Print Report

CEGL006325 Impatiens capensis - Peltandra virginica - Polygonum arifolium - Bolboschoenus fluviatilis - Typha angustifolia Tidal Marsh

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Orange Jewelweed - Green Arrow-arum - Halberd-leaf Tearthumb - River Bulrush - Narrowleaf Cattail Tidal Marsh

Colloquial Name: Freshwater Tidal Mixed High Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This association occupies the higher elevation zone of freshwater to slightly oligohaline marshes along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Virginia. In the southern part of the range (northern Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware), this is the principal mixed freshwater tidal marsh community, forming extensive patches. The vegetation is typically mixed and dense, with highly variable species composition and patch dominance. Impatiens capensis, Peltandra virginica, Polygonum spp. (Polygonum arifolium, Polygonum sagittatum, Polygonum punctatum, Polygonum hydropiperoides), Bolboschoenus fluviatilis, and Typha angustifolia are characteristic and often abundant. Other species that may be abundant in a given stand include Leersia oryzoides, Hibiscus moscheutos, Mikania scandens, Sagittaria latifolia, Amaranthus cannabinus, Zizania aquatica, Bidens laevis, Bidens coronata, Pontederia cordata, Typha latifolia, Onoclea sensibilis, and Carex comosa. Additional associates include Boehmeria cylindrica, Acorus calamus, Cicuta maculata var. maculata, Cuscuta gronovii var. gronovii, Apios americana, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Bolboschoenus novae-angliae, Echinochloa walteri, Lycopus americanus, Pilea fontana, Eleocharis palustris, Iris versicolor, and Sium suave. In the northern portion of the range, Carex stricta is also common. On the Connecticut River, Impatiens capensis is less important, and a levee is often present in the high marsh supporting such species as Carex lacustris, Ambrosia trifida, and Eupatorium perfoliatum.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Classification of this type at the southern end of its range is supported by analysis of an 800-plot regional dataset of tidal vegetation assembled for the NCR and Mid-Atlantic region vegetation mapping projects. It is documented by 39 plots from the Chester, Choptank, James, Nanticoke, Pocomoke, and Potomac river drainages in Maryland and Virginia.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: These are mixed, dense, and often diverse marshes with highly variable species composition and patch dominance.

Floristics: These are mixed, dense, and often diverse marshes with highly variable species composition and patch dominance. Despite compositional variation, Impatiens capensis, Peltandra virginica, Polygonum spp. (Polygonum arifolium, Polygonum sagittatum, Polygonum punctatum, Polygonum hydropiperoides), Bolboschoenus fluviatilis (= Schoenoplectus fluviatilis), and Typha angustifolia are characteristic and often abundant. Other species that may be abundant in a given stand include Leersia oryzoides, Hibiscus moscheutos, Mikania scandens, Sagittaria latifolia, Amaranthus cannabinus, Zizania aquatica, Bidens laevis, Bidens coronata, Pontederia cordata, Typha latifolia, Onoclea sensibilis, and Carex comosa. Additional associates include Boehmeria cylindrica, Acorus calamus, Cicuta maculata var. maculata, Cuscuta gronovii var. gronovii, Apios americana, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Bolboschoenus novae-angliae (= Schoenoplectus novae-angliae), Echinochloa walteri, Lycopus americanus, Pilea fontana, Eleocharis palustris, Iris versicolor, and Sium suave. In the northern portion of the range, Carex stricta is also common. On the Connecticut River, Impatiens capensis is less important, and a levee is often present in the high marsh supporting such species as Carex lacustris, Ambrosia trifida, and Eupatorium perfoliatum. Mean species richness of 39 Maryland and Virginia plot samples was 19 taxa per 100 m2. The exotics Murdannia keisak, Lythrum salicaria, and Phragmites australis have all been reported to be invasive in this association in various parts of its range.

