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SPECIES:  Cyrilla racemiflora

Introductory

SPECIES: Cyrilla racemiflora
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : Coladonato, Milo 1992. Cyrilla racemiflora. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/cyrrac/all.html []. ABBREVIATION : CYRRAC SYNONYMS : NO-ENTRY SCS PLANT CODE : CYRA COMMON NAMES : swamp titi black titi cyrilla he-huckleberry leatherwood littleleaf cyrilla littleleaf titi red titi swamp cyrilla swamp ironwood swamp leatherwood southern leatherwood titi titi titi white titi TAXONOMY : The scientific name for swamp titi is Cyrilla racemiflora L. [21]. LIFE FORM : Tree, Shrub FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : No special status OTHER STATUS : NO-ENTRY


DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE

SPECIES: Cyrilla racemiflora
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : Swamp titi occurs in swamps on the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from eastern Texas eastward to Florida, and north to Virginia and Maryland. It is also in the West Indies, Mexico, and Central and South America [8,14,33]. ECOSYSTEMS : FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine FRES14 Oak - pine FRES15 Oak - hickory FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress STATES : AL AR FL GA KY LA MD MS NC SC TN TX VA MEXICO BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : NO-ENTRY KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : KO90 Live oak - sea oats K091 Cypress savanna K092 Everglades K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest K112 Southern mixed forest K113 Southern floodplain forest K114 Pocosin K115 Sand pine scrub K116 Subtropical pine forest SAF COVER TYPES : 74 Cabbage palmetto 81 Loblolly pine 82 Loblolly pine - hardwood 83 Longleaf pine - slash pine 84 Slash pine 85 Slash pine - hardwood 97 Atlantic white-cedar 98 Pocosin 100 Pondcypress 101 Baldcypress 102 Baldcypress - tupelo 103 Water tupelo - swamp tupelo 104 Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : NO-ENTRY HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : In the southeastern Coastal Plain, swamp titi dominates or codominates in bay swamps, cypress swamps, and shrub bog communities [17,24,37]. It has been included as an indicator or dominant in the following community type (cts) classifications: Area Classification Authority NC general veg. cts Wells 1928 se NC general veg. cts. Kologiski 1977 SC general veg. cts Nelson 1986

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

SPECIES: Cyrilla racemiflora
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : The wood of swamp titi has little commercial value [34]. The only value for this species is for fuelwood, for which there is no current demand [25]. IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : Swamp titi is an important browse for white-tailed deer [19,20]. Utilization of swamp titi by white-tailed deer has been recorded as high as 40 percent in loblolly (Pinus taeda) and shortleaf pine (P. echinata) communities [15]. PALATABILITY : Swamp titi browse is highly palatable to to white-tailed deer [15,20]. NUTRITIONAL VALUE : Swamp titi has a relatively high nutrient value. Winter browse percent nutrient content is as follows [19]: N-free protein fat fiber extract ash phosphorus calcium 4.99 4.64 20.64 52.73 2.00 0.04 0.56 COVER VALUE : Swamp titi provides environmental protection for a variety of birds, mammals, and aquatic wildlife in the Carolina Bays of the southeastern United States [4]. VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : NO-ENTRY OTHER USES AND VALUES : Honey producers value swamp titi for the excellent honey that bees make from its flowers. Because of its attractive flowers, swamp titi is often planted as an ornamental. It can be propagated by seeds and cuttings [34]. OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Swamp titi is highly tolerant of flooding [30].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SPECIES: Cyrilla racemiflora
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : Swamp titi is a thicket-forming, tall, semievergreen shrub or small tree growing to a height of 30 feet (9 m) [7,12,14]. It typically has a short trunk with spreading, irregular branches and a wide, even crown. Its narrow, long, elliptical leaves are semipersistent, alternate, and clustered at the twig tips. The bark is thin and smooth. The perfect flowers are in narrow racemes near the tips of the twigs and open in the spring before new leaves appear. The fruit is a two-celled capsule with two seeds in each capsule [8,27,33]. RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : Phanerophyte REGENERATION PROCESSES : Swamp titi can reproduce sexually from seed, but most seeds do not germinate. Its primary mode of reproduction is by vegetative sprouting from adventitious buds on the roots following disturbance [6,17]. SITE CHARACTERISTICS : Swamp titi is usually restricted to low elevation areas along streambanks, river swamps, and bottomlands [3,7]. Swamp titi grows well where moisture is abundant and fairly permanent [6,10]. Common tree associates of swamp titi include sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), loblolly-bay (Gordonia lasianthus), and red maple (Acer rubrum). Common understory associates include gallberry (Ilex glabra), yaupon (I. vomitoria), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), zenobia (Zenobia pulverulenta), swamp-bay (Persea borbonia var. pubescens), and myrtle-leaved holly (I. myrtifolia) [2,16,26,35]. SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : Swamp titi grows well under full sunlight and can survive under a closed canopy [6]. Swamp titi is an early invader of disturbed sites. It eventually crowds out shade-intolerant species and becomes part of the dominant overstory [23,36]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : Swamp titi flowers appears from early May through July; the fruit ripens from late August through early October [27,33].

