Plants and Animals
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Plants
By far the most common trees in the Maple - Ash Swamp Forest are silver maple (and/or red maple), and green ash. Beneath these trees, you might see saplings of American elm or black willow. There are virtually no shrubs in this natural community, but you may see eastern poison-ivy. Low plants include lizard’s-tail and small-spike false nettle, which have no problem surviving extended periods of flooding.
Canopy Trees
The trees whose crowns intercept most of the sunlight in a forest stand. The uppermost layer of a forest.
- green ash
- silver maple and/or red maple
Understory Trees
Small trees and young specimens of large trees growing beneath the canopy trees. Also called the subcanopy.
Shrubs, Saplings, and Vines
Shrubs, juvenile trees and vines at the right height to give birds and others a perch up off the ground but below the trees.
Low Plants (Field Layer)
Plants growing low to the ground. This includes small shrubs and tree seedlings.
- lizard’s-tail
- small-spike false nettle
- Allegheny monkeyflower (occasional)
- blunt broom sedge (occasional)
- Canadian clearweed (occasional)
- hop sedge (occasional)
- orange jewelweed (occasional)
- reed canarygrass (occasional)
- swamp smartweed (occasional)
- sweet woodreed (occasional)
- whitegrass (occasional)
Non-Native Invasive Plant Species
Few non-native plants invade this community, but one that does is Japanese stiltgrass*. See Ecological Threats for more.
Animals
Even though natural communities aren’t named after animals, animals do play a crucial role in maintaining natural communities. Plants and animals need each other. To name just a few examples, plants provide food and habitat for animals, and animals help plants reproduce by spreading pollen and seeds. To learn more, see The Role of Animals in Natural Communities in Ecology Basics.
Check out iNaturalist to see photos of animals (and plants!) that people have seen in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.