Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

The Beauty and Wonder of Wetland Plants

Roger Monthey, U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry

Do you want to know the names of the plants and other organisms living on your land? If so, you are a budding naturalist! If you like to watch detective programs on television, read Agatha Christie murder mysteries, solve riddles or crossword puzzles, or otherwise challenge your mind, being a naturalist is just as fun and hugely rewarding, especially if you like to create beautiful photographs or seek out edible plants or mushrooms. I can’t think of a better hobby to directly interact with your woods while increasing your Naturalist Intelligence (Naturalist IQ), one of eight Multiple Intelligences1 (see sidebar). And it can become a life-long pursuit, especially satisfying as you travel and observe different ecosystems, plant communities, and life forms. World-renowned naturalist and world traveler Charles Darwin knew the joy of his passion. While studying forests, Darwin wrote, “Delight itself is a weak term to express the feeling of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself into a Brazilian forest….”

The purpose of this short article is simply to showcase a few of the wetland plants found here in the Northeast. If you are lucky enough to have a wetland on your land, so much the better because these are biological treasure troves. I believe one of the better wetland plant books for both the beginning and seasoned naturalist is John Eastman’s “Swamp and Bog – Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern Freshwater Wetlands” published in 1995. The book is filled with interesting details on the life history and associations of these plants. Other somewhat similar books are “Plants in Wetlands” by Charles B. Redington (1994) and “Bogs in the Northeast” by Charles Johnson (1985). For a much more comprehensive treatment of wetland types in New England, see “Natural Communities of New Hampshire” by Daniel D. Sperduto and William F. Nichols (2004).

Definitions are important when beginning the study of wetland plants. The following definitions were taken directly from Eastman (1995), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wikipedia, and Johnson (1985).

Wetland: “Lands where saturation with water is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on its surface. Wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water.” (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Bog: “A nutrient poor acidic wetland dominated by sphagnum mosses and shrub heaths, characterized by an accumulation of plant materials, such as peat, and with rain or snow as its

1 Gardner, Howard. 2011. Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. 3rd ed. Basic Books. 528 p.

Multiple Intelligences Linguistic intelligence ("word smart") Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart") Spatial intelligence ("picture smart") Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart") Musical intelligence ("music smart") Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart") Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart") Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

only water source.” A heath is defined as “a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils, and is characterized by open, low-growing woody vegetation.” (Wikipedia)

Swamp: “A wooded wetland that includes either or both conifers and hardwood shrubs or trees. They often develop into swamp forests.” (Eastman 1995)

Dune Swale: These are wetlands that occur in depressions between sand dunes where the land is inundated or where the sandy soils are waterlogged due to seasonal high water tables. They occur both coastally (e.g., Cape Cod area) and inland (e.g., Great Lakes area). The depressions are formed by aeolian (wind-driven) processes. These wetlands include palustrine emergent wetlands (e.g., marshes and wet meadows), scrub-shrub wetlands (shrub swamps), and shallow ponds.2

Marsh: “A mineral-rich wetland dominated by emergent grass-like herbs, such as grasses, cattails, rushes, and others. They often develop into swamps.” (Eastman 1995)

Fen: “In contrast to bogs, a mineral-rich wetland (or alkaline bog) usually dominated by sedges and calcium-loving herbs and shrubs, characterized by the accumulation of peat. Rich fens receive nutrients by surface and ground waters flowing into and through them. Poor fens are transitional to bogs and often develop into swamps and bogs.” (Eastman 1995)

Beaver Pond: A beaver pond, dependent on its location, could be in a range of wetlands (e.g., bog, swamp, marsh, or fen). And of course many beaver ponds occur in stream channels as well. Many wetland plants grow in and adjacent to beaver ponds; as the habitat changes from an open marshy area often with dead trees to a tree swamp (forested wetland) due to successional processes, the plant composition also changes. (Johnson 1985)

2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2010. Wetlands of Cape Cod and the Islands, Massachusetts: Results of the National Wetlands Inventory and Landscape-level Functional Assessment.

Examples of Some Wetlands Bogs: Bogs are especially interesting to study due to their great beauty, diversity, and almost “exotic” feel to them. They are especially beautiful during fall leaf season. Pursuing the joy of nature photography, the author took the photo in figure 1 and all others, except where credited otherwise. This bog in Falmouth, ME, included plant species such as these:

• Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea)• Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)• Mountain Holly (Nemopanthus mucronata)• Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)• Sweet Gale (Myrica gale)• Sphagnum Moss (Sphagnum sp.)• Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum)• Wild Calla (Calla palustris)• Cotton Grass (Eriophorum sp.)

Figure 1. Protected bog in Falmouth, ME.

Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

Another bog in southern Maine in proximity to the Falmouth bog is Saco Heath, which is protected by The Nature Conservancy. Their Web site states, “The heath features a unique assemblage of plants that are adapted to thrive in its nutrient-poor soils. These include Labrador tea, leather-leaf, rhodora (Rhododendron canadense), cottongrass, sheep laurel and scattered pitch pine (Pinus rigida), Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), black spruce (Picea mariana), and tamarack (Larix laricina). These plants grow on a mat of sphagnum moss. The woodland areas of the preserve include red maple, white pine, hemlock, and black gum trees. This is the southernmost example of this type of raised bog and the only place where Atlantic white cedar grows on a northern raised bog.”

The rhodora (figure 2), which grows at Saco Heath, was the subject of an 1847 poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson titled “The Rhodora.”

Swamps: The author has penned an article about the biodiversity in red maple forested wetlands in New England.

Dune Swales: There are some excellent examples of dune swales (figure 3) at Cape Cod National Seashore in New England.

The Rhodora (Ralph Waldo Emerson 1847)

On being asked, whence is the flower. In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, To please the desert and the sluggish brook. The purple petals fallen in the pool Made the black water with their beauty gap; Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool, And court the flower that cheapens his array. Rhodora! If the sages ask thee why This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, Tell them, dear, that, if eyes were made for seeing, Then beauty is its own excuse for Being; Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose! I never thought to ask; I never knew But in my simple ignorance suppose The self-same power that brought me there, brought you.

Figure 2. Rhodora (Rhododendron canadense) at Saco Heath.

Figure 3. Dune swale at Cape Cod National Seashore. Grass Pink (Calypogon tuberosus) and Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides) orchids grow here. (Photo: Tom Rawinski)

Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

Some common wetland plants in dune swales at Cape Cod National Seashore include these:

Large Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) Greene’s Rush (Juncus greenei) Canada Rush (Juncus canadensis) Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) Common Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

Woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus) Intermediate Sundew (Drosera intermedia) Orchids Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides) Grass-pink (Calopogon tuberosus) Nodding Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes cernua) Dragon’s Mouth (Arethusa bulbosa) Ragged Fringed Orchis (Platanthera lacera).

Fen: The fen in figure 4 contains the globally rare Long’s Bulrush (Scirpus longii).

Beaver Pond: A protected beaver pond in Falmouth, ME, is shown in figure 5; figure 6 shows, from top to bottom, a beaver, beaver dam, and lodge in Maine.

Table 1 presents a short list of some wetland species, their habitat, and some interesting natural history facts.

Figure 4. Fen in Leicester, MA. (Photo: Tom Rawinski)

Figure 5. Beaver pond in Falmouth, ME. Figure 6. Top to bottom: beaver, beaver dam, and lodge in Maine. (Photos: David Gomeau)

Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

Table 1. Selected wetland species’ habitat and interesting facts. Common/Latin Name Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)

Shrub swamp, tree swamp, bogs, other low wet areas, occasionally uplands (Redington 1994). Mycorrhizal (roots grow in close association with fungal mycelium, which increases uptake of nutrients and water). Excellent edible.

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

Shrub swamp, tree swamp, and edges of ponds and fields (Redington 1994). Blazing red fruits in fall and winter; often picked for Christmas floral decorations (Eastman 1995).

Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)

Bogs, swamps, and into uplands; generally prefers acid soils (Redington 1994). Foliage is poisonous to livestock and humans. Flowers “explode” their pollen into alighting insects (Eastman 1995).

Cranberries (Vaccinium oxycoccus and V. macrocarpon)

Bogs and sedge fens. Small cranberry (V. oxycoccus) often grows in cushions of sphagnum moss; requires highly acid habitat (pH 2.9-3.8). Large cranberry (V. macrocarpon) is more tolerant (pH 4.8-6.1); often grows in sedge fens, which precede development of more acid peatlands. Not considered a major wildlife food, but is eaten by ruffed grouse, mourning dove, and American tree sparrow (Eastman 1995).

Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum)

Bogs (Redington 1994). Leaves of this fragrant plant have long been used to make tea; used medicinally as an astringent, diuretic, and tonic. Leaf edges are inrolled and densely woolly underneath (Eastman 1995).

Sweet Gale (Myrica gale)

Bogs and both fresh and salt marshes (Redington 1994). “Typically grows in acidic peat bogs, and to cope with these difficult nitrogen-poor growing conditions, the roots have nitrogen-fixing actinobacteria which enable the plants to grow” (Wikipedia.com).

Rhodora (Rhododendron canadense)

Thrives in the moist, acidic soils of bogs, swamps, and clearings in woodlands. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the poem The Rhodora in 1847 (Wikipedia.com).

