Floodplain Forest Plant List

Graminoids

  • blue-joint (Calamagrostis canadensis)
  • sedges (Carex crinita, C. grayi, C. hirtifolia, C. intumescens, C. lacustris, C. lupulina, C. muskingumensis, C. stricta, C. tuckermanii, and others)
  • wood reedgrass (Cinna arundinacea)
  • beak grass (Diarrhena obovata)
  • riverbank wild-rye (Elymus riparius)
  • Virginia wild-rye (Elymus virginicus)
  • fowl manna grass (Glyceria striata)
  • cut grass (Leersia oryzoides)
  • white grass (Leersia virginica)

Forbs

  • wild leeks (Allium burdickii and A. tricoccum)
  • wild garlic (Allium canadense)
  • green dragon (Arisaema dracontium)
  • jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
  • wild ginger (Asarum canadense)
  • false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica)
  • blue cohoshes (Caulophyllum giganteum and C. thalictroides)
  • turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
  • honewort (Cryptotaenia canadensis)
  • flat-topped white aster (Doellingeria umbellata)
  • white trout lily (Erythronium albidum)
  • yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum)
  • green-stemmed joe-pye-weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
  • false mermaid (Floerkea proserpinacoides)
  • wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
  • white avens (Geum canadense)
  • Jerusalem-artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)
  • cow-parsnip (Heracleum maximum)
  • great waterleaf (Hydrophyllum appendiculatum)
  • Canada waterleaf (Hydrophyllum canadense)
  • Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)
  • jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
  • southern blue flag (Iris virginica)
  • wood nettle (Laportea canadensis)
  • Michigan lily (Lilium michiganense)
  • cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
  • fringed loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata)
  • Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
  • golden ragwort (Packera aurea)
  • arrow-arum (Peltandra virginica)
  • jumpseed (Persicaria virginiana)
  • clearweed (Pilea pumila)
  • Solomon-seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
  • pickerel-weed (Pontederia cordata)
  • swamp buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus)
  • water dock (Rumex verticillatus)
  • black snakeroots (Sanicula marilandica and S. odorata)
  • lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus)
  • carrion flower (Smilax ecirrata)
  • goldenrods (Solidago spp.)
  • side-flowering aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum)
  • skunk-cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)
  • wood-sage (Teucrium canadense)
  • purple meadow-rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum)
  • drooping trillium (Trillium flexipes)
  • common trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
  • stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)
  • violets (Viola spp.)

Ferns

  • maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)
  • bulblet fern (Cystopteris bulbifera)
  • wood ferns (Dryopteris spp.)
  • ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)
  • sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
  • royal fern (Osmunda regalis)
  • New York fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis)

Fern Allies

  • field horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Woody Vines

  • American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)
  • wild yam (Dioscorea villosa)
  • moonseed (Menispermum canadense)
  • Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
  • poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)
  • riverbank grape (Vitis riparia)

Shrubs

  • buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
  • dogwoods (Cornus spp.)
  • whorled loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus)
  • wahoo (Euonymus atropurpurea)
  • spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
  • choke cherry (Prunus virginiana)
  • sandbar willow (Salix exigua)
  • bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia)
  • black-haw (Viburnum prunifolium)
  • prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)

Trees

  • box elder (Acer negundo)
  • black maple (Acer nigrum)
  • red maple (Acer rubrum)
  • silver maple (Acer saccharinum)
  • sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
  • pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
  • yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
  • musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana)
  • bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis)
  • shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)
  • hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
  • redbud (Cercis canadensis)
  • hawthorns (Crataegus spp.)
  • beech (Fagus grandifolia)
  • black ash (Fraxinus nigra)
  • green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
  • pumpkin ash (Fraxinus profunda)
  • blue ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata)
  • honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
  • Kentucky coffee-tree (Gymnocladus dioicus)
  • butternut (Juglans cinerea)
  • black walnut (Juglans nigra)
  • red mulberry (Morus rubra)
  • white pine (Pinus strobus)
  • sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
  • cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
  • swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor)
  • bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
  • red oak (Quercus rubra)
  • peach-leaf willow (Salix amygdaloides)
  • black willow (Salix nigra)
  • northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
  • basswood (Tilia americana)
  • hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
  • 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: October 8, 2024).