Print Report

CEGL006302 Myrica gale - Chamaedaphne calyculata / Carex (lasiocarpa, utriculata) - Utricularia spp. Fen

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sweetgale - Leatherleaf / (Woolly-fruit Sedge, Northwest Territory Sedge) - Bladderwort species Fen

Colloquial Name: Medium Shrub Fen

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This fen vegetation is found in peatlands and peaty lakesides of the northeastern United States. It occurs in acidic waters receiving weakly minerotrophic input from surface water inflow or seepage from surrounding uplands. The substrate may be flooded at high water, and remains saturated through the growing season. pH is acidic to circumneutral, 4.8-6.8. Tall, rhizomatous sedges dominate the vegetation, with shrubs often shorter than the graminoids. Bryophyte cover is variable. Scattered shrubs of Alnus incana and Spiraea alba may protrude above the graminoid cover; shorter shrubs such as Myrica gale, Andromeda polifolia var. glaucophylla, Vaccinium macrocarpon, and Chamaedaphne calyculata grow among the sedges. The dominant sedges are usually Carex lasiocarpa or Carex utriculata; associates include Carex oligosperma, Carex exilis, Carex vesicaria, Carex limosa, Carex canescens, Carex lacustris, Carex stricta (non-tussock form), Carex oligosperma, Rhynchospora alba, Calamagrostis canadensis, Cladium mariscoides, Eriophorum angustifolium, Eriophorum virginicum, and Dulichium arundinaceum. Forbs include Lysimachia terrestris, Triadenum virginicum, Osmunda regalis, Comarum palustre, Drosera intermedia, Utricularia intermedia, and Pogonia ophioglossoides. The bryophyte layer is dominated by species of Sphagnum, including Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum papillosum, Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum fimbriatum, Sphagnum centrale, Sphagnum lescurii, and others. This fen vegetation is distinguished by the dominance of Carex lasiocarpa and the absence of any richness indicators such as Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: No Data Available

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Tall, rhizomatous sedges dominate the vegetation, with shrubs often shorter than the graminoids. Bryophyte cover is variable. Scattered shrubs of Alnus incana and Spiraea alba may protrude above the graminoid cover; shorter shrubs such as Myrica gale, Andromeda polifolia var. glaucophylla (= Andromeda glaucophylla), Vaccinium macrocarpon, and Chamaedaphne calyculata grow among the sedges. The dominant sedges are usually Carex lasiocarpa or Carex utriculata; associates include Carex oligosperma, Carex exilis, Carex vesicaria, Carex limosa, Carex canescens, Carex lacustris, Carex stricta (non-tussock form), Rhynchospora alba, Calamagrostis canadensis, Cladium mariscoides, Eriophorum angustifolium, Eriophorum virginicum, and Dulichium arundinaceum. Forbs include Lysimachia terrestris, Triadenum virginicum, Osmunda regalis, Comarum palustre (= Potentilla palustris), Drosera intermedia, Utricularia intermedia, and Pogonia ophioglossoides. The bryophyte layer is dominated by species of Sphagnum, including Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum papillosum, Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum fimbriatum, Sphagnum centrale, Sphagnum lescurii, and others.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This fen vegetation is found in peatlands and peaty lakesides of the northeastern United States. It occurs in acidic waters receiving weakly minerotrophic input from surface water inflow or seepage from surrounding uplands. The substrate may be flooded at high water, and remains saturated through the growing season. pH is acidic to circumneutral, 4.8-6.8. Peat tends to be shallow.
Geographic Range: No Data Available

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, QC?, RI, VT


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4G5

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.2 Temperate to Polar Bog & Fen Formation F016 2.C.2
Division 2.C.2.Na North American Bog & Fen Division D029 2.C.2.Na
Macrogroup 2.C.2.Na.2 Shrubby cinquefoil - Woolly-fruit Sedge / Star Campylium Moss Alkaline Fen Macrogroup M877 2.C.2.Na.2
Group 2.C.2.Na.2.e Shrubby-cinquefoil - Woolly-fruit Sedge Eastern Boreal Alkaline Fen Group G804 2.C.2.Na.2.e
Alliance A4401 <i>Chamaedaphne calyculata - Myrica gale</i> / Woolly-fruit Sedge Fen Alliance A4401 2.C.2.Na.2.e
Association CEGL006302 Sweetgale - Leatherleaf / (Woolly-fruit Sedge, Northwest Territory Sedge) - Bladderwort species Fen CEGL006302 2.C.2.Na.2.e
Concept Lineage: merged

