Part I: Cedar Bog
About Cedar Bog: Contrary to the name, Cedar Bog is not a bog but actually a fen. The main difference is how water exits each wetland type. The main way water can leave a bog is through evaporation whereas a fen has small ground water fed streams running through them. Both wetland types will have varying habitat types based on the hydrology alone, fens are more alkaline where bogs are more acidic.
Cedar Bog has some unique geology that was created by the glaciers that occurred in Ohio during the last ice age. According to the interpretative material at Cedar Bog, the glaciers movement left the area known today as Cedar Bog at the bottom of a valley. There is an aquifer below the area that releases its cold ground water into the low point in the valley, Cedar Bog.
Swamp Forest Community: The forest is full of dense lush cover that is comprised of multiple layers including large trees, unique shrubs, and interesting ground cover.
- Overstory Tree Layer:
- Northern White Cedar, Thuja occidentalis
- Black Ash, Fraxinus nigra
- Tulip Tree, Liriodendron tulipifera
- American Basswood, Tilia americana
- Alternate Leaved Dogwood, Cornus alternifolia
- Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis
- Chinkapin Oak, Quercus muehlenbergii
- Shrub Layer:
- Northern Prickly-ash, Zanthoxylum americanum
- Spicebush, Lindera benzoin
- Common Winterberry, Ilex verticillata
- Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius
- Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis
- Ground Cover Layer:
- Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus
- Spikenard, Aralia racemosa
- Cinnamon Fern, Osmunda cinnamomea
- Honewort, Cryptotaenia canadensis
- Snakeroot, Sanicula gregaria
- Meadow Rue, Thalictrum dioicum
Individual Assignment: My assignment was “poisonous plants” so I documented poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) and poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix), which are shown in the photos below.
Poison hemlock identification and fact: The easiest way to identify poison hemlock is from the smooth, purple speckled stem. According to PennState Extension, the most poisonous part of the plant is the mature seeds, however every part of the plant is poisonous. Symptoms of severe poisoning are muscle paralysis and suffocation.
Source: https://extension.psu.edu/poison-hemlock-facts-about-this-early-season-weed
Poison sumac identification and fact: Poison sumac is pretty rare in Ohio, it usually grows in fens, open wooded swamps, or other wetland areas. It can appear as either a small tree or shrub that has compound leaves that contains 7-13 leaflets with entire margins, sometimes the central stem is red. The fruit it produces are white. Poison sumac is way more poisonous than poison ivy.
Sources:
- https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/poison-sumac#:~:text=Identification,leaf%20stem%20may%20be%20reddish.
- https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/shrub/poison-sumac
Poison sumac
FQAI Conservative Plants:
- Showy Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium reginae, CC# 10
- Shrubby Cinquefoil, Potentilla fruticosa, CC# 10
- Swamp Birch, Betula pumila, CC# 10
- Round-leaved Sundew, Drosera rotundifolia, CC# 7
We saw two different ash species, green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and black ash (Fraxinus nigra). The green ash is much more common than the black ash, from the photos shown below they can be distinguished by the presence or absence of leaflet stalks. The green ash has them while the black ash is sessile (absent leaflet stalks).
Part II: Battelle Darby Metro Park
Mesic Forest Community: The forest feels tall when you enter, it is comprised of more common species than Cedar Bog, however, it has some hidden gems within.
- Overstory Tree Layer:
- Red Elm, Ulmus rubra
- Chinkapin Oak, Quercus muehlenbergii
- Blue Ash, Fraxinus quadrangulata
- Green Ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanica
- American Basswood, Tilia americana
- Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis
- Sugar Maple, Acer saccharum
- Ohio Buckeye, Aesculus glabra
- Bitternut Hickory, Carya cordiformis
- Shagbark Hickory, Carya ovata
- Shrub Layer:
- Nannyberry, Viburnum lentago
- Pawpaw, Asimina triloba
- Ground Cover Layer
- False Solomon’s Seal, Maianthemum racemosum
- Snakeroot, Sanicula gregaria
- Honewort, Cryptotaenia canadensis
- Bedstraw spp., Galium spp.
- Thimbleweed, Anemone virginiana
- Ramp, Allium tricoccum
- Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense
- Wood Poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum
- May Apple, Podophyllum peltatum
Limestone-loving Plants:
- Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana
- Blue Ash, Fraxinus quadrangulata
- Hop-hornbeam, Ostrya virginiana
- Chinkapin Oak, Quercus muehlenbergii
- Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis
