Natural Communities of Georgia
  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands and Edges
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Thickets, Marshes, Seepage
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Mesic (Cove) Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Montane Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic domes
    • Acidic lower elevation cliffs and outcops
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland /Ridge & Valley
    • Overview of Cumberland /Ridge & Valley
    • 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
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Common Rocks of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge

Cumberland/Ridge & Valley Bottomlands, Floodplains, and Riparian Zones

Picture
This natural community includes:
1)  Bottomland Forest: flat, low-lying areas that are not directly next to the river channel.  They are close to the water table and occasionally to often flooded. 
2)  Riparian zone - the strip  next to the river. It is flooded often with the  strongest flood waters.  There is more sun, with many shrubs and non-woody plants, and a few trees. This includes a special "stream scour" community, which forms chute-like areas in sandstone, as shown at right.
Indicator species: river birch, box elder, green ash, and sycamore.
What's special:   lush vegetation and a variety of habitats that support a large diversity of animals.
Related communities: Hi
gh areas in the bottomland forest, and those farthest from the flood zone grade into Mesic Forest.  Often there are Seepage Wetland Natural Communities embedded in the bottomlands.  Beaver ponds are a part of the river channel, and are often included within this community. 
 Photo by Hugh & Carol Nourse.
 

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​​Click on a plant name to see images. Plant are listed in alphabetical order by scientific name. 
 
Trees
Box elder Acer negundo
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Red maple Acer rubrum
River birch Betula nigra
Southern hackberry/Sugarberry Celtis laevigata
Musclewood/American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana
Green ash  Fraxinus pennsylvanica
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Common silverbell Halesia tetraptera
Sweet gum Liquidambar styraciflua
Tulip-tree Liriodendron tulipifera
Sycamore Platanus occidentalis
Overcup oak Quercus lyrata
Swamp chestnut oak  Quercus michauxii
Water oak Quercus nigra
Cherrybark oak Quercus pagoda
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Willow oak Quercus phellos
Shumard oak Quercus shumardii
Black willow Salix nigra
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Shrubs and Woody Vines
Shrubs
Tag alder Alnus serrulata
Beautyberry Callicarpa americana
Sweet shrub Calycanthus floridus
Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis
Swamp dogwood/Silky dogwood Cornus amomum
Stiff dogwood Cornus stricta
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Strawberry bush Euonymus americanus
Witch-hazel Hamamelis virginia

Possum haw Ilex decidua
Virginia sweetspire/willow Itea virginica
Hairy northern spicebush  Lindera benzoin
Swamp azalea  Rhododendron viscosum
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Elderberry Sambucus canadensis
Yellowroot Xanthorhiza simplicissima

Woody Vines
Crossvine  Bignonia capreolata
Trumpet vine Campsis radicans
Climbing hydrangea  Decumaria barbara
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans
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Ground Layer
Wildflowers 
Common ground nut Apios americana
Green dragon  Arisaema dracontium
Jack-in-the-pulpit  Arisaema triphyllum ​
False nettle  Boehmeria cylindrica
Mist flower Conoclinium coelistinum
Dimpled trout lily Erythronium umbilicatum
Hollow-stem Joe-pye-weed Eutrochium fistulatum
Shuttleworth's ginger Hexastylis shuttleworthii
Orange jewelweed Impatiens capensis
Cardinal flower  Lobelia cardinalis
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Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
Climbing hempweed Mikania scandens
Monkey flower Mimulus ringens
Green arrow arum  Peltandra virginica
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May-apple Podophyllum peltatum
​Rustweed  Polypremum procumbens
Cutleaf coneflower   Rudbeckia laciniata
Broadleaf arrowhead Saggitaria latifolia
Lizard's-tail  Saururus cernuus
Virginia spiraea Spiraea virginiana

Common wingstem Verbesina alternifolia
Atamasco lily  Zephyranthes atamasca

Graminoids
Bushy bluestem Andropogon glomeratus
River cane  Arundinaria gigantea
Shallow sedge Carex lurida
River oats Chasmanthium latifolium
Common rush Juncus effusis


Ferns
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Sensitive fern  Onoclea sensibilis 
Royal fern  Osmunda spectabilis
Cinnamon fern  Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
Netted chain fern  Woodwardia areolata

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Overcup Oak
Tulip-tree flower and leaves by R&T Ware
Tulip tree bark (a straight tree, with sharply angled branches) by R&T Ware
Bitternut hickory leaf (many leaflets) by R&T Ware
Bitternut hickory nut by R&T Ware
Silverbell bark (twigs often have stripes, too) by R&T Ware
Elderberry
Silverbell flowers by R&T Ware



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Mountain laurel
Strawberry bush (in fruit)
Sweet shrub
Dog hobble
Swamp Dogwood
Buttonbush
Tag alder
Spicebush in fruit by R&T Ware
Spicebush flower by R&T Ware
Witch-hazel in flower by R&T Ware
Yellowroot




​Ground layer (in order by color)

Orange jewelweed
Yellowroot
Cardinal flower
Bloodroot
Devil's bit
Atamasco lily by H&C Nourse
Foam flower (and New York fern)
Great blue lobelia photo L. Edwards
Monkey flower
Mist flower
River Cane
Trout lily
Shuttleworth's ginger
Ground nut (with bean pod)
May-apple
White avens (basal leaves)
Sedge
Cinnamon fern (with fertile fronds)
Bush bluestem
Shallow sedge
Common rush
River Oats
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 for useful information you'd like to see included are welcome.  Email: naturalcommsga@gmail.com

  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands and Edges
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Thickets, Marshes, Seepage
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Mesic (Cove) Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Montane Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic domes
    • Acidic lower elevation cliffs and outcops
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland /Ridge & Valley
    • Overview of Cumberland /Ridge & Valley
    • 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
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Common Rocks of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge