Fascinating Flora in Nearby Parks

Guest author: Vaughan

There are many reasons why it’s a joy to live in this northwest corner of Florida, but the topic we’ll focus on today is wetlands. In this area, (as well as most of Florida), the water table is very high, providing lots of wet areas. There are a number of parks in this region that feature wetlands. It’s especially enjoyable to visit them in the spring when biting insects are at a minimum and flowers are just emerging.

The two parks we’ll cover today are Yellow River Marsh Reserve State Park near Garcon Point in Florida and The Nature Conservancy’s Splinter Hill Bog near Bay Minette in Alabama.

Each park provides an environment where specialized plants thrive, including those that are carnivorous. We’re fortunate to have a variety of carnivorous plants, some indigenous only to our region.

Carnivorous plants have various means of capturing food (primarily insects). One of the most beautiful is the pitcher plant. The white-topped pitcher plant is native to our area. It attracts its prey with intoxicating fragrances. Once the prey enters the pitcher, hairs pointing downward prevent it from crawling out. At the base of the pitcher is a sticky liquid which gradually digests its prey.

Other types of carnivorous plants that we can see in our region are butterworts and bladderworts. Butterworts use sticky leaves to capture insects, while bladderworts employ a floating bladder.

In addition to carnivorous plants there are other interesting flora, for example, wooly sunbonnets and several types of orchids. Both the parks use controlled burns to keep the special plants from becoming overgrown, and the predominant tree is longleaf pine.

Here is information about the two parks:

Yellow River Marsh Reserve State Park
Dickerson Rd. at Garcon Point Rd.
Milton, FL 32583
Open daily, 8 am to sundown
No facilities

Splinter Hill Bog
Nature Conservancy
County Rd 47
Bay Minette, AL 36507
Open daily, dawn to dusk
No facilities