U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service March 2019 Conserving South Carolina’s At-Risk Species: www.fws.gov/charleston www.fws.gov/southeast/endangered-species-act/at-risk-species Species facing threats to their survival

Bog spicebush Range stantial scientific or commercial infor- (Lindera subcoriacea) Although the species was first described in mation indicating that listing may be war- 1983, its historic range is still poorly un- ranted. The species is currently under derstood. It is currently known to occur review. from southeastern Virginia to Florida and west to Louisiana, almost exclusively on Threats the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, but The general lack of fires in pocosin and occupies a relatively narrow ecological seepage bog habitats due to continued de- niche with spotty distribution throughout velopment of surrounding longleaf pine/ the range. In South Carolina, the species wiregrass uplands has placed Bog spice- is known to occur in Aiken, Barnwell, and bush under increased stress from compet- Richland Counties. ing shrubs and trees. Other known or perceived threats include siltation of Bog spicebush flowers/Photo credit: Will Cook Habitat streamheads from various land manage- Bog spicebush inhabits permanently moist ment activities. Impacts from Red Bay to wet, shrub-dominated seepage wet- Blight have also been documented. lands ("bogs" or "pocosins"). On the Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama, Mississip- Management/Protection Needs pi, and Louisiana, such wetlands occur on Key stewardship needs for bog spicebush level to slightly sloping terrain and have include (1) restoring fire to the communi- been termed pitcher plant bogs or quaking ties in which it occurs, using winter, fuel- bogs. Dominant plant species include reduction burns and growing season burns sphagnum moss, sedges, grasses, pitcher where appropriate, (2) protecting and/or plants, and diverse shrubs and herbs. Bog restoring the hydrologic conditions which spicebush also inhabits hillside seepage support the species, and (3) monitoring Bog spicebush fruits/Photo credit: U.S. Forest bogs and bayheads, which are shrub- extant subpopulations for responses to Service dominated wetlands on slight to moderate current land management practices. slopes. In the Sandhills region of North Description Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, References Bog spicebush is a multi-stemmed, erect, Bog spicebush occurs in streamhead po- Center for Biological Diversity - Southeast deciduous shrub, usually 1-2 m in height cosins, shrub-and-tree- dominated wet- Aquatic Species Petition, April 2010. (occasionally up to 4 m) with leaves that lands that border headwater streams are bluish-green above and pale green and draining the variously sloping hills. NatureServe. 2015. NatureServe Explor- hairy below. Flowers of the Bog spice- er: An online encyclopedia of life [web bush are small and yellow and appear in Status application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, clusters of 3-4. Fruit is a vivid-red drupe. There are currently over 100 occurrences, Arlington, Virginia. Available http:// The species is less aromatic than Common but most of them are very small popula- explorer.natureserve.org. spicebush (Lindera benzoin) but, when tions located on sites that may require (Accessed: August 30, 2016 ). crushed or bruised, the stem and leaves active management for the plants to per- have a definitive piney-lemon smell. sist. The species is clonal, and most sites Contact Leaves of Bog spicebush are also thicker have only one to five genetic individuals. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service than Common spicebush with whiter un- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was South Carolina Field Office dersides. Bog spicebush flowers in early petitioned to list the species in April 2010 843/727-4707 spring before the leaves appear. Fruits and in September 2011, issued a 90-day [email protected] mature in late summer. finding that the petition presented sub-