Environmental Description:  This community occurs in floodplain edges of brownwater floodplains, in situations that are very rarely flooded by alluvial waters, but which receive regular seepage from adjacent upland slopes. The hydrology is constantly saturated, and soils are acidic and organic. At Congaree Swamp National Monument, this community is associated almost exclusively with Dorovan muck soils (TNC 1998b). At Fort Benning (Georgia/Alabama), this saturated forest type occurs in floodplain flats and along floodplain edges. It is not saturated as a result of stream or river flooding, but rather due to seepage from adjacent sloping areas. This association may occur in these situations due to a difference in soil structure such as a subsurface clay layer that could lead to the saturated soil surface. The shrub layer in these associations is open and, as a result, there is more diversity in the associated herbs. This is in contrast to ~Nyssa biflora - Acer rubrum var. trilobum - Liriodendron tulipifera / Ilex coriacea - Lyonia lucida Swamp Forest (CEGL004645)$$, which is a saturated forest type that is typically found in the longleaf pine matrix in sandhill situations as small, narrow patches along small intermittent streams, and ~Liriodendron tulipifera - Nyssa biflora - Magnolia virginiana / Toxicodendron vernix - Morella caroliniensis / Osmunda regalis Swamp Forest (CEGL004772)$$, which is a saturated forest that is also found in longleaf pine matrix woodland situations. It appears to be most common in areas that are more mesic than those seen in sandhill situations (for example along larger streams and creeks).