Print Report

CEGL005092 Chamaedaphne calyculata / Carex oligosperma - Eriophorum virginicum Acidic Peatland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Leatherleaf / Few-seed Sedge - Tawny Cottongrass Acidic Peatland

Colloquial Name: Midwest Leatherleaf Shrub Kettle Bog

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This low-shrub bog or poor fen type is found in kettle lake areas in the central and upper midwestern United States. Stands are found in kettle lakes associated with kettle-kame-end moraine topography. Soils are saturated peat. The vegetation is dominated by low shrubs, at least 25% cover, and a continuous covering of sphagnum moss. Herbaceous cover is variable, and tree cover is less than 10%. The dominant shrub is Chamaedaphne calyculata, with associates of Andromeda polifolia, Betula pumila, Gaylussacia baccata, Ilex mucronata, Vaccinium oxycoccos, and Vaccinium macrocarpon. Characteristic herbaceous species include Calopogon tuberosus, Carex oligosperma, Drosera intermedia, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum virginicum, Pogonia ophioglossoides, Rhynchospora alba, Sarracenia purpurea, and Woodwardia virginica. In stands in Ohio, Carex atlantica, Carex canescens, Carex echinata, Dulichium arundinaceum, Juncus canadensis, and Triadenum virginicum may be found. Scattered trees may be present, including Larix laricina and Picea mariana.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Type may be very similar to the more northern leatherleaf poor fen type ~Chamaedaphne calyculata / Carex oligosperma / Sphagnum spp. Poor Fen (CEGL005277)$$. In Ontario this type represents glaciated kettle bogs in extreme southern Ontario. Schneider and Cochrane (1997) summarize current stand conditions in Ohio. Examples of the "Sphagnum bog" type in Ohio are very small (<30 cm to 3 m wide according to Anderson (1996): thus they are probably best combined with the adjacent low-shrub zone dominated by Chamaedaphne calyculata. Historically, these sphagnum mats with or without leatherleaf, may have been far more common in Ohio, often referred to as "cranberry marshes" (Anderson 1996). The open graminoid version of this type is tracked as the Midwestern Graminoid Poor Fen, ~Carex lasiocarpa - Carex oligosperma - (Lysimachia terrestris) / Sphagnum spp. Acidic Peatland (CEGL005279)$$.

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

Floristics: The vegetation is dominated by low shrubs, at least 25% cover, and a continuous covering of sphagnum moss. Herbaceous cover is variable, and tree cover is less than 10%. The dominant shrub is Chamaedaphne calyculata, with associates of Andromeda polifolia, Betula pumila, Gaylussacia baccata, Ilex mucronata (= Nemopanthus mucronatus), Vaccinium oxycoccos, and Vaccinium macrocarpon. Characteristic herbaceous species include Calopogon tuberosus (= Calopogon pulchellus), Carex oligosperma, Drosera intermedia, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum virginicum, Pogonia ophioglossoides, Rhynchospora alba, Sarracenia purpurea, and Woodwardia virginica. In stands in Ohio, Carex atlantica, Carex canescens, Carex echinata, Dulichium arundinaceum, Juncus canadensis, and Triadenum virginicum may be found. Scattered trees may be present, including Larix laricina and Picea mariana (Curtis 1959, White and Madany 1978, Homoya et al. 1985, Chapman et al. 1989, Anderson 1996, Bakowsky and Lee 1996).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  Stands are found in kettle lakes associated with kettle-kame-end moraine topography. In Michigan it is also reported on pitted outwash (Chapman et al. 1989). Soils are saturated peat, with acidity somewhat reduced by slightly alkaline lakewater and groundwater influences, suggestive of a "poor fen" hydrology (Curtis 1959, White and Madany 1978, Homoya et al. 1985, Chapman et al. 1989, Anderson 1996).
Geographic Range: This low-shrub bog or poor fen type is found in kettle lakes in the midwestern United States, ranging from southern parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario to northern parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Range extent is approximately 200,000 square km.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  IL, IN, MI, OH, ON, QC?, WI


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4

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.1 Leatherleaf - Small Cranberry - Few-seed Sedge Bog & Acidic Fen Macrogroup M876 2.C.2.Na.1
Group 2.C.2.Na.1.a Leatherleaf - Few-seed Sedge - Bog Laurel Boreal Bog & Acidic Fen Group G748 2.C.2.Na.1.a
Alliance A4399 Leatherleaf / Few-seed Sedge Bog Alliance A4399 2.C.2.Na.1.a
Association CEGL005092 Leatherleaf / Few-seed Sedge - Tawny Cottongrass Acidic Peatland CEGL005092 2.C.2.Na.1.a
Concept Lineage: Merged with the existing CEGL005092.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Chamaedaphne calyculata / Carex oligosperma - Eriophorum virginicum Dwarf-shrubland (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Open Bog Relict Subtype]
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: D. Faber-Langendoen

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 12-08-98
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  • Bakowsky, W. D., and H. T. Lee. 1996. Vegetation communities of southern Ontario (draft). Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre and Southern Region STTU, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Ontario. 87 pp.
  • CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
  • Chapman, K. A., D. A. Albert, and G. A. Reese. 1989. Draft descriptions of Michigan''s natural community types. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Lansing, MI. 35 pp.
  • Curtis, J. T. 1959. The vegetation of Wisconsin: An ordination of plant communities. Reprinted in 1987. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 657 pp.
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
  • Homoya, M. A., D. B. Abrell, J. R. Aldrich, and T. W. Post. 1985. The natural regions of Indiana. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 94:245-268.
  • Kost, M. A., D. A. Albert, J. G. Cohen, B. S. Slaughter, R. K. Schillo, C. R. Weber, and K. A. Chapman. 2007. Natural communities of Michigan: Classification and description. Report No. 2007-21, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing. 314 pp. [http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/reports/2007-21_Natural_Communites_of_Michigan_Classification_and_Description.pdf]
  • Lee, H., W. Bakowsky, J. Riley, J. Bowles, M. Puddister, P. Uhlig, and S. McMurray. 1998. Ecological land classification for southern Ontario: First approximation and its application. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southcentral Science Section, Science Development and Transfer Branch. SCSS Field Guide FG-02.
  • Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
  • ONHD [Ohio Natural Heritage Database]. No date. Vegetation classification of Ohio and unpublished data. Ohio Natural Heritage Database, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus.
  • ONHIC [Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Unpublished data. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada.
  • Schneider, G. J., and K. E. Cochrane. 1997. Plant community survey of the Lake Erie drainage. A final report to The Nature Conservancy, Great Lakes Program (Chicago, IL) and The Ohio Chapter (Columbus, OH), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Great Lakes National Program Office (Chicago, IL). 158 pp.
  • WDNR [Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources]. 2015. The ecological landscapes of Wisconsin: An assessment of ecological resources and a guide to planning sustainable management. PUB-SS-1131 2015. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison. [http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/landscapes/Book.html]
  • White, J., and M. Madany. 1978. Classification of natural communities in Illinois. Pages 311-405 in: Natural Areas Inventory technical report: Volume I, survey methods and results. Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, Urbana, IL.