Wetland Communities - Hydric Pine Flatwoods
 

Hydric Pine Flatwoods are forests with a canopy of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) or pond pine (Pinus serotina) on flat, poorly drained land. Where fires are frequent, the subcanopy is sparse or absent and the groundcover is a diverse mix of grasses and herbs—a wet prairie with pines. Common groundcover plants include wiregrass (Aristida stricta), yellow-eyed grass (Xyris spp.), meadow-beauty (Rhexia spp.), bog-buttons (Eriocaulaceae), and carnivores like pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.), sundews (Drosera spp.), and butterworts (Pinguicula spp.). Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is patchy or absent. Where fire has been suppressed, shrubs and trees like titi (Cyrilla racemiflora and Cliftonia monophylla), gallberry (Ilex glabra), big gallberry (Ilex coriacea), myrtle-leaved holly (Ilex myrtifolia), sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora) and swamp bay (Persea palustris) become dense and the groundcover disappears. Dense tangles of laurel-leaved greenbriar (Smilax laurifolia) often drape these shrubs. The longer fire is excluded, the more these flatwoods approach bay swamps. Hydric pine flatwoods are common throughout the lower parts of the panhandle, especially near the coast, and are absent in the higher clayey land toward the Georgia and Alabama lines.

Typical Trees Include

Botanical Latin	Common Name	Wetland Status
Pinus elliottii	slash pine	UPL
Pinus serotina	pond pine	FACW
Cliftonia monophylla	buckwheat-tree	FACW
Cyrilla racemiflora	swamp cyrilla	FAC
Magnolia virginiana	sweetbay	OBL
Nyssa sylv. var. biflora	swamp tupelo	OBL
Persea palustris	swamp bay	OBL
Ilex myrtifolia	myrtle holly	OBL

 

Typical Shrubs Include

Botanical Latin	Common Name	Wetland Status
Ilex glabra	gallberry	UPL
Ilex coriacea	bay-gall holly	FACW
Myrica cerifera	southern bayberry	FAC
Myrica heterophylla	evergreen bayberry	FACW
Serenoa repens	saw palmetto	UPL

 

Typical Herbs and Vines Include

Botanical Latin	Common Name	Wetland Status
Aristida stricta	wiregrass	FAC
Calamovilfa curtissii	Curtiss' reed grass	FACW
Smilax laurifolia	laurel greenbrier	vine
Rhynchospora sp.	beakrush
Rhexia sp.	meadow-beauty
Eriocaulon sp.	pipewort	OBL
Lachnocaulon sp.	lachnocaulon
Sarracenia sp.	pitcher-plant	OBL
Xyris sp.	yellow-eyed grass
Scleria sp.	nutrush	FACW
Drosera sp.	sundew
Pinguicula sp.	butterwort	OBL
Lilium catesbaei	southern red lily	FAC
Liatris spicata	spiked gayfeather	FAC
Sabatia sp.	rose-gentian
Anthaenantia rufa	purple silky-scale	FACW