by Bob Ratliff
photos by Fred Faulk

Imagine a vast savanna stretching from the Mississippi Gulf Coast to Memphis, a sea of low-growing grasses and plants under the canopy of towering longleaf pines.

That was the scene throughout much of Mississippi until the late-1800s, when logging and other development activities forever changed the face of the land.

There are small oases of native plants left in south Mississippi. Several of those are included in the Crosby Arboretum. The arboretum consists of seven sites containing about 1,500 acres in the Pearl River Drainage Basin, which stretches from near Jackson south through southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Activities of the arboretum are coordinated from the 64-acre interpretive center, located on a site that was a Depression-era strawberry farm near Picayune. But this is not your run-of-the-mill flower garden.

"When people come here looking for a rose garden, we show them how roses exist in nature," explains Larry Pardue, executive director at Crosby. "Blackberry and other native plants are members of the rose family."

Established in 1980 as a living memorial to south Mississippi timber pioneer and philanthropist L.O. Crosby Jr., the arboretum was donated to Mississippi State University by the Crosby Foundation in 1997. It is one of only about 30 public arboretums in the United States.

The mission of the arboretum is the protection of the Gulf region's biological diversity while providing the public a place to enjoy native plants in their original environment.

"This is one of the fastest growing areas of the state. Mississippi is rich in plant resources, but we need to save the very best and set it aside for the future," Pardue said. "We want to reach large numbers of people with our conservation message and we know that to make a big difference, we will have to teach the teachers."

Courses and seminars in botany, horticulture, and landscape architecture are provided for educators and other groups by the staff of the arboretum, which includes seven employees and more than 70 volunteers. Tours for school groups and for the general public also are provided throughout the year.

At eye level a bog appears as a mix of grasses and herbs. To really appreciate its beauty, one must get down to the ground to look closely at the rich herbaceous understory. -- Trail marker at Crosby Arboretum

Pardue notes that the size of groups touring the sites that make up the arboretum is kept small to protect the environment and to make the learning experience more personal. His approach to teaching about the special place of native plants in the environment can be seen as he introduces visitors to the pitcher plants that dot part of the arboretum property. He clips one of the plants at ground level with his pocketknife and carefully dissects it to show how the carnivorous plant traps and digests unsuspecting insects in its long, hollow leaf.

"The pitcher plant was once common from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana," he said. "Today the plant is only found in about 3 percent of its former habitat."

Many of the pitcher plants at Crosby have been transplanted from construction sites. That's one way the arboretum is helping prevent the complete loss of native plants.

"We have to be thinking about what we have now and what we are going to save," Pardue emphasized. "Mississippi is in a unique position by having remained rural for so long. We can make sure some natural areas are set aside and use them to teach environmental education in a way that other states cannot. That's what the arboretum has to offer."

Strategically located adjacent to metropolitan New Orleans and the booming Mississippi Gulf Coast, Crosby has gained a national and international reputation as a natural arboretum.

The Pinecote Pavilion has helped focus attention on the work of the arboretum. The pavilion, completed in 1986, was designed by internationally acclaimed architect Euine Fay Jones. More a work of art than a building, the structure serves as a starting point for tours, a place for exhibits and performances, and a setting for social gatherings without disrupting the natural setting.

"Time of day and seasonal changes will modify the shadows that frame the light and will keep the spaces in and around the Pavilion vital and alive, continuously enhancing the poetics of revealed construction," Jones said of his design at dedication ceremonies in 1986.

The pavilion sets the tone for the entire arboretum-blending man's efforts with nature to create a learning experience. Crosby also is a place to go to experience the rich diversity of Mississippi's native plants.

"The face of the arboretum changes throughout the year," Pardue explained. "At various times a meadow or a pond may be a riot of color, only to have a very subdued look at others, but the texture is always there. That makes it much like an oriental garden, but with its own unique character."

Maintenance of existing wetlands and establishment of new wetlands is part of the work being done to reestablish the native environment. The use of controlled burning to bring the savanna back to selected locations is another.

"Fire is used to suppress some woody plants and encourage new tree and plant growth," Pardue explained. "Burning returns nutrients to the soil and hastens maturity in trees and wildflowers."

"The pitcher plant was once common from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana. . . . Today the plant is only found in about 3 percent of its former habitat." -Larry Pardue, Executive Director, Crosby Arboretum

Another part of the educational work of the staff at the arboretum involves the use of native plants in home landscapes.

"We're seeing a shift in the way people think about landscape plants," Pardue said. "A lot of native plants have potential as landscape plants.

"One of the messages we have to teach is that things change. Our surroundings are not the same as they were for our parents and they will not be the same for our children."

He added that the partnership with MSU provides an opportunity for Crosby to become a sustainable landscape arboretum.

"For me, there's a great deal of satisfaction in helping people connect the various threads that make up the world of plants," he said. "When people leave here saying 'That's one of the best experiences I've ever had,' it is the best endorsement we could have."

The Pinecote Native Plant Center of the Crosby Arboretum is located at Interstate 59, exit 4 adjacent to the Mississippi welcome center near Picayune. It is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children 12 and under. You can also take a virtual tour of the arboretum at <http://www.crosbyarboretum.org>.