Nodding Ladies’-tresses (Spiranthes cernua)

Habitats include moist sand prairies, sandy savannas, areas adjacent to paths in sandy woodlands, shrubby bogs, sandy pannes near lakes, gravelly seeps, limestone glades, bluffs, sandy pits, ditches, and abandoned fields. Typically occurs in somewhat disturbed areas of high-quality habitats and appears to respond positively to occasional wildfires. (http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/nodding_orchidx.htm) Orchids are queens of the bogs; truly spectacular. This orchid resembles the tresses on a lady’s hair.

Grass Pink (Calopogon tuberosus)

Found in a wide array of wet habitats including bogs, meadows, ditches and fens. This species is generally inhabits areas with a very small amount of shade and a constant water supply. (http://www.arkive.org/grass-pink-orchid/calopogon-tuberosus/) Reverses the normal orchid orientation; the lip protrudes from the top, making the orchid appear upside-down (Eastman 1995).

Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides)

Man-made or disturbed habitats, bogs, fens (calcium-rich wetlands), meadows and fields, wetland margins (edges of wetlands). Found over an unusually broad temperature range, from northern Canada to southern Florida. https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/pogonia/ophioglossoides/).

Dragon’s Mouth (Arethusa bulbosa)

Acidic, boggy conditions, typically growing from Sphagnum moss. Genus Arethusa named after a beautiful nymph of Greek mythology. (http://www.botany.wisc.edu/orchids/Arethusa.html)

Purple Fringed Orchis (Plantathera psycodes)

A plant of wet habitats: sedge meadows, flatwoods, sphagnum bogs, cedar or alder swamps, on stream edges or the moist edges of coniferous forests. Occasionally found in wet swales adjoining freshwater sandy beaches. “Psycodes" means butterfly-like, alluding to the shape of the flowers (Wikipedia.com).

Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)

Favor fens and wet meadows; also found rarely in acid bogs; often associated with sedges, grasses, marsh fern, and sphagnum mosses (Eastman 1995). “Flowers open on sunny days, but generally remain closed on cloudy days” (Wikipedia.com).

Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata)

Fens (Wikipedia.com). Diagnostic fen species in Eastern North America. Trifoliate leaf. (Wikipedia).

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Streambanks and damp meadows. Probably has the reddest flowers of any North American wildflower, which attract ruby-throated hummingbirds, the chief pollinator of this plant (Eastman 1995).

Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)

Emergent herb in marshes and shallow margins of ponds, lakes, and streams (Eastman 1995). Many people plant pickerelweed in water gardens for its beautiful flowers and leaves. (http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/pickerelweed.htm)

Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea)

Bogs (Redington 1994). Tube-shaped leaves catch and hold rainwater, which drowns insects that crawl inside. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130402182653.htm)

Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)

Bogs and fens (Eastman 1995). Feeds on insects that are drawn to its bright red color and glistening drops on its leaves. Uses enzymes to dissolve the insects (Wikipedia.com).

Sphagnum Moss (Sphagnum spp.)

Bogs, swamps, and fens (Eastman 1995). Very efficient at absorbing water and releasing it slowly. Sphagnum bogs act as local “climate stabilizers” by absorbing and releasing heat during daily and seasonal cycles. Almost 50% of sphagnum bogs have been drained, primarily for agriculture; Maine and Minnesota have the largest remaining extent of sphagnum bogs (Eastman 1995).

Habitat/Interesting Facts

Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

Additional Photos of Wetland Plants

Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) in southern Maine.

Left: Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is sold for Christmas decorations in Falmouth, ME. Right: Winterberry berries in southern Maine.

Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) in Maine.

Left: Small Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus) at Saco Heath in Maine. Right: Large Cranberry berries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are ready to eat in Cumberland, ME.

Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum) at Saco Heath.

Sweet Gale (Myrica gale) in southern Maine.

Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

Dragon’s Mouth (Arethusa bulbosa) in bud stage (left) and in full bloom. (Photos: Tom Rawinski)

Purple Fringed Orchis (Plantathera psycodes) in southern Maine.

Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides) at Cape Cod National Seashore. (Photo: Tom Rawinski)

Left: Nodding Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes cernua). (Photo: Roger Monthey) Right: Grass Pink (Calopogon tuberosus). (Photo: Tom Rawinski)

Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) in Bedford, MA, near the Concord River. (Photo: Tom Rawinski)

Bogbean’s (Menyanthes trifoliata) trifoliate leaf in southern Maine.

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) in southern Maine. Note the mature flowers at bottom and new flower buds at top, the typical sequential flowering pattern for this species.

Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) in southern Maine.

Forest Matters Stewardship Newsletter Summer 2015

Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) at Saco Heath in Maine. Sphagnum moss (Sphagnum sp.) with Collybia sp. mushroom in Falmouth, ME. (Photo: Roger Monthey)

Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). (Photos: Roger Monthey on left, David Gomeau on right)