﻿Nichols : The vegetation of Connecticut 205 



Second Group 

 Alnus rugosa (or A. incana) Pyrus melanocarpa 

 Amelanchier oblongifolia Rhododendron viscosum 



Ilex verticillata Rhus vernix 



Myrica carolinensis Vaccinium corymhosum 



Nemopanthus mucronata Viburnum cassinoides 



Most of theshrubs peculiar to bogs are included in thefirst group. 

 It will be noted that all of the species there listed are ericaceous, 

 and that practically all of them are distinctly northern in their 

 range. The shrubs in the second group are not so strictly confined 

 to bogs, but, with one or two exceptions, are frequent or common in 

 swamps of the ordinary type. The majority of them are equally 

 well developed far to the south. It should be added that the 

 species in the first group are comparatively low growing — mostly 

 less than three feet high when mature — while those in the second 

 group average well above three feet. In studying their distribu- 

 tion in an open bog, it is noticeable that the lower shrubs compris- 

 ing the first group are pretty uniformly distributed throughout, 

 while the taller shrubs which comprise the second group are best 

 developed toward the landward margin, or in slightly elevated 

 situations. In the case of a bog bordering an open pond, as at 

 Bingham Pond (Fig. 14), there are usually four rather definite 

 bands of woody vegetation, paralleling the water's edge: first, a 

 zone of low shrubs; then, a zone of low shrubs intermixed with 

 young spruces and tamaracks;* next, a zone of taller shrubs along 

 with older trees; and finally, farthest removed from the pond, a 

 zone of large spruces together with some of the more tolerant of 

 the taller shrubs. Undoubtedly some correlation exists between 

 the position usually occupied by shrubs of the second group in bogs 

 and the fact that most of them quite commonly occur in swamps of 

 the ordinary type, a correlation which almost certainly relates to 

 soil aeration and drainage. There very likely Is also some con- 

 nection between this local distribution of these plants in bogs and 

 swamps and their geographic distribution. 



Sphagnum and its Relations. — Occasionally, as for example at 

 Twin Lakes, a bog is encountered from which apparently Sphagnum 

 is entirely missing. In the particular case cited the bog is under- 



* Between this and the next shrub zone is frequently interpolated the Sphagnum — 



