The floodplain community is also known as a “bottomland forest.” At the Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve, the floodplain forest borders Wolf Creek and a small drain that parallels US Highway 84. For a small creek, Wolf Creek has a relatively wide floodplain. In periodic floods, water reaches the base of the slope forest and overflows into low-lying areas.
Characteristic trees in the floodplain forest include sweetgum, black willow, red maple, green ash, American elm, sweetbay magnolia, loblolly pine, spruce pine, water oak, swamp chestnut oak, and diamond leaf oak. Smaller plants include: two-wing silverbell, Virginia willow, bluestem palmetto, a few needle palms, butterweed, camphorweed, and Catesby gentian.
Gentian (Gentiana)
A small (1.5 to 2 inch tall) perennial plant with tubular flowers. The flowers are pale blue to blue violet, often with purple, green or white vertical streaks. They bloom from late fall to winter and are often found along the banks of small streams.
The green-fly orchid occurs in this habitat, which Georgia lists as an “unusual” protected plant. The southern magnolia is a typical host for this epiphytic orchid.
Green Fly Orchid (Epidendrum magnolia)
The Green Fly Orchid is a perennial herb that grows on trees or rocks. The evergreen glossy leaves of this plant are found in moisture rich, shaded areas of the trunks and limbs of magnolias or live oaks. The Green Fly Orchid is the only arboreal orchid found in the state of Georgia. The plant's range is from SE North Carolina to Louisiana. The flowers for the Green Fly Orchid appear generally between May and June.
The DNR Wildlife Viewing Grants Program emphasizes species and habitats that are conservation priorities in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan. The plan is a comprehensive strategy to conserve native species and the habitats they need before these animals, plants and places become more rare and costly to conserve or restore.
Characteristic trees in the floodplain forest include sweetgum, black willow, red maple, green ash, American elm, sweetbay magnolia, loblolly pine, spruce pine, water oak, swamp chestnut oak, and diamond leaf oak. Smaller plants include: two-wing silverbell, Virginia willow, bluestem palmetto, a few needle palms, butterweed, camphorweed, and Catesby gentian.
Gentian (Gentiana)
A small (1.5 to 2 inch tall) perennial plant with tubular flowers. The flowers are pale blue to blue violet, often with purple, green or white vertical streaks. They bloom from late fall to winter and are often found along the banks of small streams.
The green-fly orchid occurs in this habitat, which Georgia lists as an “unusual” protected plant. The southern magnolia is a typical host for this epiphytic orchid.
Green Fly Orchid (Epidendrum magnolia)
The Green Fly Orchid is a perennial herb that grows on trees or rocks. The evergreen glossy leaves of this plant are found in moisture rich, shaded areas of the trunks and limbs of magnolias or live oaks. The Green Fly Orchid is the only arboreal orchid found in the state of Georgia. The plant's range is from SE North Carolina to Louisiana. The flowers for the Green Fly Orchid appear generally between May and June.
The DNR Wildlife Viewing Grants Program emphasizes species and habitats that are conservation priorities in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan. The plan is a comprehensive strategy to conserve native species and the habitats they need before these animals, plants and places become more rare and costly to conserve or restore.