Bog Rosemary
Danielle Bell, Communications Chair
Winter may seem like the wrong season to go for a hike to explore the world of plants. Some may argue that a frigid Sunday in February is not meant to be walking out in the frozen landscape. But the Friends’ Winter Hike through the string bog, is one of my favorite times to botanize plants that I rarely encounter.
Despite the lack of flowers there is so much beauty in the diversity of textures and hues of dormant leaves waiting for summer’s sun, or the blades of sedges from the past season. Bog Rosemary is an easily identified plant among the sedges of the string bog. It has narrow alternate leaves that are evergreen, although in winter they appear to have a purply-red hue, a characteristic that helps it stand out against the light tan wisps of the surrounding sedges. The upper surface is leathery with margins that curl
Bog Rosemary Winter scene
downward. The underside is covered in tiny white hairs. These characteristics are common adaptations to reduce evapotranspiration, and they help make identification easy. Although its appearance may seem similar to the well-known garden herb Rosemary, this plant contains toxins in the leaves and is best left outside instead of in your favorite soup.
Even in winter you can see the promise of beautiful flowers coming in May. At the end of each stem there is a cluster of flower buds, just waiting for longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures to break open. Pale pink flowers will hang on the end of each branch waiting for bumble bees to hang upside down on the urn-shaped flowers and release their pollen with a buzz. Buzz pollination is a common feature of plants in the Heath family.
The Cedarburg Bog is home to many unique species of plants and the dormant season can be a more enjoyable time to admire them than during the summer months with mosquitos and deer flies providing their constant annoyance. The Annual Winter Hike provides the perfect time to appreciate these well adapted plants as we travel through the string bog to Long Lake.
Bog Rosemary Blooms
