Natural Communities of North Georgia
  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Flatwoods (Upland Depression Swamps)
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Fertile Cove Forests
    • Acidic Cove Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic Dome Rock Outcrops
    • Rock Outcrops, Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland Ridge & Valley
    • Cumberland Ridge & Valley Overview
    • Mesic Forests
    • Dry Calcareous Forests
    • Acidic Oak-Pine Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Calcareous (Cedar) Glades
    • Calcareous Cliffs
    • Calcareous Prairies and Barrens
    • Acidic Glades and Barrens
    • Acidic Cliffs and Outcrops
    • Flatwoods
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Impact of Rock Type on Plant Composition
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests

Cumberland Plateau/Ridge & Valley Acidic Seepage Wetlands

​Acidic Seepage wetlands form on the acidic sandstone ridgetops, in shallow swales and near streamheads, where water seeps through the sandstone into the swale.  Seepage can also flow from bedding layers of acidic shales. These communities can be forests, with shade-adapted plant assemblages often dominated by ferns, red maple, black gum and silky dogwood, or wet  meadows when subjected to fire that opens up the habitat and encourages plants adapted to greater sunlight levels.  
Indicator species: an assemblage of red maple, black gum, sweet gum, tulip poplar (often on edges of seepage), royal fern, cinnamon fern, jack-in-the-pulpit, soapwort gentian, southern wild raisin.

What's special:  Often these communities are embedded within dry, acid oak-pine-hickory forests, and the swaths of ferns and lush ground cover form a stark contrast to the drier forests they're embedded within.   Where fire is more common, wet meadow seeps can be sunny and diverse, with an array of wildflowers, including the beautiful monkey-face orchid.  These wetlands are important for amphibians.

Plants

Click on a plant name to see images. Plants listed in order by scientific name.
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Trees
Red Maple Acer rubrum
American holly Ilex opaca
Sweet gum Liquidambar styraciflua
Tulip-tree/Tulip poplar Liriodendron tulipifera
Black gum Nyssa sylvatica

Shrubs
Tag alder Alnus serrulata
Black chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa
Silky dogwood/Swamp dogwood Cornus amomum
Climbing hydrangea Decumaria barbara
Winterberry Ilex verticillata
Virginia willow Itea virginica
Mountain laurel  Kalmia latifolia
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Catawba rhododendron  Rhododendron catawbiense
Swamp dewberry Rubus hispidus
Common elderberry Sambucus canadensis
Smooth highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum
Southern wild raisin Viburnum nudum

Woody Vines
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Cross-vine Bignonia capreolata
Climbing hydrangea Decumaria barbara
Trumpet vine Campsis radicans

Ground Layer
Wildflowers
Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum
White turtlehead  Chelone glabra
Water hemlock  Cicuta maculata
Hollow-stem Joe-pye-weed  Eutrochium fistulosum 
Soapwort gentian Gentiana saponaria
Orange jewelweed  Impatiens capensis
Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis
Indian cucumber-root Medeola virginiana
Cowbane Oxypolis rigidior
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Platanthera integrilabia Monkey-face orchid
Helmet skullcap  Scutellaria integrifolia
Foamflower Tiarella wherryi
Tassel-rue  Trautvetteria caroliniensis
Primrose-leaf violet Viola primulifolia


Ferns
Southern lady fern Athyrium asplenoides
Sensitive fern/Bead fern Onoclea sensibilis
Royal fern  Osmunda spectabilis
Cinnamon fern  Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
New York fern  Parathelypteris noveboracensis
Netted chain fern Lorinseria areolata/Woodwardia areolata

M
osses
Peat moss - Sphagnum spp.

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Representative Trees, in order by scientific name

Representative Shrubs, in order by scientific name

Representative Wildflowers, in order by scientific name

Ferns in order by scientific name
Picture

​Contents of this site are based on the book The Natural Communities of Georgia, which can be purchased from the University of Georgia Press, Amazon, and other vendors.
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This site is a work in progress: comments and suggestions are welcome.  Email: ​naturalcommsga@gmail.com

  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Flatwoods (Upland Depression Swamps)
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Fertile Cove Forests
    • Acidic Cove Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic Dome Rock Outcrops
    • Rock Outcrops, Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland Ridge & Valley
    • Cumberland Ridge & Valley Overview
    • Mesic Forests
    • Dry Calcareous Forests
    • Acidic Oak-Pine Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Calcareous (Cedar) Glades
    • Calcareous Cliffs
    • Calcareous Prairies and Barrens
    • Acidic Glades and Barrens
    • Acidic Cliffs and Outcrops
    • Flatwoods
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Impact of Rock Type on Plant Composition
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests