B-15 



Typically the most important trees are sweetgum 

 Liquidambar styraciflua , white oak Quercus alba, swamp chestnut 

 oak Quercus michauxii , laurel oak Quercus laurifolia , water oak 

 Quercus nigra, willow oak Quercus phellos , overcup oak Quercus 

 lyrat a, pin oak Quercus palustris , Nuttall oak Quercus nuttalli , 

 water ash Fraxinus caroliniana , winged elm Ulmus alata, American 

 elm Ulmus americana , swamp tupelo Nyssa sylvatica var . biflora, 

 red maple Acer rub rum , loblolly pine Pinus taeda and hackberry 

 Celtis laevigata . Early successional stages, occurring close 

 to the river, are dominated by cottonwood Populus deltoides and 

 heterophylla and black willow Salix nigra . 



Hotchkiss and Stewart (1947) indicate that beech 

 Fagus grandifolia dominates in the mature bottomland hardwood 

 forests of Maryland. On the smaller floodplains, especially 

 in the northern section of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, river 

 birch Betula nigra , sycamore Platanus occidentalis , box elder 

 Acer negundo and silver maple Acer ^accharinum dominate the 

 stream sides. 



The floodplain soils are quite rich due to the 

 frequent addition of alluvium. Farmers have cleared much of 

 the best drained bottomlands for cultivation and have reaped 

 great benefits from this land. This, must be considered as a 

 major threat to the survival of this forest as a community type. 



Animal species are also quite abundant in this community 

 due to the presence of a large supply of foods. 



Typical animals include: 



Two lined salamander Eurycea bislineata 



Fowler's toad Bufo woodhousei fowler i 



Squirrel tree frog Hyla squirella 



Pine woods tree frog Hyla femoralis 



Green tree frog Hyla cinerea 



Bull frog Rana catesbeiana 



Box turtle Terrapene Carolina 



Broad headed skink Eumeces laticeps 



Water snake Natrix sipedon 



Eastern hognose snake Heterodon platyrhinos 



Wood duck Aix sponsa 



Red shouldered hawk Buteo lineatus 



Bobwhite quail Colinus virginianus 



Turkey Meleagris gallopavo 



Woodcock Philohela minor 



Barred owl Strix varia 



