Nov., 1910.] 
A Cedar Bog in Central Ohio. 
r 97 
as a lower herbaceous layer the maiden-hair fern (Adiantum 
pedatum), the dwarf raspberry (Rubus triflorus), wood ferns 
(Aspidium cristatum), miterwort (Mitella diphylla), wakerobin 
(Trillium erectum, T. grandiflorum) , false Solomon’s seal (Smila- 
cina trifolia), violet (Viola blanda), the star flower (Trientalis 
americana), the Indian cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), 
manna grass (Glyceria Torreyana). and others. 
In many places the various shrub layers immediately below the 
trees interpose as dense screens. These are often of sufficient 
density to reduce the light to a diffuseness which leads to frequent 
modification and a consequent rearrangement of the individual 
plants in the ground stratum. The number of such plants present 
is not large; they are all past flowering when shade conditions 
become extreme. The little mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) 
and various mosses and liverworts are the more resistant members 
of the living ground cover; they tend to disappear only when the 
shade condition approaches a light value similar to that of the 
pure stands of cedar. 
To the east of the mature formation and adjoining it is an 
open area; in it occur a number of low wet places. The water of 
the cold springs is overcharged with carbonate of lime. The 
average soil moisture content is near saturation, and the soil 
temperature uniformly low throughout the year. In other places 
the water content is not quite so high, but higher usually than in 
any of the soils frequented by the cedars. Testborings indicate a 
surface layer of black non-fibrous peat about two feet deep, 
resting on a cream colored, fine grained marl, three feet in depth 
and underlain by sandy gravel. The marl is frequently of the 
nature of calcareous tufa. In the wetter habitat the plant asso- 
ciation resembles that of an open sedge zone. The dominant 
plants are the rushes Juncus brachycephalus, Eleocharis obtusa, 
E. palustris, and Scirpus americanus. The physiognomy changes 
in places on account of an admixture of shield fern (Aspidium 
Thelvpteris) and the parnassus (Parnassia caroliniana), with an 
occasional lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus), some goldenrods 
(Solidago Riddellii, S. ohioensis), the Canadian burnet (Sanguis- 
orba canadensis), tway blade (Liparis Loeselii), water avens 
(Geum rivale), millet grass (Milium effusum), the marsh bell- 
flower (Campanula aparinoides), lousewort (Pedicularis lanceo- 
lata), the golden ragweed (Senecio aureus) and swamp asters 
(Aster puniceus, var. lucidulum). Until recently orchids (Haben- 
aria psycodes) and lady slippers (Cypripedium hirsutum, C. 
parviflorum) were not uncommon. 
Nearer the cedar groves a low shrub society appears, among 
which the shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), the bog birch 
(Betula pumila), several willows (Salix discolor, S. petiolaris), the 
buckthorn (Rhamnus alnifolia), and dogwoods (Cornus stoloni- 
