Orono Bog

It's so funny sometimes how one thing can lead to another. I just googled 'creeping snowberry' yesterday and came across a plant list for the Orono bog. I hadn't even heard of this place before, but it just so happened that my father and I were planning to be right in that area today! It was just in time too, since the bog's boardwalk will be closed for the winter in a few more days. We got to spend a couple of hours there this morning and it was really wonderful. I got to see some plants I've wanted to see for a long time, and many more I didn't know before. The trail to the boardwalk starts out in the Bangor City Forest, which of course was absolutely beautiful! 

We were very impressed by this grand old white pine!

Size comparison...

And now we are entering the bog! 

---

​Signs were posted at the start of each new habitat, pointing out some of the plants and animals to look for. I'll let them speak for themselves, since they explain everything much better than I ever could. The only fault I could find was that I could have wished for a more comprehensive list of the plants found in the surrounding areas!  ​

The first stretch of the boardwalk...

This little fellow didn't seem too concerned about our presence! 

I was so excited when I spotted the first pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea)! It turned out to be extremely common in the bog, but I had never seen it before except in pictures. 

---

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)...

I get so confused when trying to identify all the different aster species, but since flat-topped white aster (Doellingeria umbellata) is the only possible match on the Orono Bog website, I will venture to say this is it! 

---

I really enjoyed this part of the bog, especially since tamaracks are one of my favorite trees. But for some reason I didn't take many pictures here. But this was something new for me...in fact I thought it looked more like it belonged at the bottom of the ocean! Now I'm thinking it is some kind of coral fungus (Ramariopsis). 

---

The scene changed dramatically as we left the woods behind. 

​All the stunted trees reminded us of the Alaskan tundra!

Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia var. glaucophylla) was another plant I've really been wanting to see...

These pitcher plants reminded me of some kind of fish!

Knowing how rare and fragile some of these plants are, I know better than to pick them. But I'm sure they are tempting! 

Red peat moss (Sphagnum rubellum)...if you look closely you can see more pitcher plants poking through. 

I think the red bushes are blueberries...

Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)...

More beautiful scenery along the way...

---

Cotton-grass (Eriophorum)...there are 3 species listed for the bog, so I'm not sure which these are!

A "zoomed-in" picture of the stunted trees in the background...

---

If I understood it right, the water is about 6 inches below the surface right now.

Hopefully you aren't getting too tired of pictures of pitcher plants! You can still see the spent flowers on these. I'd love to see them in bloom!

Just one more!

One of my favorite scenes...I really could have spent all day out here!

---

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)...

Back into the wooded fen...

It turned out to be all I had hoped for and more, considering how late in the season it is. I would love to go back again next spring and again in summer to see some of the orchids that bloom there!