FIRE ECOLOGY

SPECIES: Cyrilla racemiflora
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : Fire does not usually invade the wetlands and lower slopes of the floodplains because the soil duff layer is normally very damp. When fire does occur during dry periods, swamp titi will sprout from adventitious buds on the roots or, less commonly, establish seedlings from seed stored in the soil [9,36]. FIRE REGIMES : Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find Fire Regimes". POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex

FIRE EFFECTS

SPECIES: Cyrilla racemiflora
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : Fire typically top-kills aboveground portions of swamp titi [5]. Survival of shallow underground roots is most likely following light- to moderate-severity fires which do not burn the peat moss [1]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : NO-ENTRY PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : Swamp titi will sprout from adventitious buds on the roots following fire [9,17]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : NO-ENTRY FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Woody shrubs such as swamp titi are found in great abundance as understories on moist sites and compete with pine for available light, moisture, and seeding sites. Periodic fires have been effective in controlling swamp titi and other hardwoods [30]. Following two successive burns in a 25-year-old slash pine plantation in Texas, 77 percent of 1 to 5 inch (2.5-12 cm) swamp titi were top-killed [2,29].

REFERENCES

SPECIES: Cyrilla racemiflora
REFERENCES : 1. Boyer, William D. 1990. Growing-season burns for control of hardwoods in longleaf pine stands. Res. Pap. SO-256. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 7 p. [14604] 2. Buell, Murray F.; Cain, Robert L. 1943. The successional role of southern white cedar, Chamaecyparis thyoides, in southeastern North Carolina. Ecology. 24(1): 85-93. [14091] 3. Christensen, Norman L. 1988. Vegetation of the southeastern Coastal Plain. In: Barbour, Michael G.; Billings, William Dwight, eds. North American terrestrial vegetation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 317-363. [17414] 4. Clark, Mary K.; Lee, David S.; Funderburg, John B., Jr. 1985. The mammal fauna of Carolina bays, pocosins, and associated communities in North Carolina: an overview. Brimleyana. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State Museum of Natural History; 11: 1-38. [13478] 5. Cypert, Eugene. 1961. The effects of fires in the Okefenokee Swamp in 1954 and 1955. American Midland Naturalist. 66(2): 485-503. [11018] 6. Duever, Michael J.; Riopelle, Lawrence A. 1983. Successional sequences and rates on tree islands in the Okefenokee Swamp. American Midland Naturalist. 110(1): 186-191. [14590] 7. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1987. The Smithsonian guide to seaside plants of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts from Louisiana to Massachusetts, exclusive of lower peninsular Florida. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 409 p. [12906] 8. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1988. Trees of the southeastern United States. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 322 p. [12764] 9. Ewel, Katherine C. 1990. Swamps. In: Myers, Ronald L.; Ewel, John J., eds. Ecosystems of Florida. Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida Press: 281-322. [17392] 10. Ewel, Katherine Carter; Mitsch, William J. 1978. The effects of fire on species composition in cypress dome ecosystems. Florida Scientist. 41(1): 25-31. [14634] 11. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905] 12. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p. (Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny Series; vol. 2). [14935] 13. