Mesic Southern Forest Plant List

Graminoids

  • autumn bent (Agrostis perennans)
  • sedges (Carex albursina, C. arctata, C. blanda, C. communis, C. gracilescens, C. grisea, C. hirtifolia, C. jamesii, C. pedunculata, C. plantaginea, C. rosea, C. woodii, and others)
  • nodding fescue (Festuca subverticillata)
  • wood millet (Milium effusum)
  • bluegrasses (Poa alsodes and P. sylvestris)

Forbs

  • baneberries (Actaea pachypoda and A. rubra)
  • wild leeks (Allium burdickii and A. tricoccum)
  • Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
  • wild ginger (Asarum canadense)
  • cut-leaved toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)
  • blue cohoshes (Caulophyllum giganteum and C. thalictroides)
  • enchanter’s-nightshade (Circaea canadensis)
  • spring beauty (Claytonia virginica)
  • squirrel-corn (Dicentra canadensis)
  • Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
  • false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum)
  • beech drops (Epifagus virginiana)
  • harbinger-of-spring (Erigenia bulbosa)
  • yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum)
  • false mermaid (Floerkea proserpinacoides)
  • wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
  • sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba)
  • great waterleaf (Hydrophyllum appendiculatum)
  • Canada waterleaf (Hydrophyllum canadense)
  • Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)
  • pale touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida)
  • wood nettle (Laportea canadensis)
  • Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)
  • false spikenard (Maianthemum racemosum)
  • bishop’s-cap (Mitella diphylla)
  • hairy sweet cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii)
  • dwarf ginseng (Panax trifolius)
  • May apple (Podophyllum peltatum)
  • downy Solomon seal (Polygonatum pubescens)
  • white lettuces (Prenanthes alba and P. altissima)
  • bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
  • upright carrion-flower (Smilax ecirrata)
  • bluestem goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
  • common trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
  • large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)
  • violets (Viola spp.)

Ferns

  • maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)
  • lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina)
  • rattlesnake fern (Botrypus virginianus)
  • silvery spleenwort (Deparia acrostichoides)
  • spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana)
  • Goldie’s woodfern (Dryopteris goldiana)
  • evergreen woodfern (Dryopteris intermedia)
  • marginal woodfern (Dryopteris marginalis)
  • narrow-leaved spleenwort (Homalosorus pycnocarpos)
  • broad beech-fern (Phegopteris hexagonoptera)
  • Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
  • New York fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis)

Woody Vines

  • Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
  • greenbriers (Smilax spp.)
  • poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)
  • riverbank grape (Vitis riparia)

Shrubs

  • leatherwood (Dirca palustris)
  • witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
  • spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
  • Canadian fly honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)
  • prickly gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati)
  • red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)
  • maple-leaved arrow-wood (Viburnum acerifolium)

Trees

  • sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
  • pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
  • musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana)
  • bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis)
  • shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)
  • alternate-leaved dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
  • flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
  • American beech (Fagus grandifolia)
  • white ash (Fraxinus americana)
  • tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
  • ironwood (Ostrya virginiana)
  • black cherry (Prunus serotina)
  • white oak (Quercus alba)
  • chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)
  • red oak (Quercus rubra)
  • basswood (Tilia americana)
  • American elm (Ulmus americana)

Citation

Cohen, J.G., M.A. Kost, B.S. Slaughter, D.A. Albert, J.M. Lincoln, A.P. Kortenhoven, C.M. Wilton, H.D. Enander, and K.M. Korroch. 2020. Michigan Natural Community Classification [web application]. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University Extension, Lansing, Michigan. Available https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/communities/classification. (Accessed: May 16, 2024).