Print Report

CEGL007890 Sagittaria latifolia - Sagittaria platyphylla - (Colocasia esculenta) Deltaic Tidal Marsh

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Broadleaf Arrowhead - Delta Arrowhead - (Coco Yam) Deltaic Tidal Marsh

Colloquial Name: Deltaic Plain Arrowhead Tidal Freshwater Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This common "fresh" marsh type of the extreme lower Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River deltas is subject to regular but infrequent influence of saltwater. The type is dominated by Sagittaria latifolia and Colocasia esculenta (an invasive exotic), with Sagittaria platyphylla as the most common associate. The original native vegetation that typified these settings is unclear but may have been characterized mainly by the Sagittaria species. Colocasia tends to be a "fringing" species that mainly colonizes low riverbanks in the area, while the Sagittaria species are more typical of the flooded mudflats in the area. Additional common species include Typha spp., Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus americanus, Polygonum spp., the exotics Alternanthera philoxeroides, Aeschynomene indica, Sphenoclea zeylanica, and others. Species richness in this marsh type is low.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Not recognized by Visser et al. (1998) in their analysis of 1968 marsh data for the same area. In Louisiana, present only in the Deltaic Plain. A conservation target?

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Stands of this association are dominated by Sagittaria latifolia with Sagittaria platyphylla as the most common native associate. The original native vegetation that typified these settings is unclear but may have been characterized mainly by the Sagittaria species. Colocasia esculenta (an invasive exotic) tends to be a "fringing" species that mainly colonizes low riverbanks in the area, while the Sagittaria species are more typical of the flooded mudflats in the area. Additional common species include Typha spp., Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus americanus (= Scirpus americanus), Polygonum spp., the exotics Alternanthera philoxeroides, Aeschynomene indica, Sphenoclea zeylanica, and others. Species richness in this marsh type is low.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  No Data Available
Geographic Range: This fresh marsh type occurs in the extreme lower Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River deltas.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  LA


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation F013 2.C.4
Division 2.C.4.Ne Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D322 2.C.4.Ne
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Ne.1 Annual Wild Rice - Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Pickerelweed Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Macrogroup M066 2.C.4.Ne.1
Group 2.C.4.Ne.1.b <i>Zizaniopsis milacea - Spartina patens - Panicum hemotimon</i> Freshwater Tidal Marsh Group G913 2.C.4.Ne.1.b
Alliance A1987 Bull-tongue Arrowhead Gulf Coast Tidal Freshwater Marsh Alliance A1987 2.C.4.Ne.1.b
Association CEGL007890 Broadleaf Arrowhead - Delta Arrowhead - (Coco Yam) Deltaic Tidal Marsh CEGL007890 2.C.4.Ne.1.b
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Fresh Deltaic Mixture (Visser and Sasser 1998)
Concept Author(s): L.M. Smith

Author of Description: L.M. Smith

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 02-22-11
  • LNHP [Louisiana Natural Heritage Program]. 2009. Natural communities of Louisiana. Louisiana Natural Heritage Program, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Baton Rouge. 46 pp. [http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/page_wildlife/6776-Rare%20Natural%20Communities/LA_NAT_COM.pdf]
  • Smith, L. 1999. Coastal marsh types currently recognized in Louisiana and relationships with existing types in ICEC-TNC. Draft report. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Natural Heritage Program, Baton Rouge. 20 pp.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • Visser, J. M., C. E. Sasser, R. H. Chabreck, and R. G. Linscombe. 1998. Marsh vegetation types of the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Estuaries 21(48):818-828.
  • Visser, J. M., and C. E. Sasser. 1998. 1997 Coastal vegetation analysis. Unpublished report to Greg Steyer, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Baton Rouge, LA. Draft report November 20, 1998. 47 pp.