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Carex lasiocarpa / Chamaedaphne calyculata community (Metzler and Barrett 2006)
? Carex rostrata fen (Damman and French 1987)
? Carex spp. sedge fen (Anderson and Davis 1997)
>< Chamaedaphne calyculata / Carex utriculata var. rostrata community (Metzler and Barrett 2006)
? SNE acidic basin fen (Rawinski 1984a)
Concept Author(s): Eastern Ecology Group

Author of Description: S.C. Gawler

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 01-28-03
  • Anderson, D. S., and R. B. Davis. 1997. The vegetation and its environment in Maine peatlands. Canadian Journal of Botany 75:1785-1805.
  • CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
  • Damman, A. W. H., and T. W. French. 1987. The ecology of peat bogs of the glaciated northeastern United States: A community profile. USDI Fish & Wildlife Service Biological Report 85(7.16). 100 pp.
  • Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
  • Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
  • Enser, R. W., and J. A. Lundgren. 2006. Natural communities of Rhode Island. A joint project of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Natural Heritage Program and The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Kingston. 40 pp. [www.rinhs.org]
  • Fike, J. 1999. Terrestrial and palustrine plant communities of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Recreation, Bureau of Forestry, Harrisburg, PA. 86 pp.
  • Furedi, M. A. 2011d. Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Leatherleaf - Sedge Wetland Factsheet. [http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/Community.aspx?=16043] (accessed February 01, 2012)
  • Gawler, S. C. 2002. Natural landscapes of Maine: A guide to vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME.
  • Gawler, S. C., and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: A classification of vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta.
  • Lubinski, S., K. Hop, and S. Gawler. 2003. Vegetation Mapping Program: Acadia National Park, Maine. Report produced by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, and Maine Natural Areas Program in conjunction with M. Story (NPS Vegetation Mapping Coordinator) NPS, Natural Resources Information Division, Inventory and Monitoring Program, and K. Brown (USGS Vegetation Mapping Coordinator), USGS, Center for Biological Informatics and NatureServe. [http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/ftp/vegmapping/acad/reports/acadrpt.pdf]
  • Metzler, K., and J. Barrett. 2006. The vegetation of Connecticut: A preliminary classification. State Geological and Natural History Survey, Report of Investigations No. 12. Connecticut Natural Diversity Database, Hartford, CT.
  • Olivero, A. M. 2001. Classification and mapping of New York''s calcareous fen communities. New York Natural Heritage Program. Report prepared for The Nature Conservancy - Central/Western New York Chapter, Albany, NY. June 2001. 28 pp. plus appendices.
  • Rawinski, T. 1984a. Natural community description abstract - southern New England calcareous seepage swamp. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA. 6 pp.
  • Sneddon, L. A., Zaremba, R. E., and M. Adams. 2010. Vegetation classification and mapping at Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. Natural Resources Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2010/147. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 481 pp. [http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/caco/cacorpt.pdf]
  • Sperduto, D. D., W. F. Nichols, and N. Cleavitt. 2000a. Bogs and fens of New Hampshire. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, Concord, NH.
  • Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.
  • Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2014. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 2.0. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/nhesp/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]
  • Thompson, E. H., and E. R. Sorenson. 2005. Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. The Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. 456 pp.
  • Zimmerman, E. A., T. Davis, M. A. Furedi, B. Eichelberger, J. McPherson, S. Seymour, G. Podniesinski, N. Dewar, and J. Wagner, editors. 2012. Terrestrial and palustrine plant communities of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Harrisburg. [http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/Communities.aspx]