Click to Enlarge The thick base of the tupelo gum tree helps it stand up straight in the waterlogged wetland soil. With eyes on top of its head, a bullfrog can hide underwater and still keep an eye or two on shorebirds that might want it for lunch. In this cross section of a common cattail leaf, note the hollow tubes that transport oxygen to the roots. The air-filled tubes are like an air mattress; the air allows the leaves to float if they fall in the water. Note how new plants emerge from the same root. This root system holds soil in place and helps stop erosion. Click to Enlarge The great blue heron catches fish, frogs, mice, snakes and birds using its bill like scissors. Cattails offer a hiding place for a wood duck hen. Click to Enlarge Missouri's Wetlands Poster and Key   Home Soggy Home     Plants and animals that make their homes in wetlands don’t mind living in a soggy environment. In fact, they love it! Wetlands are such great places to live that more animals and plants live in an acre of wetlands than in any other habitat. On the next page are just a few species with special features that allow them to thrive in a watery world. The numbers in parentheses refer to the poster key on page 15. Look at the poster on pages 8 and 9 to see where these species fit into the wetland environment. Common Cattails An easy way to spot a wetland area is to look for cattails (27) growing along the water’s edge. The tall, slender leaves are strong enough to hold red-wing blackbird (7) nests and adult least bitterns (4). But cattail leaves are actually made up of a series of hollow tubes that help carry oxygen to their roots. The air-filled tubes keep the leaves from sinking in the water so they can continue to convert sunlight into oxygen even if they get blown down. Muskrats Like beaver, the smaller muskrat (1) can stay underwater for long periods of time while it collects food. Its lips close behind the incisor teeth, making a watertight seal. Muskrats have waterproof underfur, which helps keep them warm in the water. They also are very buoyant because air bubbles trapped in their fur help them float. Great Blue Herons Long legs help the great blue heron (2) wade along the water’s edge looking for fish, frogs, mice, snakes and small birds to eat. When something tasty passes by, the heron uses its long neck and beak to grab its meal under the water. Bald Cypress Bald cypress trees (25) grow in swamps and bottomlands in southeastern Missouri. Their trunks have a large base, which helps them stand in the soggy wetland soil. Out of the water, cone-shaped “knees” extend from the roots. These knees help keep the tree stable and also help draw oxygen to the tree’s roots. Whirligig Beetles Long front legs help the whirligig beetle (17) swim in crazy circles. Their eyes are made up of two parts—one on top of the head that sees above the water, and the other under the body that sees underwater. Giant Water Bug Giant water bugs (20) hunt for their food underwater. Because they spend so much time underwater, they carry oxygen with them—in the form of an air bubble attached to their belly. Wood Duck Wood ducks (3) have spoon-like bills. They use them to scoop up and strain plants from shallow water. Bull Frog Strong legs and webbed feet help the bull frog (8) swim through the water to escape predators. Backswimmer These insects, as their name implies, swim on their backs. Backswimmers (18) use their back legs as oars to help them move through the water. Black Willow Thick roots help the black willow (24) grow along stream banks without being washed away in floods. Lesser Duckweed One of the smallest flowering plants in the world, lesser duckweed (32) looks like small dots of green on the water. Air spaces in the leaves keep them afloat. Because they are so small, they often get carried to new bodies of water by birds and mammals.