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, M.E. Anderson, M.R. Parr, T.J. Bassett, and K.M. Korroch. 2025. Michigan Natural Community Classification [web application]. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University Extension, Lansing, MI. Available https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/communities/classification. (Accessed: March 28, 2026).