Piedmont Mesic Forests
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Mesic Forests are moist forests that grow in cool, shaded sites such as steep north-facing slopes and on terraces by streams beyond the bottomland. Often soils are rich with organic material and nutrients. What's special: These forests often have stunning wildflower displays in the spring before the trees leaf out. The moisture and nutrients enable a diversity of plants to grow, and support a rich animal life. Ground cover is often lush. Indicator trees: American beech, tulip-tree, magnolias, northern red oak, basswood, amd southern sugar maple. Related Communities: Grade into Bottomlands near streams, and into Piedmont Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests uphill and on south and west exposures. Learn MORE HERE about plant adaptations in deciduous forests. Representative Trees |
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Click on a plant name to see images from regional websites. Terms such as "rich", "calcareous" and "mafic" are from The Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, here.
Trees American beech Fagus grandifolia American holly Ilex opaca Bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis (especially in rich soils) Devil's walking stick Aralia spinosa Ironwood/ Hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana (esp. basic) Magnolias: Bigleaf magnolia Magnolia macrophylla (esp. calcareous and mafic) Cucumber magnolia Magnolia acuminata Fraser magnolia Magnolia fraseri Umbrella magnolia Magnolia tripetala Musclewood/American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Northern red oak Quercus rubra Red maple Acer rubrum Red mulberry Morus rubra Silverbell (common) Halesia tetraptera Southern sugar maple Acer floridanum (esp. calcareous and mafic ) Tulip-tree Liriodendron tulipifera White ash Fraxinus americana White basswood Tilia americana var. heterophylla (rich soils) Devil's walking stick Aralia spinosa Shrubs Painted buckeye Aesculus sylvatica (nutrient-rich forests) Doghobble Leucothoe fontanesiana Horse sugar Symplocus tinctoria Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia Spicebush Lindera benzoin (circumneutral soils, otherwise bottomlands) Painted buckeye Aesculus sylvatica (nutrient-rich forests) Pawpaw Asimina triloba (nutrient-rich forests) Piedmont azalea Rhododendron canescens Smooth hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens Spicebush Lindera benzoin (circumneutral soils, otherwise bottomlands) Strawberry bush Euonymus americana Sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus Woody Vines Coralbeads Cocculus carolinus (especially where calcareous) Muscadine Vitis rotundifolia Poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Ground Layer Wildflowers Avens Geum canadense Axillary goldenrod Solidago caesia Beech drops Epifagus virginiana Blue phlox Phlox divaricata (circumneutral soils) Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis (nutrient-rich forests) Black cohosh Actaea racemosa (rich to very fertile forests) Blue cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides (rich forests) Catesby's trillium Trillium catesbaei Crested iris - Iris cristata (rich forests) Devil's-bit Chamaelirium luteum Indian pink Spigelia marilandica (usually circumneutral) Dolls'-eyes Actaea pachypoda (rich forests) Downy rattlesnake-orchid Goodyera pubescens Foamflower Tiarella wherryi Ginseng Panax quinquefolius (nutrient rich forests) Halberd-leaf violet Viola hastata (often acidic coves) Harbinger-of-spring Erigenia bulbosa Heartleaf ginger/little brown jugs Hexastylis arifolia Hepatica (round-lobed) Anemone americana Hepatica (sharp-lobed) Anemone acutiloba (esp. over calcareous and mafic rocks) Indian pink Spigelia marilandica (usually circumneutral) Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum May-apple Podophyllum peltatum (rich forests) Nodding trillium - Trillium rugelii (rich forests, usually over mafic or calcareous rocks) Northern horsebalm Collinsonia canadensis (rich forests, esp. over mafic or calcareous bedrock) Rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides Sweet Betsy/Toadshade trillium Trillium cuneatum (rich forests, usually over mafic or calcareous rocks) Sweet cicely (hairy) Osmorhiza claytonii (fertile forests) Sweet cicely (smooth) Osmorhiza longistylis (fertile forests) Toothwort (broadleaf) Cardamine diphylla (rich forests) Toothwort (cutleaf) Cardamine concatenata (rich forests) Trout lily Erythronium umbilicatum Whorled wild yam Dioscorea quaternata Wild geranium Geranium maculatum Wild ginger Asarum canadense (rich, circumneutral soils) Yellow lady's-slipper Cypripedium parviflorum Ferns Broad beech fern Phegopteris hexagonoptera Christmas fern Polystichum acrosticoides New York fern Parathelypteris novaboracensis Northern maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum (esp. over mafic or calcareous rocks) Rattlesnake fern Botrypus virginianus (especially on nutrient-rich slopes) Silvery glade fern Homalosorus pycnocarpon (very nutrient-rich forests over mafic or calcareous rock) Southern lady fern Athyrium asplenioides |
Representative Shrubs and VinesRepresentative Ground Layer (in order by color) |
