Transcription of COMMON WETLAND PLANTS
1 1 COMMON WETLAND PLANTS OF NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources Division of Water Quality Water Quality Section 4401 Reedy Creek Road Raleigh, NC 27607 Report # 97-01 August 19972 COMMON WETLAND PLANTS OF NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources Division of Water Quality Water Quality Section 4401 Reedy Creek Road Raleigh, NC 27607 Report # 97-01 August 19971000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $5,500 or $ per of 1. Definitions for WETLAND , Sedges, 1 Dominant PLANTS from Major 2 Leaf Characteristics and Flower - Plant List by COMMON and WETLAND PLANTS of North Carolina is a field guide to our mostcommonly encountered WETLAND flora.
2 It is intended to be useful for novices andcasual observers as well as WETLAND scientists. Because vegetation is one of thethree criteria (hydrology, soils, vegetation) for an area to be considered a WETLAND ,it is an important factor in WETLAND evaluations. Wetlands are intermediate areasbetween land and water, where aquatic and terrestrial communities wetlands, the presence of PLANTS and their subsequent adaptations towetland conditions give evidence of long term WETLAND hydrology. CommonWetland PLANTS of North Carolina is intended to accompany the Field Guide toNorth Carolina Wetllands (NCDEHNR 1996). In the Field Guide to NorthCarolina Wetlands, fourteen major types of wetlands and their most commonplants are described as well as characteristic features of these wetlands.
3 Appendix1 also lists dominant PLANTS from these fourteen WETLAND types. These wetlandtypes include: wet flats, pocosins, ephemeral wetlands, seeps, mountain bogs, bogforests, headwater forests, bottomland hardwood forests, swamp forests,freshwater marshes, estuarine fringe forests, brackish marshes, salt shrub wetlandsand salt most commonly encountered in wetlands are described and picturedherein. This guide includes 128 of some of the most COMMON WETLAND plantsfound in the state. In COMMON WETLAND PLANTS of North Carolina, characteristicsand descriptions of plant's habit (growth form), leaves, flowers, fruit, habitat andfield characteristics are discussed for each WETLAND ease in identification, PLANTS are arranged by growth structure and following categories are used: 1) trees; 2) shrubs; 3) herbs; 4) grasses, sedgesand rushes; 5) vines; and 6) aquatic herbs.
4 Preceding each category is a list ofcommon names, scientific names and WETLAND indicator status. Because plantshave different tolerances for hydric conditions, a wetland5indicator status is assigned to PLANTS for each region of the United status may vary within regions and the southeast region was used for thismanual since North Carolina falls within this region. Table 1 explains these termsfor variations in hydrology. The indicator status is obtained from the 1996 National List of Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands (Reed 1997). Thefacultative indicators are sometimes assigned a positive or negative sign. Apositive (+) sign always indicates a strong tendency toward WETLAND conditions,while a negative (-) sign infers less of an association with wetlands.
5 Some plantsmay have more than one indicator status depending on the geographic region inwhich they are found. The indicator status for each plant described is found at thebeginning of each section of this manual. Table 1. Definitions for WETLAND Indicator StatusObligate WETLAND (OBL)contain PLANTS that almost alwaysoccur in wetlands (99% of the time)Facultative WETLAND (FACW)contain PLANTS that usually occur inwetlands (67-99% of the time)Facultative (FAC)includes PLANTS that are just as likelyto occur in WETLAND or non-wetlandareas (34-66% chance of occurring inwetlands or non-wetlands)Facultative Upland(FACU)contain PLANTS that occasionally occurin wetlands (1-33% of the time)Upland (UPL)contain PLANTS that almost alwaysoccur in uplands (99% of the time)Diagrams of plant structure (leaf arrangement, shape, flower type, etc.)
6 Arefound in Appendix 2. The bibliography contains WETLAND references that wereuseful in preparing this manual. WETLAND PLANTS are listed in the index in the backby both COMMON and scientific name. Throughout the manual, scientific names6are listed according to Kartesz (1994). The original botanist or authority whonamed each plant follows the scientific name. For some PLANTS , a second namefollows the plant authority (which is in parenthesis), indicating that furthertaxonomic work was conducted that led to a name change. Illustrationsthroughout this manual were drawn and donated by Karen M. are a valuable and vanishing resource and can provide usefulfunctions such as water storage and purification, wildlife and aquatic habitat andoutdoor recreation and education.
