Natural Communities of North Georgia
  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Piedmont Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • PIedmont Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Piedmont Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • PIedmont Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Piedmont Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Piedmont Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Piedmont Glades and Barrens
    • 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
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Impact of Rock Type on Plant Composition

Cumberland Plateau/Valley and Ridge Flatwoods

Flatwoods (or upland depression swamps) are forested wetlands that occur within a few miles of the Conasawuga, Coosawattee, Oostanaula and Coosa Rivers on calcium-rich gently rolling to flat terrain.  In winter and spring, when rainfall is high, the soils swell to form an impermeable surface that ponds water.  Mesic to hydric oaks usually dominate, and many calcium-loving species grow in the shrub and herb layers.  In some of the wetter sites, buttressed trees impart a swamp-like, Coastal Plain feel.  These habitats support many rare plants, including narrowly endemic species, species with prairie affiliations, and species that are disjunct from more northern and Midwestern regions. 
Indicator species: Shumard oak, cherrybark oak, green ash, common shagbark hickory, Carolina hickory
What's special: the disjunct and narrowly endemic species found in this natural community makes it rare and special, as well as beautiful.  In addition, temporary pools provide important breeding habitat for a diverse array of frogs and salamanders.  These flatwoods also support the Conasauga blue burrower, a rare crayfish.
​Related communities: Intergrades with Mesic Forests and Bottomland Forests; if deforested these sites could support wet calcareous prairies.
Plants  
 Click on a plant name to see images. Plant lists in order of scientific name.  ​  ​​Terms such as "rich", "calcareous" and "mafic" are from The Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, here.  
​ 
​
Trees
Southern sugar maple Acer floridanum
Red maple Acer rubrum
Musclewood Carpinus caroliniana
Carolina shagbark hickory Carya carolinae-septentrionalis (mafic and shrink-swell soils)
Pignut hickory Carya glabra
Eastern redbud Cercis canadensis (esp. over calcareous or mafic)
Sugarberry Celtis laevigata (bottomlands and upland calcareous)
White ash  Fraxinus americana (rich cove and dry calcareous)
Green ash  Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua
Black gum Nyssa biflora
White oak Quercus alba
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 (moist, fertile and dry calcareous)
Winged elm Ulmus alata
American elm Ulmus americana (especially on nutrient-rich sites)
Slippery elm Ulmus rubra (calcareous, rich)
   ​
Shrubs
Fringetree Chionanthus virginicus
Silky dogwood Cornus amomum
Southern swamp dogwood Cornus stricta
Parsley haw Crataegus marshallii (mafic or calcareous)
Littlehip hawthorn Crataegus spathulata (mafic or calcareous)
Possumhaw Ilex decidua
Buckthorn bumelia Sideroxylon lycioides (circumneutral soil)
Southern wild raisin Viburnum nudum

Vines
American rattan Berchemia scandens
Crossvine  Bignonia capreolata
Trumpet creeper Campsis radicans
Carolina jessamine Gelsemium sempervirens
Whiteleaf greenbrier  Smilax glauca
Common greenbrier Smilax rotundifolia
Poison ivy  Toxicodendron radicans

​Ground Layer Forbs
Carolina windflower Anemone caroliniana
Nodding onion Allium cernuum (areas of shale, mafic,  ultramafic or calcareous rocks)
Purple milkweed Asclepias purpurescens (perhaps mostly over mafic)
Bulbous bittercress Cardamine bulbosa (primarily over circumneutral calcareous or mafic)
Spring beauty Claytonia virginica
Fremont's clematis Clematis fremontii (calcareous flatwoods and limestone glades)
Alabama leatherflower Clematis socialis (calcareous flatwoods)
Hammock spiderlily Hymenocallis occidentalis (gabbro and other calcareous upland flats)
Orange jewelweed Impatiens capensis
Michigan lily Lilium michiganese (calcareous hardwood flatwood)
Partridgeberry Mitchella repens
False garlic Nothoscordum bivalve
May-apple Podophyllum peltatum
Lizard's-tail Saururus cernuus
Indian pink Spiegelia marilandica (usually circumneutral)
Skunk meadowrue Thalictrum revolutrum
Least trillium Trillium pusillum



​
​Representative Trees in order by scientific name
Representative Shrubs in order by scientific name.
Representative vines. in order by scientific name.  
Representative wildflowers in order by scientific name,
Picture

​Contents of this site are based on the book The Natural Communities of Georgia,

This site is a work in progress: comments and suggestions are welcome.  Email: ​[email protected]

  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Piedmont Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • PIedmont Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Piedmont Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • PIedmont Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Piedmont Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Piedmont Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Piedmont Glades and Barrens
    • 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
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Impact of Rock Type on Plant Composition