Shrub BogsElan Simon Parsons

Terms to know• Shrubby

Woody plants, low height

• PeatCollected organic soilCharacteristic of wetlands

FNAI

Shrub Bog:

• Usually formed from wetlands experiencing disturbance

• Synonyms: titi swamp, scrub-shrub, shrub swamp, bay

• Dense, low-growing, shrubby understory on mucky soil, with or without an unclosed canopy of pines or bay trees, covered by a foot or less of standing water. Commonly dominated by titi or black titi in north Florida• If present, sparse herb

layer• Found on swamp borders,

other poorly-drained areas, “bays”

FWC

Distribution• North Carolina to Okefenokee

Swamp (GA-FL) “Pocosins”

• West to Mississippi; throughout Florida ~1/2 conservation/management

lands, 36% private

• Exemplary Sites:Apalachicola National Forest(Wakulla)Aucilla Wildlife Management Area

(Jefferson/Taylor)Bradwell Bay Wilderness Area (Wakulla)Pinhook Swamp (Baker/Columbia)

FWC

Resources and Conditions• Standing water (<1 ft)

• Soils mucky, organic with sand or loamy sand underneath Soil series: Rutledge, Donovan, Surrency, Lynn Haven depressional

• Cover found largely in 1-5m shrubs, potential canopy of pines (pond, slash, loblolly)

Characteristic Vegetation

• Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora)

• Black titi (Cliftonia monophylla)

• Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida)

• Large gallberry (Ilex coriacea)

• Gallberry (Ilex glabra)

• Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera)

• Sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)

• Laurel greenbrier (Smilax laurifolia)

• Sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.)

• May include:

red chokeberry (Photinia pyrifolia)Virginia willow (Itea virginica)swamp doghobble (Leucothoe racemosa)myrtle dahoon (Ilex cassine var. myrtifolia)pond pine (Pinus serotina)slash pine (Pinus elliottii)loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus) sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana)pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens)tenangle pipewart (Eriocaulon decangulare)pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.)

Herbarium.duke.edu

Carolinanature.com

Luirig.altervista.org Laspilitas.com

Rare Vegetation• Primrose-flowered butterwort (Pinguicula primuliflora)

• Panhandle lily (Lilium iridollae)

• Hummingbird flower (Macranthera flammea)

• White-top pitcherplant (Sarracenia leucophylla)

• Dwitch-alder (Fothergilla gardenii)

• Bog spicebush (Lindera subcoriacea)

• Chapman’s rhododendron (Rhododendron chapmanii) In titi-dominated shrub bogs in central Florida

Wildlife• Florida bog frog (Rana okaloosae)

• Pine barrens treefrog (Hyla andersonii)

• Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus)

• Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi)

• Little blue heron (Egretta caerulea)

• Snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus)

• Least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)

• Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi)

• Spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata)

• Mud sunfish (Acantharchus pomotis)

Processes• Fire

Burns during drought 10-20 years Without, may creep into wet prairies and wet flatwoods Apalachicola National Forest

Status•G4SecureMay be rare in certain areas

•S3Rare and local, or restricted range, or vulnerable to extinction

Management Considerations• Logging, planting of pine can favor spread

• Fire during growing season can protect nearby wet flatwoods, wet prairies

• Threats to shrub bogs not easily identified Range highly increased from historic precedent

Associated Communities

Compared to:

Baygall Lacks closed canopy of bay trees

Wet flatwoods Few to no slash/longleaf pines, no saw palmetto, has peat layer

Basin, dome, floodplain swamps No canopy of hydrophytic (water-loving) trees like pond cypress

Wet prairie or seepage slope Not dominated by grassy species

Ask Questions Here!

Sources• Florida Natural Areas Inventory. 2010. http://

fnai.org/naturalcommguide.cfm.

• Shrub Swamp. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. http://myfwc.com/media/134697/legacy_shrub_swamp.pdf.