Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Shallow Sedge - Bushy Bluestem - Yellow Trumpets - Purple-stem Aster - Southern Whitetop Seepage Meadow

Colloquial Name: Texas Post Oak Savanna Quaking Muck Bog

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community occupies wide, poorly drained belts of quaking muck soils, interspersed with pools of stagnant water in the Post Oak Savanna region of east-central Texas. Examples in good condition are herb-dominated and open in aspect. Most shrub and tree growth is confined to the bog margins, although Morella cerifera is fairly abundant throughout, except in the deepest portions of the interior. Open portions of the bog margins are dominated by sedges, grasses, and rushes. In the absence of fire, certain shrubs become much more abundant, especially Alnus serrulata and Viburnum nudum. Dominant herbaceous species in openings on bog edges include Agrostis hyemalis, Andropogon virginicus, Axonopus fissifolius, Eleocharis acicularis, Eleocharis melanocarpa, Eleocharis tuberculosa, Saccharum giganteum, Juncus dichotomus, Juncus nodatus, Panicum brachyanthum, Steinchisma hians, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Dichanthelium scoparium, Panicum virgatum, and Paspalum laeve. Wetter areas support occasional clumps of Sphagnum spp. and Drosera brevifolia, both of which tend to be absent from the interior portion of the bogs. The bog interior is dominated by the following sedges and rushes through late spring: Eleocharis melanocarpa, Eleocharis tuberculosa, Eleocharis acicularis, Carex lurida, Juncus effusus, Juncus dichotomus, Juncus nodatus, and Juncus diffusissimus. Triadenum virginicum and Ludwigia spp. may also be evident. Later in the year, Helianthus angustifolius, Doellingeria umbellata, Eupatorium perfoliatum, and Symphyotrichum dumosum var. dumosum become dominant. Andropogon glomeratus may be common in some bogs, and tall patches of Saccharum giganteum, Panicum anceps, and Panicum virgatum may also be rather abundant. Other characteristic or distinctive species of this community type are Sarracenia alata, Burmannia capitata, Eriocaulon decangulare var. decangulare, Iris virginica, Mayaca fluviatilis, Pogonia ophioglossoides, Calopogon tuberosus, Asclepias rubra, Hypericum mutilum, Utricularia cornuta, and Ludwigia alternifolia. Unusual species include Cladium mariscoides, Eriocaulon koernickianum, Rhynchospora chalarocephala, Zigadenus densus, Cinna arundinacea, Symphyotrichum puniceum var. scabricaule, and Polygala sanguinea.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: These bogs have not been comprehensively examined from a plant community standpoint; most work has dealt with the interesting floristics of these sites. Kral (1955) studied sites in Van Zandt and Freestone counties. MacRoberts and MacRoberts (1998) documented the floristics of 2 sites in Anderson County. Bridges and Orzell (1989b) briefly described some noteworthy vascular plant collections from some of these sites, as well as some comments on associated edaphic conditions. There is other literature on related sites which has not been reviewed in preparation of this description; these include Rowell (1949a, 1949b), Lodwick (1975), and Starbuck (1984). According to MacRoberts and MacRoberts (1998) the floristic overlap between bogs studied by Starbuck (1984) and Kral (1955) and their own ranges from roughly 59-66%. Thus, further work could reveal multiple community association types. Kral (1955) distinguished bog edge communities from bog interior communities; this description incorporates both currently.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available