Piedmont Mesic Forests
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Piedmont Mesic Forests grow in cool, shaded sites such as north-facing slopes, within deep ravines, and on terraces by streams just beyond the bottomlands. These shady, low sites stay evenly moist. Organic materials, clays, and silts, which hold onto nutrients, collect here from uphill, creating deeper and richer soils than those of oak-pine-hickory forests. These forests, in their protected locations, rarely experience large scale natural disturbance, so trees can grow old and hoary. Many mesic forests, called "beech forests" by some ecologists, grow over schist or gneiss, and have soils rich in moisture and organic material, but are fairly acidic. They are indicated by American beech, northern red oak, and tulip-tree. Basic mesic forests grow over amphibolite or marble, and have more nutrients in their soils. Indicator species include an abundance of white basswood and southern sugar maple. What's special: These forests, especially the basic mesic stands, often have stunning spring wildflower displays before the trees leaf out; comparable in beauty to Southern Appalachian coves in the best sites. The cooler temperatures, moisture, and nutrients encourage a lush diversity of trees and wildflowers and support a rich animal life, including many amphibians. Species more common to the mountains may also be found in some sites. Conservation: These special natural communities should be left undisturbed and allowed to grow to old age. Fire will kill the thin-barked trees. Related Communities: These forests grade into Bottomlands near streams, and into Oak-Pine-Hickory (Dry-Mesic) Forests uphill and on south, east, and west exposures. Learn MORE HERE about plant adaptations in deciduous forests. |
Landscapes
Birds |
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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. Canopy Trees Southern sugar maple Acer floridanum (esp. calcareous and mafic ) Red maple Acer rubrum Bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis (especially in rich soils) Red hickory Carya ovalis Shagbark hickory Carya ovata Persimmon (American) Diospyros virginiana American beech Fagus grandifolia White ash Fraxinus americana Tulip-tree Liriodendron tulipifera Black gum Nyssa sylvatica Cucumber magnolia Magnolia acuminata (esp. calcareous and mafic) Fraser magnolia Magnolia fraseri (often acidic forests) Bigleaf magnolia Magnolia macrophylla (esp. calcareous and mafic) Umbrella magnolia Magnolia tripetala Red mulberry Morus rubra White oak Quercus alba Water oak Quercus nigra Willow oak Quercus phellos Northern red oak Quercus rubra Shumard oak Quercus shumardii Sassafras Sassafras albidum (esp. in gaps) White basswood Tilia americana var. heterophylla (rich soils) Sub-canopy Trees Serviceberry (downy) Amelanchier arborea Devil's walking stick Aralia spinosa (often a shrub) Musclewood/American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Redbud Cercis canadensis (esp. calcareous or mafic rock) Flowering dogwood Cornus florida Littlehip hawthorn Crataegus spathulata (esp. basic) American holly Ilex opaca Shrubs Painted buckeye Aesculus sylvatica (nutrient-rich) Pawpaw Asimina triloba (nutrient-rich) Beautyberry Callicarpa americana Sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus Strawberry bush Euonymus americana Witch-alder Fothergilla major Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana (esp. over calcareous and mafic rock) Witch-hazel Hamamelis virginia Flowering hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens Oakleaf hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia Possumhaw Ilex decidua Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia (acidic) Doghobble Leucothoe fontanesiana (acidic slopes) Spicebush Lindera benzoin (circumneutral soils, otherwise bottomlands) Bay star-vine Schisandra glabra (rich slopes near bottomlands) Big-leaf snowbell Styrax grandifolius Horse sugar Symplocus tinctoria Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium Blackhaw/Nannyberry Viburnum prunifolium Vines Crossvine Bignonia capreolata Trumpet vine Campsis radicans Coralbeads Cocculus carolinus (especially where calcareous) Virgin's bower Clematis virginiana Climbing hydrangea Decumaria barbara Whorled wild yam Dioscorea quaternata Carolina spinypod Matelea carolinensis (nutrient rich soils/rock) Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Greenbrier (whiteleaf/sawbrier) Smilax glauca Yellow passionflower Passiflora lutea Poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans Muscadine Vitis rotundifolia Ground Layer Wildflowers Dolls'-eyes Actaea pachypoda (rich forests) Black cohosh Actaea racemosa (rich to very fertile forests) White snakeroot Ageratina altissima Fly poison Amianthium muscitoxicum Blue-stars Amsonia tabernaemontana Sharp-lobed hepatica Anemone acutiloba (esp. calcareous and mafic) Round-lobed hepatica Anemone americana Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum Wild ginger Asarum canadense (rich, circumneutral soils) Cutleaf toothwort Cardamine concatenata (rich forests) Broadleaf toothwort Cardamine diphylla (rich forests) Blue cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides (rich forests) Devil's-bit Chamaelirium luteum Horsebalm (southern/anise) Collinsonia anisata (rich forests) Horsebalm (northern) Collinsonia canadensis (rich forests, esp. mafic or calcareous) Yellow lady's-slipper Cypripedium parviflorum Beech drops Epifagus virginiana Harbinger-of-spring Erigenia bulbosa Trout lily Erythronium umbilicatum Wild geranium Geranium maculatum Avens Geum canadense Downy rattlesnake-orchid Goodyera pubescens Heartleaf ginger/little brown jugs Hexastylis arifolia Goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis (mafic and calcareous) Crested iris Iris cristata (rich forests) Fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata Partridgeberry Mitchella repens Indian pipes Monotropa uniflora Hairy sweet cicely Osmorhiza claytonii (fertile forests) Smooth sweet cicely Osmorhiza longistylis (fertile forests) Violet wood-sorrel Oxalis violaceae Ginseng Panax quinquefolius (nutrient rich forests) Blue phlox Phlox divaricata (circumneutral soils) May-apple Podophyllum peltatum (rich forests) Shooting star (eastern) Primula meadia (primarily with calcareous or mafic) Carolina petunia Ruellia caroliniensis Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis (nutrient-rich forests) Starry campion Silene stellata Blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifolius Axillary goldenrod Solidago caesia Indian pink Spigelia marilandica (usually circumneutral) Giant chickweed Stellaria pubera Rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides Foamflower Tiarella wherryi Tassel-rue Trautvetteria caroliniensis Catesby's trillium Trillium catesbaei Sweet Betsy/Toadshade trillium Trillium cuneatum (rich forests, usually mafic or calcareous rocks) Nodding trillium Trillium rugelii (rich forests, usually mafic or calcareous) Perfoliate bellwort Uvularia perfoliata Halberd-leaf violet Viola hastata (often acidic coves) Ferns Northern maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum (esp. over mafic or calcareous rocks) Southern lady fern Athyrium asplenioides Rattlesnake fern Botrypus virginianus (especially on nutrient-rich slopes) Silvery glade fern Homalosorus pycnocarpon (very nutrient-rich forests over mafic or calcareous rock) New York fern Parathelypteris novaboracensis Broad beech fern Phegopteris hexagonoptera Christmas fern Polystichum acrosticoides Southern grape fern Sceptridium biternatum Grasses and Rushes Longleaf spikegrass Chasmanthium sessiliflorum Wood-rush Luzulu acuminata Nimblewill/Nimbleweed Muhlenbergia schreberi |
Representative Trees in order of scientific name. Representative shrubs in order of scientific name
Representative vines in order of scientific name
Representative wildflowers in order of scientific name.
Representative Ferns
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