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 Mesic Forests

​These hardwood forests grow  in cool, protected sites where soils are deep and rich:valley floors, ravines, north-facing coves, and the bottoms of some large sinkholes.  They most often occur on limestone-based soils in this ecoregion, but are sometimes found in cool, more acidic sites.
What's special: these forests can be lush and beautiful, especially in the spring on calcium-rich soils, when a rich diversity of spring wildflowers that are uncommon elsewhere bloom here, including celandine poppy, Virginia bluebells, bent trillium, and fern-leaf phacelia.  The deep, moist soils and leaf litter support amphibians and snails.
Related communities:  Calcareous cliffs can be embedded within this community. Grades to Bottomlands and Floodplains.
Learn MORE HERE about plant adaptations in deciduous forests.
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Plants

In order by scientific name.  
Soil/bedrock nutrient traits, such as "rich", "calcareous" and "mafic" is provided in The Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, here.  

Trees
​Southern sugar maple Acer floridanum (especially but not limited to calcareous and mafic soils)
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Northern sugar maple Acer saccharum
Yellow buckeye Aesculus flava
Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra
Musclewood/American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana
Bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis (especially in rich soils)
American beech Fagus grandifolia var. carolina 
White ash Fraxinus americana (rich soils, and in calcareous or mafic soils on dry sites)
Common silverbell Halesia tetraptera
Tulip-tree Liriodendron tulipifera
Cucumber magnolia  Magnolia acuminata (especially but by no means strictly over mafic or calcareous rock
Fraser magnolia  Magnolia fraseri
Umbrella magnolia  Magnolia tripetala
Ironwood/ American hop-hornbeam Ostrya virginiana (especially over basic bedrock) 
Northern red oak Quercus rubra
White basswood  Tilia americana var. heterophylla (rich soils)

 
Shrubs
Painted buckeye Aesculus sylvatica (nutrient-rich forests)
Common pawpaw  Asimina triloba (nutrient-rich forests)
Strawberry bush Euonymus americana

Smooth hydrangea  Hydrangea arborescens
Northern spicebush  Lindera benzoin (slopes with circumneutral soils)


Ground Cover
Wildflowers
Dolls'-eyes  Actaea pachypoda (rich forests)
Black cohosh  Actaea racemosa (rich to very fertile forests)
Sharp lobed hepatica Anemone acutiloba
Round lobed hepatica Anemone americana
Canada columbine Aquilegia canadensis (esp. but by no means entirely on calcareous and mafic rocks)
Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum
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Wild ginger Asarum canadense (rich, circumneutral soils)
Wild hyacinth Camassia scilloides
Cutleaf toothwort Cardamine concatenata (rich forests)
Broadleaf toothwort Cardamine diphylla (rich forests)
Blue cohosh  Caulophyllum thalictroides (rich forests)
Devil's-bit Chamaelirium luteum
Northern horsebalm Collinsonia canadensis (rich forests, especially over mafic or calcareous bedrock)
Yellow lady's-slipper Cypripedium parviflorum
Harbinger-of-spring Erigenia bulbosa
Dimpled trout lily  Erythronium umbilicatum
Wild geranium Geranium maculatum
Summer bluet Houstonia purpurea
Goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis (very nutrient rich soils over mafic or calcareous rock)
Crested iris - Iris cristata (rich forests)
Twinleaf Jeffersonia diphylla 
Virginia bluebells Mertensia virginica
Hairy sweet cicely Osmorhiza claytonii (fertile forests)
Smooth sweet cicely Osmorhiza longistylis (fertile forests)
Ginseng Panax quinquefolius (nutrient rich forests though tending to avoid richest coves)
Fernleaf phacelia Phacelia bipinnatifida
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Blue phlox Phlox divaricata (circumneutral soils)
May-apple Podophyllum peltatum (rich forests)
Yellow mandarin  Prosartes lanuginosa
Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis (nutrient-rich forests)
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Star chickweed Stellaria pubera
Rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides
Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
Catesby's trillium Trillium catesbaei
Decumbent trillium Trillium decumbens
Bent white trillium Trillium flexipes
Lanceleaf trillium Trillium lancifolium
Yellow trillium Trillium luteum
Sweet Betsy/Toadshade trillium Trillium cuneatum (rich forests, usually over mafic or calcareous rocks)
Nodding trillium - Trillium rugelii (rich forests, usually over mafic or calcareous rocks)
Halberd-leaf violet Viola hastata (often acidic coves)
Tall white violet Viola canadensis

Ferns
Northern maidenhair fern  
Adiantum pedatum (especially over mafic or calcareous rocks)
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Rattlesnake fern Botrypus virginianus (especially on nutrient-rich slopes)
Silvery glade fern Homalosorus pycnocarpon (very nutrient-rich forests over mafic or calcareous rock)
Broad beech fern Phegopteris hexagonoptera
Southern lady fern Athyrium asplenioides
To quickly identify mesic forests, look for the following trees:  southern sugar maple, red maple (for comparison), tulip-tree, American beech, yellow buckeye, and Canadian hemlock.  Click on photos for id tips.
Representative wildflowers in order by color.  See and learn more from the plant lists at left.
Northern maidenhair fern (Adiatum pedatum) by Richard and Teresa Ware
Broad beech fern (Phegopteris hexagonoptera) L. Edwards
Christmas fern (Polystichum acrosticoides) with fertile frond. J. Pakchar
New York Fern (Parathelypteris novaboracensis) by J. Pakchar
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