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

Piedmont Wet Meadows and Marshes

Meadows and marshes are open  areas with few to no trees and moist to saturated soils.  Grasses, rushes, sedges, ferns, and wildflowers are often interspersed with shrubby thickets.  Marshes have standing water much of the time, and may form in and adjacent to beaver ponds and in quiet backwaters near dams.  Emergent pPlants that are rooted in wet, mucky soils in shallow water are characteristic.  Wet/moist meadows may grow a small distance from ponds, in lowland swales, in patches by stream channels, and in seepage.  These habitats often intergrade and are treated together here.

What's special:  the dense vegetation, moist soils, and plentiful food sources enable these communities to support an diverse abundance of birds, mammals, and amphibians.  Many pollinators nectar on the  flowering plants that flourish in this sunny habitat, and there are many host plants for pollinators and other beneficial insects.  These areas also retain water after floods, slowing run-off and easing erosion.  

Wet meadows and marshes are excellent models for creating rainwater gardens.



Landscapes
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​Indicator species:  
netted chain fern, common wingstem, cardinal flower, Virginia sweetspire, jewelweed, joe-pye weed, ironweed, elderberry, swamp dogwood, buttonbush, tag alder. 

​Related communities:  Seepage and wet meadow patches are common on stream edges as part of the riparian zone in the  Bottomlands and Floodplains natural community. ​​ That community also has many shady seepage areas embedded within it.  Often, wet meadows and marshes will transition to upland prairies and savannas as the landscape climbs away from a lake, pond, or stream.​
Plants
Click on the  plant names below for images and more information about each plant. Plant lists in order by scientific name.   
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​

Trees (on edges and higher ground)
Box elder Acer negundo
​Red maple Acer rubrum var. triloba
River birch Betula nigra
Sugarberry Celtis laevigata
Green ash  Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua
Tulip-tree Liriodendron tulipifera
Sycamore Platanus occidentalis
Water oak Quercus nigra
​
Black willow Salix nigra

Shrubs
​Tag alder Alnus serrulata
Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis
Silky/Swamp dogwood Cornus amomum
​Possum-haw Ilex decidua
​Winterberry Ilex verticillata
Virginia sweetspire Itea virginica
Elderberry Sambucus canadensis
Southern wild raisin Viburnum nudum

Vines
Ground nut Apios americana
Crossvine  Bignonia capreolata
Trumpet vine Campsis radicans
Virgin's bower Clematis virginiana
Climbing hydrangea  Decumaria barbara
Carolina jessamine Gelsemium sempervirens
Creeping cucumber  Melothria pendula
Climbing hempweed Mikania scandens
Muscadine Vitis rotundifolia 
American wisteria  Wisteria frutescens
​
Wildflowers/Forbs
False nettle  Boehmeria cylindrica
Turtlehead (white)  Chelone glabra
Water hemlock  Cicuta maculata
Mist flower Conoclinium coelistinum
Boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum
Hollow-stem Joe-pye-weed Eutrochium fistulatum
Soapwort gentian  Gentiana saponaria
Narrowleaf sunflower Helianthus angustifolius
Swamp (eastern) rose mallow  Hibiscus moscheutos
Jewelweed (orange) Impatiens capensis
Dense blazing star Liatris spicata
Cardinal flower  Lobelia cardinalis
Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
Seedbox  Ludwigia alternifolia
Bugleweed (Virginia) Lycopus virginicus
Monkey flower Mimulus ringens
Cowbane Oxypolis rigidior
Kidney-leaved grass-of-Parnassus  Parnassia asarifolia
Arrow arum  Peltandra virginica
Arrowleaf tearthumb Persicaria sagittata

Obedient plant  Physostegia virginiana
Small green woodland orchid Platanthera clavellata
Mountain mint  (narrowleaf) Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Meadow beauty Rhexia mariana
Cutleaf coneflower   Rudbeckia laciniata
Duck potato/Broadleaf arrowhead Saggitaria lancifolia
Lizard's-tail  Saururus cernuus
Skullcap Scutellaria integrifolia
Wrinkle-leaf goldenrod  Solidago rugosa
Calico aster Symphyotrichum laterifolum
Purple swamp aster  Symphyotrichum puniceum
Cattail Typha latifolia
Wingstem (common) Verbesina alternifolia
Ironweed (common) Vernonia gigantea
Ironweed (New York) Vernonia noveboracensis
Golden Alexander Zizia aurea

Grasses, Rushes, Sedges
Bushy bluestem Andropogon glomeratus
Shallow sedge Carex lurida
River oats Chasmanthium latifolium
Longleaf spikegrass Chasmanthium sessiliflorum
Virginia wild rye grass  Elymus virginicus
Common rush Juncus effusis
Beaked panic grass  Panicum anceps/Coleataenia anceps  
Woolgrass bulrush Scirpus cyperinus
​Gamma grass Tripsacum dactyloides

Ferns
Cinnamon fern  Osmundastrum cinnamomeum​
Netted chain fern Lorinseria areolata

Royal fern  Osmunda spectabilis
Sensitive fern  Onoclea sensibilis 

​New York fern Parathelypteris novaboracensis
​

Representative Trees in order of scientific name

Representative shrubs in order of scientific name

Representative vines in order by scientific name

Representative wildflowers in order by scientific name

Representative graminoids in order by scientific name
Representative ferns in order by scientific name

Representative Birds
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