Cumberland/Ridge & Valley Bottomlands, Floodplains, and Riparian Zones
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: High 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.
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: High 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 many detailed images from comprehensive regional websites. Plant names are in alphabetical order by scientific name.
Trees Box elder Acer negundo Red maple Acer rubrum River birch Betula nigra Southern hackberry/Sugarberry Celtis laevigata Musclewood/American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica 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 Willow oak Quercus phellos Shumard oak Quercus shumardii Black willow Salix nigra 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 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 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 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/Harper's ginger Hexastylis shuttleworthii Orange jewelweed Impatiens capensis Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica Climbing hempweed Mikania scandens Monkey flower Mimulus ringens Green arrow arum Peltandra virginica 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 Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis Royal fern Osmunda spectabilis Cinnamon fern Osmundastrum cinnamomeum Netted chain fern Woodwardia areolata |
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