7 It is hoped that visitors to wetlands willrecognize and appreciate the values of these wonderlands, beginning with theobservation of WETLAND flora and statusAsh, GreenFraxinuspennsylvanicaFACWB irch, RiverBetula nigraFACW Gums, tupelosBlack gumNyssa sylvaticaFACS wamp black gum;Swamp tupeloNyssa bifloraFACW+Water tupeloNyssa aquaticaOBLBox elderAcer negundoFACWC edar, AtlanticWhiteChamaecyparisthyoidesOBLC ypress, BaldTaxodium distichumOBLElm, AmericanUlmus americanaFACWH emlock, EasternTsuga canadensisFACUHop hornbeamOstrya virginianaFACU-IronwoodCarpinus carolinianaFACL oblolly bayGordonia lasianthusFACWM aple, RedAcer rubrum(coastal plain)FACFACW- OaksOak, CherrybarkQuercus pagodaFAC+Oak, LaurelQuercus laurifoliaFACWOak, OvercupQuercus lyrataOBLOak, SwampChestnutQuercus michauxiiFACW-Oak, WaterQuercus nigraFACOak, WillowQuercus phellosFACW- PinesPine, LoblollyPinus taedaFACPine, LongleafPinus palustrisFACU+Pine, PondPinus serotinaFACW+Pine, WhitePinus strobusFACUP ersimmonDiospyros virginianaFACR edbayPersea borboniaFACWS ourwoodOxydendrum arboreum(mountains)FACUUPLS weet bayMagnolia virginianaFACW+SweetgumLiquidambarstyrac ifluaFAC+SycamorePlatanus occidentalisFACW-Tulip poplar.
8 TuliptreeLiriodendron tulipifera(coastal plain)FACUFACWW illow, BlackSalix nigraOBL8 Green ashFraxinus pennsylvanica : Oleaceae Olive FamilyHabit: Medium tree up to 24 meters (m).Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound leaves, 15 to 23 centimeters (cm) 5-9 oval or lanceolate toothed : Flowers inconspicuous with male and female flowers onseparate trees. Fruit is a : Low areas, natural levees, bottomlands and swamps in the piedmontand coastal plain, mainly in brownwater characteristics: This is the most widely distributed of the ashes. Noteopposite branches, twigs more slender than hickories which have similarcompound leaves, but have alternate branches. Vegatative specimens (withoutsamaras) of F.
9 Pennsylvanica and F. americana are difficult to COMMON WETLAND PLANTS of NC9 River birchBetula nigra : Betulaceae Birch FamilyHabit: Deciduous, medium sized tree up to 30 m, with curly papery bark,peeling : Alternate, doubly serrated, triangular or ovate leaves, 4-8 cm contain 7-9 straight veins on each side of : Male flowers are drooping catkins and female flowers are in acone-like : Flood plains, river and stream banks in deep soil. Found statewide,but most COMMON in the piedmont and coastal characteristics: Peeling bark and triangular leaves distinctive. Youngertrees have rusty colored bark, while older bark is darker. River birch often hasseveral main trunks and thin twigsTREES COMMON WETLAND PLANTS of NC10 Black gumNyssa sylvatica biflora : Nyssaceae Sourgum FamilyHabit: Medium to large tree, to 30 : Alternate, elliptic, glabrous leaves up to 15 cm long.
10 Leaves are entireor with scattered teeth. Leaves appear clustered at the tips of branches. has thicker, more narrow obovate leaves with rounded : Male and female flowers occur on separate trees. Fruit is adark blue-black drupe, cm : N. sylvatica is found in dry uplands and wetlands statewide from thecoastal plain to the mountains. N. biflora (swamp black gum or swamptupelo) is usually found in standing waters in the coastal plain, mainly inpoorly drained characteristics: Three bundle scars are revealed when the leaf is pulledaway from the stem. Pith of blackgum is diaphragmed. Leaves turn a brilliantcrimson in autumn. Berries were formerly used for COMMON WETLAND PLANTS of NC11 Water tupeloNyssa aquatica : NyssaceaeSourgum FamilyHabit: Medium to large tree, to 30 m.
