﻿210 Nichols: The vegetation of Connecticut 



Hypnunt Schreberi, and Georgia pellucida, and there are occasional 

 patches of Sphagnum. Characteristic herbaceous plants here are 

 Aralia nudicaulis, Clintonia borealis, Coptis trifolia, Cypripedium 

 acaule, and Maianthemum canadense; these grow for the most 

 part in the least shaded spots. The commonest shrub is Kalmia 

 latifolia. 



In eastern Connecticut, the coast white cedar largely supplants 

 the black spruce as the characteristic bog conifer, while throughout 

 the state bogs are frequently encountered from which conifers are 

 entirely absent. At Berlin, for example, there is a large bog» 

 perhaps sixteen acres in extent, whose surface, except for a peri- 

 pheral band of red maple and taller shrubs, is entirely covered with 

 heaths and Sphagnum. In Beaver Swamp, a bog within the New 

 Haven city limits, red maple is likewise the only arborescent species 

 present. The omnipresence of this latter tree in swamps of the 

 ordinary type has already been commented on. This observation 

 may be extended to include bogs; but here, except where the 

 original vegetation has been disturbed, it Is usually conspicuous 

 only toward the landward margin. 



The Problem of Bog Xerophytism. — In attempting to explain 

 the differences between bog vegetation and that of ordinary 

 swamps, two sets of factors must be taken into account, namely, 

 factors which are active at the present time, and factors which have 

 operated during the past. The immediate effect of the first set 

 is seen in the phenomenon of bog xerophytism; the effect of the' 

 second set may be reflected In the restriction to bogs of so m any 

 boreal plants. That, despite their physical wetness, the soil 

 conditions in bogs are conducive to xerophytism has long been 

 recognized. This xerophytism is evidenced by the fact that 

 many of the commonest bog plants are likewise characteristic of 

 habitats which are physically dry. Thus, in Connecticut, 

 Gayhissacia baccata and Gaultheria procumbens grow abundantly in 

 dry woods and clearings; Kalmia angustifolia and Myrica caroli- 

 nensis flourish on dry, open hillsides ; while Pyrus melanocarpa and 

 Vaccinium corymbosum are among the commonest shrubs on ex- 

 posed, rocky ledges along the coast. Moreover, many of the 

 more distinctive bog plants, in contrast with most plants of or- 

 dinary swamps, exhibit structural peculiarities which are char- 



