Biology
What the Big Thicket lacks in geographical aesthetics is made up for by the biodiversity contained within. During the last glacial period, plant and animal species from many different biomes moved into the area. Before their extinction, the Big Thicket was home to most species of North American megafauna.
Today the Big Thicket retains numerous species, and has been described as the "biological crossroads of North America" or the "American Ark". The area contains over 100 species of trees and shrubs, but is dominated by Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris), which reaches heights of over 30 metres (98 ft). The National Park Service lists more than one thousand species of flowering plants and ferns that can also be found in the thicket, including 20 orchids and four types of carnivorous plants.
Animal life includes 300 species of migratory and nesting birds, many endangered or threatened. The thicket is also home to numerous reptile species, including all four groups of North American venomous snakes and alligators.
Read more about this topic: Big Thicket
Famous quotes containing the word biology:
“The “control of nature” is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and the convenience of man.”
—Rachel Carson (1907–1964)
“Nothing can be more incorrect than the assumption one sometimes meets with, that physics has one method, chemistry another, and biology a third.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)