Forest Meets Wetlands - the Freshwater Marsh at Washington's Birthplace
photos by James Laray, National Park Service
As the trail dips downhill, heading toward the Dancing Marsh, a seasonal stream of fresh water appears. In late summer and fall a distinctive and important grass, Wild Rice, grows up to ten feet in height in the fresh water. Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica) was a food source for Native Americans and some of the early Colonists. Its seeds provide a major food source for migrating water fowl wintering in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Wetlands are home to many varieties of plants and animals. As the trail heads downhill, the fresh water gives way to the brackish influence of Popes Creek. Wild Rice is seen less, and Bayberry (Myrica cerifera) and Narrowleaf Cattail (Typha angustifolia) appear. (Unlike the broadleaved common cattail (T. latifolia), the Narrowleaf Cattail tolerates brackish water.)
|
A Valuable Plant in a Place Like This? Corn is the single most important food crop in the United States. In 1970 a corn fungal blight overwhelmed America's corn crop causing five billion dollars in losses. In 1976, Doctor Hugh Iltis, of the University of Wisconsin found a small, isolated plot of a corn like plant in a remote area of Mexico called teosinte - it proved to be one of the great discoveries of this century. What surprised many is this valuable plant was growing in a seemingly worthless landscape. It is a perennial relative of modern corn and is immune to seven of the nine major viruses in the world. If teosinte was crossbred with modern corn, it would increase world corn production by 1%, which would be a savings of four hundred million dollars per year. The natural areas of Washington's Birthplace National Monument include a diversity of habitats, providing for a diversity of species. What awaits discovery in diverse natural communities?
|
go to next page
return to main page