Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Eubotrys racemosus
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| Swamp doghobble. Wikimedia Commons image by Fritzflohrreynolds. |
Introductory
SPECIES: Eubotrys racemosus
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Eubotrys racemosus. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/eubrac/all.html [].
Revisions: On 6 July 2018, the scientific and common names of this species were changed
from: Eubotrys racemosa, deciduous swamp fetterbush
to: Eubotrys racemosus, swamp doghobble.
Images were also added.
ABBREVIATION :
EUBRAC
SYNONYMS :
Eubotrys racemosa (L.) Nutt. [22]
SCS PLANT CODE :
EUEL
COMMON NAMES :
swamp doghobble
deciduous swamp fetterbush
deciduous fetterbush
dog hobble
fetterbush
pepper-bush
swamp fetterbush
sweet-bells
white-osier
TAXONOMY :
The scientific name for swamp doghobble is Eubotrys racemosus (L.) Nutt. [22].
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Eubotrys racemosus
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Swamp doghobble is widely distributed throughout the Coastal Plain of the
southeastern United States from eastern Massachusetts to southern
Florida and west through the Gulf States to southeastern Texas [10,14].
 |
| Distribution of swamp doghobble. Map courtesy of USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database.
National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC [2018, July 6] [18]. |
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
STATES :
AL CT DE FL GA LA MD MA MS NJ
NY NC PA RI SC TN TX VA
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K090 Live oak - sea oats
K091 Cypress savanna
K100 Oak - hickory
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K112 Southern mixed forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
K114 Pocosin
SAF COVER TYPES :
63 Cottonwood
70 Longleaf pine
75 Shortleaf pine
76 Shortleaf pine - oak
79 Virginia pine
80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
81 Loblolly pine
82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
84 Slash pine
87 Sweetgum - yellow-poplar
88 Live oak
89 Willow oak - water oak - diamondleaf oak
93 Sugarberry - American elm - green ash
96 Overcup oak - water hickory
97 Atlantic white cedar
98 Pond pine
100 Pondcypress
101 Baldcypress
102 Baldcypress - tupelo
103 Water tupelo - swamp tupelo
104 Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Eubotrys racemosus
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Swamp doghobble is listed as a medium choice browse to white-tailed deer in
the Longleaf Pine Belt of Alabama [9]. The leaves of swamp doghobble are
poisonous to livestock [19,20].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Eubotrys racemosus
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Swamp doghobble is a small to large, widely branched, deciduous shrub [7,10].
It is prostrate to erect in form, reaching heights between 3 to 12 feet
(1.0 - 3.5 m). The leaves are short, thin, and smooth with the smaller
leaves occurring on the twig among the larger leaves. The short,
tubular flowers are borne in clusters at the end of the stems. The
fruit is a five-part capsule that persists over the winter [14,20].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Swamp doghobble reproduces vegetatively by sprouting from adventitious buds
on the roots following disturbance [21]. It also regenerates sexually,
although the details have not been described.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Swamp doghobble grows on a variety of sites in the coastal plains of the
southeastern United States but is restricted to climates with mild
winters and long, hot, humid summers. It grows best in shrub-tree bogs,
cypress (Taxodium spp.)-gum (Nyssa spp.) depressions, along marshy
streambanks, and forest edges [2,15]. It is an important shrub species
in pocosins [1,11].
Common overstory associates include swamp blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica var.
biflora), loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus), sweetbay (Persea
borbonia), red maple (Acer rubrum), titi (Cyrilla racemiflora), and
southern white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides). Understory associates
include hurrahbush (Lyonia lucida), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), and laurelleaf greenbrier (Smilax
laurifolia) [1,3,4,5].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Swamp doghobble is an early- to mid-seral species that is intolerant to shade
and grows best in full sunlight [3,15]. In a southern white cedar
forest in southeastern North Carolina, swamp doghobble was present in the
intial stages after disturbance, gradually reduced in the middle-age
forest, and disappeared in the mature forest [3].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Swamp doghobble begins extensive growth in early March and peaks in growth in
early summer [17]. It flowers between April and June [20].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Eubotrys racemosus
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Fire does not usually invade the wetlands and lower slopes of the
floodplain because the soil and duff layers are usually very damp
[11,21]. Shallow burns favor swamp doghobble because of its ability to
sprout quickly after aboveground portions of the plant are killed
[1,4].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Eubotrys racemosus
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire typically top-kills aboveground portions of swamp doghobble [4].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Swamp doghobble will sprout from adventitious buds on the root following fire
[4].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Eubotrys racemosus
REFERENCES :
1. Ash, A. N.; McDonald, C. B.; Kane, E. S.; Pories, C. A. 1983. Natural
and modified pocosins: literature synthesis and management options.
FWS/OBS-83/04. Washington, DC: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division
of Biological Sciences. 156 p. [16178]
2. Barbour, Michael G.; Billings, William Dwight, eds. 1988. North American
terrestrial vegetation. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
434 p. [13876]
3. Buell, Murray F.; Cain, Robert L. 1943. The successional role of
southern white cedar, Chamaecyparis thyoides, in southeastern North
Carolina. Ecology. 24(1): 85-93. [14091]
4. Cypert, Eugene. 1961. The effects of fires in the Okefenokee Swamp in
1954 and 1955. American Midland Naturalist. 66(2): 485-503. [11018]
5. Duever, Michael J.; Riopelle, Lawrence A. 1983. Successional sequences
and rates on tree islands in the Okefenokee Swamp. American Midland
Naturalist. 110(1): 186-191. [14590]
6. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
7. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections
supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p.
(Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny
Series; vol. 2). [14935]
8. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
9. Goodrum, Phil D.; Reid, Vincent H. 1958. Deer browsing in the longleaf
pine belt. In: Proceedings, 58th annual meeting of the Society of American
Foresters; 1958 September 28-October 2; Salt Lake City, UT. Washington, DC:
Society of American Foresters: 139-143. [17023]
10. Godfrey, Robert K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern
Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Athens, GA: The University of
Georgia Press. 734 p. [10239]
11. Gresham, Charles A. 1989. A literature review of effects of developing
pocosins. In: Hook, Donal D.; Lea, Russ, eds. Proceedings of the
symposium: The forested wetlands of the Southern United States; 1988
July 12-14; Orlando, FL. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-50. Asheville, NC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest
Experiment Station: 44-50. [9228]
12. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
13. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession
following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall
Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council
fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No.
14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]
14. Magee, Dennis W. 1981. Freshwater wetlands: A guide to common indicator
plants of the Northeast. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
245 p. [14824]
15. Ogden, J. Gordon, III. 1962. Forest history of Martha's Vineyard,
Massachusetts. I. Modern and pre-colonial forests. American Midland
Naturalist. 66(2): 417-430. [10118]
16. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
17. Schlesinger, William H. 1978. On the relative dominance of shrubs in
Okefenokee Swamp. American Naturalist. 112(987): 949-954. [15360]
18. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2018.
PLANTS Database, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources
Conservation Service (Producer). Available: https://plants.usda.gov/.
[34262]
19. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States,
their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]
20. Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Southwest.
Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1104 p. [7707]
21. Wells, B. W.; Whitford, L. A. 1976. History of stream-head swamp
forests, pocosins, and savannahs in the Southeast. Journal of the Elisha
Mitchell Science Society. 92: 148-150. [15038]
22. Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 2014. Flora of North America
north of Mexico, [Online]. Flora of North America Association (Producer).
Available: http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=1. [36990]
FEIS Home Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/eubrac/all.html
