Field Guide

Swamp privet is a straggly shrub or small tree growing in wet to swampy ground. It is quite noticeable in early spring, with the clusters of yellow flowers and bracts appearing along the gray branches before the leaves come out. In this way, it is similar in aspect to spicebush.

Water tupelo, or tupelo gum, is a large tree with a large, swollen, sometimes buttressed base, a tapering trunk, and a flattened, spreading crown. It and bald cypress are the dominant trees in Missouri’s Bootheel swamps.

In Missouri, Ashe’s juniper is uncommon and only found in a few southwestern counties; our populations represent the northeastern tip of its range. Here, it is much less widespread than its close relative eastern red cedar.

Giant cane is Missouri’s native species of bamboo. It is scattered mostly in our southernmost counties and the Bootheel. In its low, moist habitats, it sometimes forms canebrakes — dense, nearly pure thickets.