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, 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: April 17, 2026).