Vascular Flora of a Southern Appalachian Fen and Floodplain Complex

A survey of vascular flora was completed at wetland sites in the Tulula Creek floodplain in Graham County, North Carolina as part of a comprehensive ecological study. The vegetation survey was conducted in forested and unforested fen and floodplain wetlands in 1994 and 2001, and in a forested floodplain wetland in 2001 in order to document plant species occurring in these rare mountain habitats. A total of 107 taxa representing 52 families were identified. More than 66% of the taxa also have been reported in other non-alluvial wetlands in the region; about 31% of the taxa identified in the Tulula Creek wetland complex have been reported in non-alluvial wetlands in West Virginia and about 12% have been reported in the non-alluvial wetlands of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. This paper documented the vascular plant communities within this rare wetland complex before intensive stream restoration began in 2001.