Piedmont Seepage Wetlands, Wet Meadows and Thickets;Seepage wetlands and wet meadows and thickets are open, areas with few to no trees and very moist to saturated soils. They form near lakes, ponds and dams, and where seepage occurs, at headwaters of streams, the base of cliffs, and from rock joints funneling water to the surface. They include beaver ponds, moist shrub thickets, marshes (frequent to always standing water), wet to very moist meadows (frequently soggy soils, but rarely standing water), and quiet backwaters caused by dams.
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Indicator species: Tag alder, Buttonbush, Silky/Swamp dogwood, Elderberry, Virginia sweetspire, Jewelweed (orange). Netted chain fern, Wingstem (common), and Cardinal flower.
What's special: these habitats support an abundance of animal life, including birds, mammals, and amphibians and add much diversity to the landscape. Many insects nectar on the flowering plants that flourish in this sunny habitat, and there are many host plants for pollinators, as well.
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.
What's special: these habitats support an abundance of animal life, including birds, mammals, and amphibians and add much diversity to the landscape. Many insects nectar on the flowering plants that flourish in this sunny habitat, and there are many host plants for pollinators, as well.
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.
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Plants Click on the plant names below for images. Plant lists in order by scientific name. Trees (on edges and higher ground) Box elder Acer negundo Red maple Acer rubrum Silver maple Acer saccharinum River birch Betula nigra Sugarberry Celtis laevigata Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua Tulip-tree Liriodendron tulipifera Sycamore Platanus occidentalis Water oak Quercus pagoda Black willow Salix nigra Shrubs Tag alder Alnus serrulata Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Silky/Swamp dogwood Cornus amomum Elderberry Sambucus canadensis Possum-haw Ilex decidua Winterberry Ilex verticillata Virginia sweetspire Itea virginica 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 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 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 nameRepresentative shrubs in order of scientific nameRepresentative vines in order by scientific name
Representative wildflowers in order by scientific nameRepresentative graminoids in order by scientific name
Representative ferns in order by scientific name
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