Natural Communities of North Georgia
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  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Flatwoods (Upland Depression Swamps)
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Fertile Cove Forests
    • Acidic Cove Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic Dome Rock Outcrops
    • Rock Outcrops, Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland Ridge & Valley
    • Cumberland Ridge & Valley Overview
    • Mesic Forests
    • Dry Calcareous Forests
    • Acidic Oak-Pine Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Calcareous (Cedar) Glades
    • Calcareous Cliffs
    • Calcareous Prairies and Barrens
    • Acidic Glades and Barrens
    • Acidic Cliffs and Outcrops
    • Flatwoods
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Impact of Rock Type on Plant Composition
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests

Mountain Bogs 

Mountain Bogs are open, herb and graminoid-dominated wetlands on flat, poorly drained locations with deep, peaty soils and scattered hummocks of sphagnum moss. These bogs are very rare - jewels of the mountains.  In most bogs, encroaching great laurel rhododendron, tag alder, mountain laurel, and other shrubs shade out the herbaceous layer, but some special bogs have areas that are dominated by rare and beautiful forbs, grasses and sedges.

Indicator species:  sphagnum moss, Carolina bog laurel, purple pitcher plant, carex crinita, swamp pink.

What's special: Mountain bogs are very rare in Georgia and are true natural community gems, with many rare and showy plants and rare animals, such as bog turtles.
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Related communities:
  if water moves more rapidly and less sphagnum is present, mountain bogs will grade into seepage wetlands.  A "seepage bog" straddles the two natural communities. ​
​Plants
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Click on a plant name to see images.   The plants are listed in order by scientific name.
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Trees
Red maple  Acer rubrum
Sweet gum Liquidambar styraciflua
Tulip-tree Liriodendron tulipifera
Black gum  Nyssa sylvatica
Pitch pine  Pinus rigida
White pine Pinus strobus
Rock chestnut oak  Quercus montana


Shrubs
Tag alder Alnus serrulata
Black chokeberry  Aronia melanocarpa
Mountain sweet-pepperbush  Clethra acuminata
Bear huckleberry  Gaylussacia ursina
Winterberry Ilex verticillata
Carolina bog myrtle/Sheep's laurel Kalmia carolina
Mountain laurel  Kalmia latifolia
Northern maleberry  Lyonia ligustrina
Sweet azalea  Rhododendron arborescens
Great laurel  Rhododendron maximum
Allegheny blackberry Rubus allegheniensis
Common elderberry  Sambucus canadensis
Smooth highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum
Hillside blueberry  Vaccinium pallidum
Northern wild raisin  Viburnum cassinoides
Yellowroot Xanthorhiza simplicissima (a sub-shrub)


Ground layer
Wildflowers
Fly poison  Amianthium muscitoxicum
White turtlehead  Chelone glabra
Pink lady's-slipper  Cypripedium acaule
Swamp pink Helonias bullata
Orange jewelweed  Impatiens capensis
Cardinal flower  Lobelia cardinalis
Indian cucumber-root  Medeola virginiana
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Monkey-flower Mimulus ringens
Small green wood orchid Platanthera clavellata
Green pitcherplant Sarracenia oreophila
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Purple pitcherplant Sarracenia purpurea

Roughleaf goldenrod Solidago patula 
Swamp aster Symphyotrichum puniceum
Painted trillium Trillium undulatum

Graminoids
Sedge Carex crinita
Common rush  
Juncus effusus
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Ferns
Cinnamon fern Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
Netted chain fern Lorinseria areolata
Royal fern  Osmunda spectabilis
New York fern  Thelypteris noveboracensis

Mosses
Peat mosses  Sphagnum spp.
​Representative Trees (on edges)
Pitch pine (Pinus rigida) needles (in bundles of 3) by Richard and Teresa Ware
Pitch pine (Pinus rigida) bark (with diagnoistic epicormic needles) by Richard and Teresa Ware
Representative Shrubs
Tag alder (Alnus serrulata), female by J. Pakchar
Tag alder (Alnus serrulata) male by J. Pakchar
Black chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa) in flower by Richard and Teresa Ware
Mountain sweet pepper bush (Clethra acuminata) by Richard and Teresa Ware
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) L. Edwards
Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) by Richard and Teresa Ware
Great rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) by Richard and Teresa Ware
Common elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) by J. Pakchar
Hillside blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum) by J. Pakchar
Northern Wild Raisin (Viburnum cassinoides) L. Edwards
Yellowroot Xanthorhiza simplicissima (a sub-shrub) in bloom. J.Pakchar

Representative Ground Layer Plants

Fly poison (Amianthium muscitoxicum) J. Pakchar
White turtlehead (Chelone glabra) by H&C Nourse
Pink lady's-slipper (Cypripedium acaule) by R&T Ware
Swamp pink (Helonias bullata) by H&C Nourse
Orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) by J. Pakchar
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) by J. Pakchar
Monkeyflower (Mimuls ringens) by J. Pakchar
Green pitcherplant (Sarracenia oreophila) by H&C Nourse
Purple pitcherplant (Sarracenia purpurea) in flower by J. Pakchar
Purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea) showing the pitchers by J. Pakchar
Painted trillium by H&C Nourse
Netted chain fern (Lorinseria areolata). Old fertile front lower right. by J. Pakchar
Cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) with fertile fronds by J. Pakchar
Royal fern (Osmunda spectabilis) by J. Pakchar
Sphagnum moss by J. Pakchar
Picture

​Contents of this site are based on the book The Natural Communities of Georgia, which can be purchased from the University of Georgia Press, Amazon, and other vendors.
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This site is a work in progress: comments and suggestions are welcome.  Email: ​naturalcommsga@gmail.com

  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Flatwoods (Upland Depression Swamps)
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Fertile Cove Forests
    • Acidic Cove Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic Dome Rock Outcrops
    • Rock Outcrops, Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland Ridge & Valley
    • Cumberland Ridge & Valley Overview
    • Mesic Forests
    • Dry Calcareous Forests
    • Acidic Oak-Pine Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Calcareous (Cedar) Glades
    • Calcareous Cliffs
    • Calcareous Prairies and Barrens
    • Acidic Glades and Barrens
    • Acidic Cliffs and Outcrops
    • Flatwoods
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Impact of Rock Type on Plant Composition
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests