Hardwood Forests
Mixed Mesophytic Hardwood
Forests are found mainly on the loess
bluffs and on slopes and ravines of areas highly dissected
by streams and erosion. The soils are typically fertile and
evenly moist. The vegetation is characterized by:
Fagus
grandifolia (beech), Platanus
occidentalis (sycamore), Magnolia
grandiflora (bull or southern
magnolia), M.
acumuinata (cucumber tree), M. macrophylla
(big-leaf magnolia), M.
pyramidata (pyramid magnolia),
Liriodendron
tulipfera (tulip poplar),
Quercus
alba (white oak),
Fraxinus americana (white ash),
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory). The
understory may include: Cornus
florida (flowering dogwood),
Cercis
canadensis (redbud), Ilex
opaca (American holly),
Ostrya
virginiana (eastern hophornbeam).
Oak-Hickory
Forests are found in dry to moderately
moist uplands. The most abundant tree species
include Carya
tomentosa (mockernut hickory),
Quercus
stellata (post oak), Q.
alba (white oak),
Q. falcata (southern red oak), and
Q.
velutina (black oak).
Hardwood Slope
Forests are mixed hardwood communities
that may also include occasional pines. These communities
are found along ridges and slopes above bottomlands
intersecting pinelands. These areas are not as diverse as
mixed mesophytic forests. Dominant trees include beech,
southern magnolia, water oak (Quercus
nigra),
cherrybark oak (Q.
falcata var. pagodifolia),
tulip poplar, and sweetgum (Liquidambar
styraciflua). Typical pines might include
spruce pine (Pinus
glabra), loblolly pine
(P.
taeda),
and slash pine (P.
elliotii).
Evergreen Maritime
Forests occur just inland from the Gulf
of Mexico. These communities are dominated by various
species of pine (slash, loblolly and longleaf), beech, bull
magnolia (Magnolia
grandiflora), bay magnolia
(M.
virginiana), red bay (Persea
borbonea), camphor tree, live oak
(Quercus
virginiana). Palm species include
Sabal
minor (dwarf palmetto),
S.
palmetto (cabbage palm),
Raphidophyllum
histrix (needle palm ), and saw
palmetto (Serenoa
repens).
Coastal Ridge Hammocks &
Midden Hammocks are uncommon (the ridge
communities are called cheniers
in Louisiana).
These island-like forests occur on elevated areas slightly
above mean sea level, mostly along the western Gulf
coast. Quercus
virginiana (live oak) and
Celtis
leavigata (sugarberry) predominate.
Shell
middens were inadvertently built by prehistoric First
Nation people, as they processed and consumed clams and
oysters and deposited the shells in Gulf shallows. Live
oak, sugarberry, eastern red cedar (Juniperus
virginiana), tallow tree
(Triadicum
sebiferum) and toothache tree are common
components of these low lying islands in brackish and salt
marshes.