Charged with snowmelt from the North and runoff from spring rains, the Connecticut River and its tributaries annually overflow their banks. Spilling across the landscape, the floodwaters inundate farm fields and remnant patches of forest. And these forests are special. Known as floodplain forests, they consist of a suite of plant species that tolerate, not just days, but weeks and even months of flooding.

Floodplain forests once covered wide stretches along the Connecticut River. Cleared for agriculture and destroyed by urban expansion and flood control structures, only a tiny fraction of floodplain forest remains today. Some of the best examples in New England are found along the Connecticut River.

In just a single month, the area has transformed into a park-like setting, with dark trunked canopy trees forming an umbrella of leaves over a carpet of green understory plants. In floodplain forests along the CT, the predominant canopy trees are silver maples. These are easily recognized by their deeply toothed leaves, which show silvery undersides in the wind, and their large propeller-like seeds, which wing by the millions down into the river. Another common canopy tree is the Cottonwood, which gets its common name from its clouds of fluffy seeds that blow in the wind and gather in our streets in late June.

Below the canopy, growing in the deep river silts, is a luxuriant carpet of ferns, including this large species called ostrich fern. Its plume-like fronds can be more than three feet tall. In sections with sandier soils, you can sometimes have the painful experience of encountering acres of stinging wood nettles. If you spend a little time in floodplain forests, you'll notice that small changes in topography have a dramatic influence on the composition of the understory plants. On this ridge, for example, the plants include ferns and jack-in-the-pulpits. But, down in the troughs and shallow depressions, where the floodwaters linger, we see very little growing right now. Later in the season, these low spots will be blanketed with thousands of silver maple seedlings.

Ringing these depressions, you can sometimes find a very rare plant known as green dragon. A jack-in-the-pulpit relative, green dragons are floodplain specialists. It's easily recognized by its 7-17 leaflets, lime green hood and its long, tapering yellow spadix. In contrast, jack-in-the-pulpits have three parted leaves, a "pulpit" patterned with purple, green and white, and a "jack", which is hidden below this flap. Both green dragons and jack-in-the-pulpits have elaborate pollination systems that involve not only deception, but also murder. Let's use this jack-in-the-pulpit to explain. First of all, these plants can be either male or female. Just before flowering, this portion near the flower stalk heats up and releases a fragrance that, although undetectable to our noses, attracts the attention of fungus gnats. These tiny insects, duped into thinking they've found a mushroom, fly into the jack-in-the-pulpit and become trapped inside. The sides of the flower are too slippery to climb and the insects are stuck at the bottom of the plant. Male plants, however, have a tiny exit hole, which opens after the pollen has been shed, and the pollen-covered gnats can escape. If the gnat is fooled again, this time by a female plant, the pollination loop is completed. But this time, the gnat is trapped for good. There is no escape from a female.

Floodplain forests are full of interesting natural history stories. But beyond the individual stories, they serve many important functions. They're excellent habitat, particularly for birds which use them as natural migratory corridors and nesting sites. They also play an important role in controlling downstream flooding by storing floodwaters and thereby dissipating the energy of the floodwaters. They are also great places to explore, whether by canoe or on foot. And how many places can you go where you can honestly tell people you were out looking at green dragons!

Questions and Activities after Watching the Video

1. Are there any floodplain forests in your community? Use topographic maps to find any that are left and also try to figure out where they may have been before they were cleared for agriculture or destroyed by urban expansion and flood control structures. What percentage is left?

2. If there’s a floodplain forest nearby, make a small collection of pressed plants and try to identify them. (Make sure you can identify poison ivy before you start the project!)

3. What other members of the jack-in-the-pulpit family are found in southern New England? Do they have any unusual adaptations?

4. Are there any flood control structures in your community? Where are they? Who built them? When were they built? What happened in the past that made it seem like a good idea to build them?

5. Order the Floodplain maps for your town (and surrounding towns if appropriate) from the Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) by faxing 1-800-358-9620. The maps should arrive within three weeks.

WebSites: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/ : New England District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Includes info on flood control reservoirs, monthly summaries, hurricane/flood and drought data, current hydrologic conditions, and climate data for the 35 flood control dams and 2 hurricane barriers within the CT, Merrimack, Thames, Naugatuck and Blackstone River Basins. Point of Contact: paul@ned-wc.usace.army.mil http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/wetlands :Wetlands Science, Education and Info. Resources Includes Kid’s Stuff with lots of useful information as well as links to other pertinent sites (Bill Nye the Science Guy, National Academy of Sciences, etc) EPA’s wetlands Hotline: wetlands-hotline@epamail.epa.gov http://www.fws.gov http://nwf.org/nwf : Good information on floodplain forests. http://www.usace.mil : U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; includes hydrology and flooding info   Curriculum Resources: Johnsey, Robert. 1986. Problem Solving in School Science. Great Britain: MacDonald & Co. Among the units included is one on seeds. Appropriate for grades 6-8.   Ranger Rick’s NatureScope. 1988. Wading into Wetlands. National Wildlife Federation, 14000 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-2266. (H) (Includes an overview of wetlands, chapters on salt and freshwater wetlands, humans & wetlands and an appendix of resources and key words. Although geared for younger children, some of the activities are geared for grades 6-8 and many could easily be adapted to suit the intellectual needs of older students. The guide provides a good, easy- to-follow introduction for teachers unfamiliar with wetlands. )   Ranger Rick’s NatureScope. 1985. Trees are Terrific. Washington, DC: National Wildlife Federation. 76 pp. (H) (Includes overviews of trees, tree terms, identification info, transpiration activities, tree rings, forest community, rainforest, measuring trees, and a glossary of terms and bibliography. Grades 6-8)   Rezendes, Paul and Paulette Roy. 1996. The Wetlands. The Web of Life. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. 156 pp. (H) Excellent photographs accompany an informative, well-written text. Grades 6-Up.   Video: A World in Our Backyard. A Wetlands Education and Stewardship Program. 1993. U. S. Region 1 funded; Distributed by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. (H) An inspiring look at three Massachusetts’ teachers who have incorporated wetlands into their curriculum. Followed by a Bill Nye Wetlands program.

This web page made possible in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management Greenways and Trails Demonstration Grant Program & the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Challenge Cost Share Program, 1997.