﻿186 Nichols: The vegetation of Connecticut 



Cicuta maculata Ranunculus septentrionalis 



Cyperus strigosus* Saxifraga pennsylvanica 



Epilobium densum Scirpus cyperinus 



Eriophorum virginicum Scutellaria galericulata 



Eupatorium perfoliatum* Solidago neglecta* 



Eupatorium purpureum* Thalictrum polygamum* 



Geum rivale Verbena hastata* 



Woodwardia virginica 

 A Carex stricta swamp might well be said to represent a com- 

 posite habitat. For while the low wet areas between the tussocks 

 afford a suitable substratum for markedly hydrophytic species 

 like Glyceria canadensis, Iris versicolor, Lysimachia terrestris, 

 and Scirpus cyperinus, the tussocks, higher and drier than the 

 intervening spaces, offer a foothold for plants like Aspidium 

 Thelypteris, Calamagrostis canadensis, Eupatorium purpureum, and 

 Verbena hastata, which thrive best in soil that is not permanently 

 saturated.* In sedge swamps where tussocks of Carex stricta are 

 absent, the more mesophytic species, such as Aspidium Thelypteris 

 and Calamagrostis canadensis, are for the most part restricted to 

 the higher, drier areas, and frequently form a distinct zone around 

 the margin of the swamp. 



The sedge stage may be of short or long duration. The 

 building up of the substratum continues, but with less speed than 

 heretofore, due to the accelerated and more thorough oxidation 

 of plant remains which results from exposure to the air. And 

 just as earlier in the series submersed aquatics were shaded out, so 

 to speak, by water-lilies, so in the competition for light the low 

 herbaceous species of the sedge association are destined in the 

 course of time to be superseded as the dominant type of vege- 

 tation by shrubs, and these in turn by trees. Many of the plants 

 of the sedge stage persist into the Shrub Stage, but they come to 

 occupy a more and more subordinate position. The commonest 

 shrubs of open swamps are the alders (Alnus rugosa [Fig. 9] and 

 Alnus incana). Indeed, an alderless swamp is a rarity. Along 

 with the alders occur many other shrubs, the most important of 

 which are indicated below. 



* All species starred (*) in the above list belong to this latter class. Some of 