Dynamics:  Freshwater tidal marshes are naturally dynamic systems that are best developed where there is a major input of freshwater, a daily tidal range of at least 0.5 m, and a geomorphology that tends to constrict and magnify tidal influence in the upper reaches of the estuary (Odum et al. 1984). They are subject to diurnal flooding by tides and seasonal and episodic flooding from river discharge. Plant composition of freshwater tidal marshes generally occurs as a mosaic of patches dominated by a few or a single species. Species composition is determined by species life history characteristics, especially lifeform, phenology and mode of regeneration in response to microhabitat conditions, and the frequency and duration of flooding. Plant composition has seasonal variation. This association occurs in the higher elevation zones of freshwater tidal marsh systems.
Environmental Description:  This association occupies the higher elevation zone of freshwater to slightly oligohaline river marshes. Soils are reported to be highly variable across the range, varying from silts and silty mucks to peats and sands. Samples collected from 18 Chesapeake Bay region plots were mostly dark brown mucky silts (rarely mucky clays) rich in fine organic matter and roots.
Geographic Range: This association occurs in freshwater tidal marshes along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Virginia. Its southern limit is the intertidal portion of the James River in east-central Virginia. In the southern part of the range (northern Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware), this is the principal mixed freshwater tidal marsh community, forming extensive patches along many tidal rivers.

Nations: CA?,US

States/Provinces:  CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NJ, NY, PA, QC?, VA


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3

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.c <i>Zizania aquatica - Spartina patens - Amaranthus cannabinus</i> Freshwater Tidal Marsh Group G914 2.C.4.Ne.1.c
Alliance A4017 Green Arrow-arum - Pickerelweed - Arrowhead species Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Alliance A4017 2.C.4.Ne.1.c
Association CEGL006325 Orange Jewelweed - Green Arrow-arum - Halberd-leaf Tearthumb - River Bulrush - Narrowleaf Cattail Tidal Marsh CEGL006325 2.C.4.Ne.1.c
Concept Lineage: CEGL006909 is covered by CEGL006325 (LAS 12-13). CEGL006096 merged into CEGL006325 (5-07).

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Bidens laevis - Zizania aquatica var. aquatica - Hibiscus moscheutos Tidal Herbaceous Vegetation (Walton et al. 2001)
> Carex lacustris marsh community (Barrett 1989)
= Impatiens capensis - Polygonum sagittatum - Zizania aquatica - (Bidens laevis, coronata) Tidal Herbaceous Vegetation (Coulling 2002)
= Impatiens capensis - Sagittaria latifolia - Peltandra virginica Tidal Herbaceous Vegetation (Clancy 1996)
= Onoclea sensibilis - Schoenoplectus fluviatilis - Typha spp. community (Metzler and Barrett 2006)
> Onoclea sensibilis / Thelypteris palustris marsh community (Barrett 1989)
> Onoclea sensibilis marsh community (Barrett 1989)
= Peltandra virginica - Impatiens capensis - Typha angustifolia Tidal Herbaceous Vegetation (Harrison 2001)
= Peltandra virginica - Impatiens capensis - Typha angustifolia Tidal Herbaceous Vegetation (Bartgis 1986)
> Peltandra virginica marsh community (Barrett 1989)
= Polygonum punctatum - Bidens coronata Freshwater Marsh (Walton et al. 2001)
> Typha latifolia - Scirpus fluviatilis - Carex comosa Tidally Flooded Herbaceous Vegetation (McCoy and Fleming 2000)
? FW Tidal Marsh (Rawinski 1984a) [formerly Southern New England FW Tidal.]
Concept Author(s): Eastern Ecology Group