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998] 14. Godfrey, Robert K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 734 p. [10239] 15. Goodrum, Phil D.; Reid, Vincent H. 1958. Deer browsing in the longleaf pine belt. In: Proceedings, 58th annual meeting of the Society of American Foresters; 1958 September 28-October 2; Salt Lake City, UT. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters: 139-143. [17023] 16. Gresham, Charles A. 1989. A literature review of effects of developing pocosins. In: Hook, Donal D.; Lea, Russ, eds. Proceedings of the symposium: The forested wetlands of the Southern United States; 1988 July 12-14; Orlando, FL. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-50. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 44-50. [9228] 17. Kologiski, Russell L. 1977. The phytosociology of the Green Swamp, North Carolina. Tech. Bull. No. 250. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. 101 p. [18348] 18. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384] 19. Lay, Daniel W. 1957. Browse quality and the effects of prescribed burning in southern pine forests. Journal of Forestry. 55: 342-347. [7633] 20. Lay, Daniel W. 1967. Browse palatability and the effects of prescribed burning in southern pine forests. Journal of Forestry. 65(11): 826-828. [145] 21. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952] 22. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No. 14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496] 23. Moore, Julie H.; Carter, J. H., III. 1987. Habitats of white cedar in North Carolina. In: Laderman, Aimlee D., ed. Atlantic white cedar wetlands. [Place of publication unknown]: Westview Press: 177-190. [15877] 24. Nelson, John B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina. Columbia, SC: South Carolina Wildlife & Marine Resources Department. 54 p. [15578] 25. Petrick, Edith W.; Petrick, John J. 1989. Controlling titi encroachment on the National Forests in Florida. In: Proceedings of the National Silviculture Workshop: Silviculture for all resources; 1987 May 11-14; Sacramento, CA. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Timber Management: 201-209. [11777] 26. Priester, David S. 1990. Magnolia virginiana L. sweetbay. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of North America. Vol. 2. Hardwoods. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 449-454. [16258] 27. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606] 28. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843] 29. Silker, T. H. 1955. Prescribed burning for the control of undesirable hardwoods in pine-hardwood stands and slash pine plantations. Bulletin No. 46. Kirbyville, TX: Texas A & M College, Texas Forest Service. 19 p. [15422] 30. Silker, T. H. 1961. Prescribed burning to control undesirable hardwoods in southern pine stands. Bulletin No. 51. Kirbyville, TX: Texas Forest Service. 44 p. [16898] 31. Streng, D. R.; Harcombe, P. A. 1982. Why don't east Texas savannas grow up to forest?. American Midland Naturalist. 108(2): 278-294. [10120] 32. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573] 33. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240] 34. Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Southwest. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1104 p. [7707] 35. Walker, Joan; Peet, Robert K. 1983. Composition and species diversity of pine-wiregrass savannas of the Green Swamp, North Carolina. Vegetatio. 55: 163-179. [10132] 36. Watson, Geraldine E. 1986. Influence of fire on the longleaf pine - bluestem range in the Big Thicket region. In: Kulhavy, D. L.; Conner, R. N., eds. Wilderness and natural areas in the eastern United States: a management challenge. Nacogdoches, TX: Stephen F. Austin University: 181-185. [10334] 37. Wells, B. W. 1928. Plant communities of the Coastal Plain of North Carolina and their successional relations. Ecology. 9(2): 230-242. [9307]

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