Marsh Marshes are the wettest of Adirondack wetlands. A marsh looks like a wet meadow, grassland or prairie, and is covered by grasses, sedges, reeds and other plants. Few trees or shrubs survive in the depths of the marsh since the soil is too wet. Marshes are most common along the edges of ponds and lakes. Bogs Bogs resemble other types of wetlands, but because the flow of water is restricted here, bogs make life for plants and animals difficult.
Sphagnum moss is the dominant plant in bogs and often forms a living mat across the water of a bog.
The mat not only blocks out light and oxygen, but also withdraws precious nutrients and adds to the acidity of the water, making it difficult for decomposer organisms to function. All of this combines to inhibit not only growth, but also decay. Sphagnum moss helps create the very conditions that allow it to thrive. Since bogs are nutrient deserts, only a few plants can survive. Leatherleaf, bog laurel, cranberry, Labrador tea and a few other bog species grow on the floating sphagnum mat.