Water Tolerance

Much of the Congaree is very wet. As I mentioned earlier, several times per year almost all of the bottomland floods. This is why the soil is so deep and fertile. No one could farm it for this reason, which is why the forest was never felled in favor of agricultural fields.

A cypress stand and a plain of knees.

The next time I go, I plan on finding the really big cypress trees and giving them a look.

Old cypress.

Some of the forest just never quite dries out.