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The Coastal Plain
The Coastal Plain is a flat to gently rolling region that stretches from southern New England south to Florida and west to Texas. This floristic province is characterized by sandy plains, sluggish streams, coastal dunes, and tidal marshes. Barrier islands and mainland beaches are constantly reshaped by the dynamic forces that once sculpted the entire province. Associations of mixed deciduous species and pines cover much of the Coastal Plain. Wildlife abounds throughout the province - bear, deer, turkey, snakes, and forest birds. Gardening can be a challenge due to the heat, humidity, and poor, sandy soils. However, the mild winter climate is a boon to gardeners. The late winter and spring season are glorious, with bulbs, flowering trees, and woodland wildflowers in abundance. In summer, gardeners are apt to be more successful growing heat- and humidity-adapted native plants than those pictured in English gardening books.
Northern Pine Barrens
The dry, acidic soils of coastal New Jersey, eastern Long Island, and Cape Cod support an association similar to that found on the dry ridges of the southern Appalachians. Pitch pine is the dominant tree, but scrub oak is common, as are shrubs such as sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), and huckleberries (Gaylussacia species). In moister soils, inkberry holly (Ilex glabra) and sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) are found, as they are on the southern Coastal Plain. Wetlands of sedges (Carex species), sundews (Drosera species), pitcher plants (Sarracenia species), and ferns grow along the shallow bays of streams and in poorly drained depressions.
Upland Hardwood Forest
Hardwood forests are the mature, or late-successional, forests on many sites in the Coastal Plain. There is considerable variation in species composition and community structure, depending on the availability of moisture and nutrients. In moist, rich soils, the spring wildflower display in these forests is similar to that in the eastern deciduous forests. Younger, early-successional forest patches include sweet gum, winged elm (Ulmus alata), and a mix of other species. In the northern Coastal Plain, oak forests composed of southern red oak, white oak, and a few others, are common. Young forests are often mixed with various pines. Older forests of beech (Fagus grandifolia) and maple (Acer saccharum) grow on undisturbed sites. In the southern Coastal Plain, bullbay magnolia replaces the beech. In peninsular Florida, deciduous and evergreen oaks prevail.
Xeric Pine Forest
Forests of pine occur over extensive areas of coarse, dry, sandy soils in the fall-line sandhills extending from southern North Carolina through Georgia and parts of Alabama. Longleaf pine and wiregrass are found throughout, mixed with a variety of other pines, oaks, and other deciduous species, depending on the area. Shrubs such as huckleberries (Gaylussacia species) and staggerbush (Lyonia mariana) intermingle with bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum). Fire plays an important role in keeping the grasses and forbs from being overtaken by shrubs and deciduous trees.
Mesic Pine Forest
As moisture availability increases, xeric, or dry, sandhill communities grade into pine-dominated flatwoods and savannahs. In the open-canopied savannahs are scattered clumps of longleaf and slash pines with an understory of grasses and herbs. Flatwoods have denser canopies of slash pine and some oaks, with an understory of small trees and a dense tangle of shrubs such as titi (Cyrilla racemiflora), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), and wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera). Various palmetto palms (Sabal species) are also common. Fire is important to the ecology of this association.
Savannah and Pocosin
Savannahs and pocosins are dominated by pond and longleaf pine. Grasses, huge drifts of ferns, thickets of wax myrtle, titi, loblolly bay, and sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) are the common plants. Carnivorous plants also abound in these wetlands. Six species of pitcher plants (Sarracenia species) and the Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) are found here and nowhere else in the world.
Bottomland Forest
Bottomland forests of maple, tupelo, and cypress are found along water courses in the outer Coastal Plain. Emergent wetland plants such as arrowheads (Sagittaria species), pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata), iris, and sedges (Carex species) grow in open, sunny areas.
Maritime Communities
The outer dunes and seacoast are pelted by salt spray and storms. Leather-leafed shrubs, grasses, and salt-tolerant wildflowers are the only plants tough enough to survive. Poison ivy is abundant in these areas. The coastal saltmarshes are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Shorebirds and wading birds feed and nest in the saltmarshes. Many songbirds such as sparrows and wrens find shelter in the dense reeds and grasses. The open waters of these wetlands are important wintering grounds for millions of ducks and geese.