George L. Smith State Park

On our way back from Florida this past week, I convinced my husband to depart from I-16 to visit George L. Smith State Park in Emanuel County. This 1634-acre park has a 412-acre lake that was the mill pond for the historic Parrish Mill. It includes a few walking trails and you might even find a gopher tortoise (Georgia’s state reptile) or see a indigo snake. Much of the draw for this state park is the lake where folks enjoy paddling and fishing.

Trees stretched on and on

Pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens)

We did not come prepared to paddle, so we walked around the lake shores a bit, admiring the blackwater and the beauty of the trees reflected in it: pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens), bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), and swamp tupelo (Nyssa biflora). We saw several kinds of native fruits: ogeechee lime fruits (Nyssa ogeche) were floating in the water near the mill while a swamp tupelo (Nyssa biflora) was heavy with fruit. 

Nyssa biflora fruit

Nyssa ogeche fruit

Evergreen plants provided good botanical interest: sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana), Carolina cherry laurel (Prunus caroliniana), and wax myrtle (Morella spp.) were in several areas. According to a botanical inventory shared with me by Bobby Hattaway, there are actually 3 species of wax myrtle in the park: cerifera, caroliniensis, and pumila.

Cyrilla racemiflora provides color

Vaccinium arboreum

We also saw plenty of tardily deciduous plants showing a bit of color: swamp titi (Cyrilla racemiflora) and sparkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum) both had a nice mix of colorful leaves, while horse sugar (Symplocos tinctoria) had the occasional purple leaf and water oak (Quercus nigra) was a mix of green, yellow, and brown.

I look forward to coming back during spring or summer to see more plants, especially when they are in flower.