Shell middens and swamps

On a hot, humid Saturday afternoon, my friend Howard and I, went out to understand more about the complex coastal midden plant community and try to see if we could observe a rare plant. We had some ideas where we were trying to go, but ended up wandering around in a coastal swamp until we finally started to notice some contrasting flora colors. We headed off in the directions of what we hoped were coastal middens.

 Notice the darker vegetation in the back. These are palmettos growing on higher elevated areas and were our first signs that there may be shell middens close by.

Middens are are places that past humans have used as areas to discard unwanted waste. We were searching for shell middens.  Shell middens were created by piling leftover mollusk shells after edible parts were used. The mollusk, having a high calcium content, end up making the midden very alkaline, which in turn, has consequences on the vegetation community that takes over across time.

 The higher elevated areas had an understory full of palmettos and other species.  Cornus spp, Aesculus pavia, Juniperus virginiana, and Carya spp are all types of plants that are commonly seen on shell middens.  These plants are able to live on these areas due to the higher elevation and the effect the shells had on the soil chemistry. 

Shells

Aesculus pavia

We finally did find the rare plant we were looking for. The large tree you see in the picture below is soapberry, or Sapindus marginatus. It was a very large tree and there were numerous saplings growing around it. Pictures were taken and there was much excitement.

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park is part of the Florida State Park system near Pensacola, Florida.  We decided to go here to look for pitcher plants and to take a short hike through some natural areas.  I was hoping to see nice view of longleaf pine savannah and woodlands specifically. 

The parking lot was right off Bauer Road. We decided to take the one way short walkway to Tarkiln Bayou. It is handicapped accessible as it is concrete and wood walkway all the way to the water.

The state park is surrounded by development. Interestingly, there is a subdivision that was built on a segment of land completely surrounded by the state park. The street name is Pitcher Plant Circle. I find it oddly ironic. 

Tarkiln State Park.  Notice how tracts are segmented and isolated from other tracts.

The day was warm, but windy enough to keep us cool. We met two other people on the trail and talked about other parks of interest. From the boardwalk that was built over wetter areas, we saw several pitcher plants and one orchid. The pine stands were nice, with  a clear understory in some places due to prescribed fire. The single most common bird species we saw was the pine warbler.

The short walk ends at Tarkiln Bayou. The breeze off the water was nice and we saw a few brown pelicans. From the boardwalk, we could see the effects of Forest Service prescribed fires across the water as brown topped pines dotted the distance. After the short 0.5 mile walk, we went back to the parking lot. Next time we come, we will explore the prairie section and the longer trail leading toward Perdido Bay.