By Donna Bollenbach |Florida Native Plant Society
To appreciate the beauty of native plants, you should see them in the wild, and the wild is closer than you think: the Blackwater Creek Nature Preserve in Plant City is 1,993 acres of pristine wild habitat.
The preserve is predominately pine flatwoods, palmetto prairie and riverine swamp with scattered areas of oak hammock, cypress swamp, freshwater marsh and wet prairie. Each habitat has its own unique plant communities, making it a great place to see native plants and wildlife in your community.
When I went to Blackwater Creek in July it was hot, but the goldenrod, narrow-leaf sunflowers and paintbrush were already starting to bloom. When the cooler days of fall come to stay, the wildflower show should be spectacular. There were also dense blooms of white-topped asters, pale rose rush, pink meadow beauties and yellow bachelor buttons — all native beauties.
There are six miles of trails in the preserve, but you don’t have to walk far to appreciate the splendor. From the parking lot, the trail opens to a prairie of sweeping grasses and colorful wildflowers. The plants in the prairies vary according to the moisture. Saw palmetto, wax myrtle, wiregrass and broomsedge is found throughout the prairie and flatwoods. In the drier areas, one might see sand live oak, pawpaw and shiny blueberry, while wetter areas support bachelor buttons, gallberry and St. John’s Wort.
The creek is about 2.5 miles from the trail head. Besides the beautiful views of the water, here you will find a diversity of trees and plants. Bald cypress, cabbage palm, American elm, pop ash, black gum, water oak, laurel oak, water hickory, red maple and hackberry form canopies along the water. Shrubs under the tree canopy include buttonbush, swamp dogwood, shiny lyonia, wax myrtle and wild coffee.
Other wet areas in the preserve include cypress swamp, wet prairie and freshwater marshes. Pipewort, marsh pennywort, smartweed, broomsedge, and soft rushes grow in the moist areas. Deeper wetlands support pickerelweed, duck potato, rush species, a variety of ferns, spoon flower, lizard’s tail, dayflower, star rush, wild petunia and water grass.
The preserve supports a variety of wildlife as well. One can hardly walk by the marshes without hearing a chorus of frogs or flushing a flock of birds out of the grasses. Hawks make low flying circles over the prairies in search of small prey. Deer, wild turkey, Sherman’s fox squirrel and a variety of birds may also be seen in the preserve.
If you haven’t visited Blackwater Creek Nature Preserve, you really should. After all, it is practically in your own backyard.
Blackwater Creek Nature Preserve
What: This 1,993-acre preserve includes some of the finest remaining examples of pine flatwoods, palmetto prairie and riverine swamp, interspersed with oak hammock, cypress swamp, freshwater marsh and wet prairie.
History: The Blackwater Creek Nature Preserve was acquired from 1997 through 2003 by Hillsborough County through the Jan K. Platt Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program and Florida Communities Trust.
WHERE: The preserve is located at 2469 Patrinostro Road, Plant City
HOURS: Sunrise to sunset
Donna Bollenbach is the vice president of both the Suncoast chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society Florida Native Plant Societyand the Friends of Kissimmee Prarie Preserve State Park. She loves to photograph nature, especially Florida native plants and animals. Join the Suncoast chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society at SuncoastNPS.org. The chapter meets every third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Seffner Extension Services office, 5339 County Road 579.