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Fragrant water lily, or American white water lily, is an aquatic plant which grows in deep-water sections of bogs and ponds. Its leaves and flowers float on the surface of the water, anchored by long flexible stems to stout roots on the bottom of the pond. Native to eastern North America, this plant is considered an invasive alien in the west.
<-- Nymphaea odorata or fragrant water lily (click thumbnail image to view photograph.)
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The blue flag iris is a common plant in wet areas including bogs. In spring it bears a large showy blue-violet flower on a 2-3 foot stem sheathed with long narrow leaves.
<-- Iris versicolor or blue flag (click thumbnail image to view photograph.)
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The buckbean or bogbean is not actually a bean, but a member of the gentian family. It has a distinctive three-part leaf and white flowers grouped on a stalk. Hairs on the flower petals make them look fuzzy.
<-- Menyanthes trifoliata or buckbean (click thumbnail image to view photograph.)
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Cotton grass or bog-cotton is actually a sedge. Its mature flowers form dense white tufts of cottony material that has been used for lamp wicks, stuffing pillows, and making paper and cloth.
<-- Eriophorum virginicum flower tuft (click thumbnail image to view photograph.)
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Like many bog plants, cotton grass is circumpolar -- it grows in northern regions around the world -- and many ancient peoples have made use of its fibers. In modern Finland, long-buried bog-cotton fibers are recovered from mined peat and made into a warm, light fiber called Eriotex, used in the manufacture of clothing.
<-- Meadow of Eriophorum virginicum or cotton grass (click thumbnail image to view photograph.)
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The "Virtual Bog Walk" is made possible by a Lake Superior Coastal Wetland Conservation Education Grant from the Michigan Coastal Management Program, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Photographs ©Scot Stewart and ©MooseWood Nature Center
MooseWood Nature Center, P.O. Box 773, Marquette, MI 49855
info@moosewood.org (906) 228-6250
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