Fern) and Smilax rotundifolia L. (Roundleaf Greenbrier) were also abundant.

This plant community appears to be a variant of the Coastal Plain/Piedmont Acidic Seepage Swamp:CEGL006238. (I will be going back to this site to make a more complete inventory.

Thanks to Alan Weakley for identifying the Clethra alnifolia L. (Sweet Pepperbush).  Yes, I am familiar with this species on the refuge, but I have been identifying it by its flowers and fruits, which will appear later in the season.