Author of Description: S.L. Neid and G.P. Fleming

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 05-24-07
  • Barrett, N. E. 1989. Vegetation of the tidal wetlands of the lower Connecticut River: Ecological relationships of plant community-types with respect to flooding and habitat. M.S. thesis, University of Connecticut, Storrs. 209 pp.
  • Barrett, N. E. 1994. Vegetation patch dynamics in freshwater tidal wetlands. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Connecticut. 277 pp.
  • Bartgis, R. 1986. Natural community descriptions. Unpublished draft. Maryland Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis.
  • Breden, T. F. 1989. A preliminary natural community classification for New Jersey. Pages 157-191 in: E. F. Karlin, editor. New Jersey''s rare and endangered plants and animals. Institute for Environmental Studies, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ. 280 pp.
  • Breden, T. F., Y. R. Alger, K. S. Walz, and A. G. Windisch. 2001. Classification of vegetation communities of New Jersey: Second iteration. Association for Biodiversity Information and New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Office of Natural Lands Management, Division of Parks and Forestry, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton.
  • CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
  • Clancy, K. 1996. Natural communities of Delaware. Unpublished review draft. Delaware Natural Heritage Program, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Delaware Division of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Smyrna, DE. 52 pp.
  • Coulling, P. P. 2002. A preliminary classification of tidal marsh, shrub swamp, and hardwood swamp vegetation and assorted non-tidal, chiefly non-maritime, herbaceous wetland communities of the Virginia Coastal Plain. October 2002. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage. Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-18. 30 pp.
  • Coxe, R. 2009. Guide to Delaware vegetation communities. Spring 2009 edition. State of Delaware, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Delaware Natural Heritage Program, Smyrna.
  • Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
  • Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
  • Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
  • Fleming, G. P., K. Taverna, and P. P. Coulling. 2007b. Vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks, eastern region. Regional (VA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2007. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
  • Gawler, S. C. 2002. Natural landscapes of Maine: A guide to vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME.
  • Gawler, S. C., and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: A classification of vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta.
  • Harrison, J. W. 2001. Herbaceous tidal wetland communities of Maryland''s eastern shore: Identification, assessment and monitoring. Report submitted to the U.S. EPA (Clean Water Act 1998 State Wetlands Protection Development Grant Program). Biodiversity Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Division. 30 June 2001. [U.S. EPA Reference Wetland Natural communities of Maryland''s Herbaceous Tidal Wetlands Grant #CD993724].
  • Harrison, J. W. 2011. The natural communities of Maryland: 2011 working list of ecological community groups and community types. Unpublished report. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Service, Natural Heritage Program, Annapolis. 33 pp.
  • Harrison, J. W., compiler. 2004. Classification of vegetation communities of Maryland: First iteration. A subset of the International Classification of Ecological Communities: Terrestrial Vegetation of the United States, NatureServe. Maryland Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis. 243 pp.
  • McCoy, K. M., and G. P. Fleming. 2000. Ecological communities of U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Belvoir, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Army. Natural Heritage Technical Report 00-08. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 156 pp. plus appendices.
  • Metzler, K., and J. Barrett. 2006. The vegetation of Connecticut: A preliminary classification. State Geological and Natural History Survey, Report of Investigations No. 12. Connecticut Natural Diversity Database, Hartford, CT.
  • Odum, W. E., T. J. Smith, III, J. K. Hoover, and C. C. McIvor. 1984. The ecology of tidal freshwater marshes of the United States east coast: A community profile. FWS/OBS-83/17. USDI Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services, Washington, DC. 176 pp.
  • Rawinski, T. 1984a. Natural community description abstract - southern New England calcareous seepage swamp. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA. 6 pp.
  • Reschke, C. 1990. Ecological communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Latham, NY. 96 pp.
  • Rhoads, A. F., and T. A. Block. 2011b. Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Freshwater Tidal Mixed High Marsh Factsheet. Morris Arboretum. [http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/Community.aspx?=30007] (accessed February 08, 2012)
  • Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2014. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 2.0. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/nhesp/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]
  • Walton, D. P., P. P. Coulling, J. Weber, A. Belden, Jr., and A. C. Chazal. 2001. A plant community classification and natural heritage inventory of the Pamunkey River floodplain. Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Natural Heritage Technical Report 01-19. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 200 pp. plus appendices.
  • Zimmerman, E. A., T. Davis, M. A. Furedi, B. Eichelberger, J. McPherson, S. Seymour, G. Podniesinski, N. Dewar, and J. Wagner, editors. 2012. Terrestrial and palustrine plant communities of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Harrisburg. [http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/Communities.aspx]