Searching for rare plants and animals in the soggy wetlands of eastern Texas can be messy fun. Your shoes will get caked in dirt as tangled branches snag you while you explore the gentle slopes of the marshy lands. However, be sure to tread carefully so you don’t hurt the fragile habitat and its unique plants.
Baygalls and bogs occur within these wetland areas. Baygalls are often called "forested seeps,” while bogs are often known as "herbaceous seeps." Baygalls and bogs can occur beside one another. Bogs are sunnier, grassier and have fewer trees than baygalls. Additionally, bogs are often found on hills and high points. Baygall swamps are found lower in the wetland landscape and are named for the two dominant plants found there: sweetbay magnolias and gallberry hollies.
These wetlands occur where a layer of porous soil, typically sand, rests on a relatively impermeable layer of clay or sandstone. Water trickles through the sandy soil before it reaches the clay layer, which then traps the water and causes it to emerge as small seeps or springs. These conditions create permanently moist soils. Living in waterlogged, nutrient-poor and acidic soils can be challenging. Fortunately, many plants find ways besides photosynthesis to get necessary nourishment.
Parasitic and Meat-Eating Plants
The wiry Texas screwstem is a baygall specialist. The plant blends in with its surroundings, making it challenging to find. The green, twig-like plant with scale-like leaves is generally small, about 4 inches tall, but can grow up to 14 inches in height. However, this seemingly defenseless plant may be a cunning thief. It is assumed that Texas screwstem parasitize fungi, stealing water and nutrients through its roots. This partnership between plant roots and fungi is usually a mutually beneficial phenomenon called mycorrhizal symbiosis. Fungi get sugars from its hosts, while plants get additional nutrients from the colonizing fungi. However, the Texas screwstem may be cheating its mycorrhizal partner, providing it little to no benefit.
Some bog plants find other ways to get food. Carnivorous plants such as bladderworts, butterworts, pitcher plants and sundews grow here. These carnivorous plants extract their nutrients directly by trapping and digesting insects. For instance, nectar along the leaf rims of pitcher plants lures unsuspecting prey. The slick nectar causes insects to slip down into the base of the pitcher leaf, landing in a vat of digestive enzymes, where they are slowly digested over weeks to months.
Swampy Adventures
When you leave the road and take a muddy hike through baygall swamps, or any natural area for that matter, unexpected adventures await. Fortunately, some of these swamps are found on public lands such as the Big Thicket National Preserve and Angelina National Forest. Be careful as you hike and watch where you step, so that you can enjoy the thrill of finding the inconspicuous Texas screwstem growing on clumps of moss. Or observe a partially digested ant slurry at the bottom of a pitcher plant leaf. And if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll spot the threatened red-cockaded woodpecker or the rare Louisiana black bear that live here. Remember to plan ahead, take snacks and water, and check with public land agencies for current conditions and restrictions like staying on trails. Most of all, have fun and enjoy being in the great outdoors.
