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A3411 Rotala ramosior - Eleocharis obtusa - Fimbristylis autumnalis Annual Ruderal Wet Meadow Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: These semi-natural wetlands are vegetated with annual plants, and include floodplains, exposed river bars, and the exposed areas of drawdown zones of reservoirs of the southern United States, from Oklahoma to Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Lowland Toothcup - Blunt Spikerush - Slender Fimbry Annual Ruderal Wet Meadow Alliance

Colloquial Name: Ruderal Annual Mudflat Wet Meadow

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: These semi-natural wetlands are vegetated with annual plants. These are generally areas which may be flooded in the winter and spring, but not in the summer. This allows an annual flora to thrive. The vegetation is characterized by plants which complete their germination, growth, flowering, seed set, and senescence in the same year. Sites include floodplains exposed river bars, and the exposed areas of drawdown zones of reservoirs of the southern United States, from Oklahoma to Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Semi-natural wetlands which are vegetated with annual plants, including in floodplains, exposed river bars, or drawdown zones of reservoirs.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: No Data Available

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Stands of this vegetation may be dense or more patchy and open. The vegetation is characterized by annual plants which complete their germination, growth, flowering, seed set, and senescence in the same year.

Floristics: The composition and structure of the vegetation are highly variable among locations and from year to year. The flora of mudflats of TVA mainstream reservoirs has been well-documented (Webb et al. 1988). In general, a number of short-statured annuals are characteristic, including Eleocharis obtusa, Eragrostis hypnoides, Fimbristylis autumnalis, Fimbristylis littoralis (= Fimbristylis miliacea), Lindernia dubia, Lipocarpha micrantha (= Hemicarpha micrantha), Rotala ramosior, and others (Webb et al. 1988). Several perennial species may also be encountered, especially along the upper edges and boundaries of mudflats. Species can include Juncus acuminatus, Justicia americana, Leersia oryzoides, Ludwigia spp., Panicum rigidulum (= Panicum agrostoides), Symphyotrichum lanceolatum var. lanceolatum (= Aster simplex), and others. River floodplain stands of the weedy forb Iva annua (usually monodominant or heavily dominated) are also included here. In Oklahoma, associated species include Ambrosia trifida, Bothriochloa saccharoides, Cnidoscolus texanus, Lespedeza cuneata (= Lespedeza sericea), Passiflora incarnata, and Sorghum halepense (Hoagland 2000).

Dynamics:  These are generally areas which may be flooded in the winter and spring, but not in the summer. This allows an annual flora to thrive. The vegetation is characterized by plants which complete their germination, growth, flowering, seed set, and senescence in the same year.
Environmental Description:  Stands of this alliance are found in successional, temporarily flooded habitats such as drawdown zones of reservoirs and impoundments, river bar depositional zones or post-cultivation floodplain (fallow or old field) areas. These are mainly sites that flood in the winter or spring, but dry out later in the season.
Geographic Range: This alliance is found in the southern United States, from Oklahoma to Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AL, AR, GA, IL?, IN?, KS?, KY, MO?, NC, OK, SC?, TN, TX?, VA


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNA

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.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D323 2.C.4.Nd
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nd.90 Common Rush - Purple Loosestrife - Reed Canarygrass Eastern North American Ruderal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup M303 2.C.4.Nd.90
Group 2.C.4.Nd.90.a Bushy Bluestem - Common Rush Ruderal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Group G557 2.C.4.Nd.90.a
Alliance A3411 Lowland Toothcup - Blunt Spikerush - Slender Fimbry Annual Ruderal Wet Meadow Alliance A3411 2.C.4.Nd.90.a
Association CEGL003910 (Common Persimmon, American Sycamore) / Late-flowering Thoroughwort - Virginia Buttonweed Ruderal Wet Meadow CEGL003910 2.C.4.Nd.90.a
Association CEGL004049 River Valley Impoundment Mudflat CEGL004049 2.C.4.Nd.90.a
Association CEGL004124 Annual Marsh-elder - (Rough Cocklebur) Ruderal Wet Meadow CEGL004124 2.C.4.Nd.90.a
Concept Lineage: A.1878, A.2022.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Iva annua Herbaceous Alliance (Hoagland 2000)
Concept Author(s): C. Nordman, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: C. Nordman

Acknowledgements: The past work of ecologists who have focused on these habitats (see the cited literature) and the mostly annual wetland plants which occur there has allowed a regional view to develop.

Version Date: 09-26-14
  • Baskin, C. C., J. M. Baskin, and E. W. Chester. 1993. Seed germination ecophysiology of four summer annual mudflat species of Cyperaceae. Aquatic Botany 45(1):41-52.
  • Baskin, C. C., J. M. Baskin, and E. W. Chester. 2002. Seed germination ecology of summer annual species of dewatered reservoir shorelines (mudflats), a temporally unpredictable habitat. In: E. W. Chester and J. S. Fralish, editors. Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky and Tennessee: Four decades of Tennessee Valley Authority stewardship. Miscellaneous Publication No. 16. Center for Field Biology, Austin Peay University, Clarksville, TN.
  • DeBerry, D. A., and J. E. Perry. 2005. A drawdown flora in Virginia. Castanea 70(4):276-286. [http://www.vims.edu/people/perry_je/pubs/2005DeBerry-Perry-Castanea-Drawdown%20flora.pdf]
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
  • Hoagland, B. 2000. The vegetation of Oklahoma: A classification for landscape mapping and conservation planning. The Southwestern Naturalist 45(4):385-420.
  • Luken, J. O., and J. W Thieret. 2001. Floristic relationships of mud flats and shorelines at Cave Run Lake, Kentucky. Castanea 66(4):336-351.
  • Webb, D. H., W. M. Dennis, and A. L. Bates. 1988a. An analysis of the plant community of mudflats of TVA mainstream reservoirs. Pages 177-198 in: D. H. Snyder, editor. Proceedings of first annual symposium on the natural history of the lower Tennessee and Cumberland river valleys. Austin Peay St. University, Clarksville, TN. 328 pp.