BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Eupatorium capillifolium | Dogfennel 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Dogfennel is a common, aggressively weedy native of the southeastern
United States [2,14].  It is alternately described as an annual [2,9,16]
and a perennial [6,14].  It has several stems arising from a stout woody
caudex.  It grows in distinct colonies on favorable sites.  Dogfennel
normally reaches 4 to 5 feet (1.2-1.5 m) in height but can reach up to 9
feet (2.7 m) on fertile sites [9].  The fruit is a smooth achene [9].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte
   Therophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Dogfennel is wind pollinated [9].  Following the typical pattern of
weedy plants, dogfennel's primary mode of regeneration is probably
sexual.  Its regeneration strategy probably depends on the production of
a great many wind-dispersed seeds.


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Dogfennel grows on disturbed sites in the Southeast.  It is common on
young burns in the loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)-turkey oak (Quercus
laevis) type in Florida's Ocala National Forest [10], on recent burns in
the Okefenokee Swamp [1], on burned and cut Atlantic white-cedar
(Chamaecyparis thyoides) sites in the Great Dismal Swamp [14], and on
overgrazed sites in Louisiana [3].  Dogfennel is a frequent invader of
everglades sawgrass (Cladium sp.) communities during drought [7,13].
Other dogfennel sites include meadows, swales, old fields, pond borders,
ditches, disturbed or overgrazed pastures, and roadsides [9].  Although
apparently able to grow on a variety of soils, it is most common on dry,
sandy soils [9].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Obligate Initial Community Species

Dogfennel is intolerant of closed or highly structured communities [9].
It is undoubtedly an early seral, if not an invader, species in most
successional progressions within its range.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Dogfennel biomass peaks in the spring [14].  Its flowering period is
unusually long because shaded plants bloom earlier than those in full
sun.  A population of dogfennel near Gainsville Florida had the
following phenological sequence [3].

Phenological event                         Timing          
------------------              -----------------------------   
Flowering                       late August - early November
Fruit ripening                  early - mid November
Fruit dispersal                 late November - early December
Drying                          late November - mid January
Dormancy                        mid January - early March
Bolting                         early April - June

Related categories for Species: Eupatorium capillifolium | Dogfennel