The Southeastern mixed forests are an

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

of the

temperate broadleaf and mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These ...

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

, in the lower portion of the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

Setting

This ecoregion covers the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region of the eastern United States, stretching in a broad arc from extreme southwest

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

southwest to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. It is distinguished from neighboring ecoregions by elevation and vegetation. At lower elevations to the east are the

Middle Atlantic coastal forests The Middle Atlantic coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forest mixed with patches of evergreen broadleaved forests (closer to the Atlantic coast) along the coast of the southeastern United States. Setting The Middle Atlantic coastal fore ...

on the

Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

. Similarly, the Southeastern conifer forests occupy the

Gulf coastal plain The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico. This coastal plain reaches from the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia, the southern two-thirds of Alabama, over most of Mississippi, wes ...

to the south. Higher, and to the north and west, are the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests and the

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests is an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. It consists of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United ...

of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

. Small stands of these forests extend into north

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

Climate

This ecoregion lies within the ''Cfa'' Köppen climate zones, and the ''Cf'' and ''Do''

Trewartha Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan. According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Tre ...

climate zones, placing it in the

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

climate category, with hot, humid summers, and mild to cool winters. The coldest month mean temperature at or above freezing, and significant precipitation in all seasons.

Flora

Both oaks (''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...

'' spp.) and hickories (''

Carya Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

'' spp.) are abundant in this ecoregion. Additionally, some 3,635 species of native herbaceous and shrub species have been recorded here. American chestnut (''

Castanea dentata The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...

'') was formerly an important tree in this ecoregion, but its population was destroyed by the

chestnut blight The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...

in the early 20th century. It still persists as an understory tree, but is often killed by the blight before it matures.

Oak-hickory forests

The most common oaks (''

'' spp.) of this ecoregion are white oak (''

Quercus alba An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...

''), northern red oak (''

Quercus rubra ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been intro ...

''), black oak (''

Quercus velutina ''Quercus velutina'', the black oak, is a species of oak in the red oak group (''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''), native and widespread in eastern and central North America. It is sometimes called the eastern black oak. ''Quercus velutina'' was p ...

''), and scarlet oak (''

Quercus coccinea ''Quercus coccinea'', the scarlet oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak section ''Lobatae'' of the genus ''Quercus'', in the family Fagaceae. It is primarily distributed in the central and eastern United States. It occurs on dry, sandy, usual ...

''). Black and scarlet grow in open forests. Black oak grows in nearly single-species stands on dry, exposed sites. Scarlet oak grows in various habitats. Chestnut oak (''

Quercus prinus ''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest ...

'') is found on ridgetops. The hickories (''

'' spp.) of this ecoregion are identifiable by their pinnately compound leaves. They include pignut ('' Carya glabra'') and mockernut hickory (''

Carya tomentosa ''Carya tomentosa'', (mockernut hickory, mockernut, white hickory, whiteheart hickory, hognut, bullnut) is a tree in the Juglandaceae or walnut family. The most abundant of the hickories, common in the eastern half of the US, it is long lived, ...

''), both of which grow on a variety of sites from dry ridges to

mesic habitat In ecology, a mesic habitat is a type of habitat with a moderate or well-balanced supply of moisture, e.g., a mesic forest, a temperate hardwood forest, or dry-mesic prairie. Mesic habitats transition to xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shr ...

Understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

trees include sassafras ('' Sassafras albidum''), hophornbeam (''

Ostrya virginiana ''Ostrya virginiana'', the American hophornbeam, is a species of '' Ostrya'' native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Manitoba and eastern Wyoming, southeast to northern Florida and southwest to eastern Texas. Population ...

''), and green hawthorn (''

Crataegus viridis ''Crataegus viridis'', the green hawthorn or southern thorn, is a species of hawthorn that is native to the southeastern United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or Am ...

''). Flowering dogwood (''

Cornus florida ''Cornus florida'', the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida ...

'') blooms in early spring. Shrubs include highbush blueberry ('' Vaccinium corymbosum''), lowbush blueberry (''

Vaccinium angustifolium ''Vaccinium angustifolium'', commonly known as the wild lowbush blueberry, is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada (from Manitoba to Newfoundland) and the northeastern United States, growing as far south as the Great Smoky ...

''), mapleleaf viburnum (''

Viburnum acerifolium ''Viburnum acerifolium'', the mapleleaf viburnum, maple-leaved arrowwood or dockmackie, is a species of '' Viburnum'', native to eastern North America from southwestern Quebec and Ontario south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. It is ada ...

''), huckleberry (''

Gaylussacia baccata ''Gaylussacia baccata'', the black huckleberry, is a common huckleberry found throughout a wide area of eastern North America. Distribution The plant is native to Eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region, the Midwestern and Northeastern Uni ...

''), mountain laurel (''

Kalmia latifolia ''Kalmia latifolia'', the mountain laurel, calico-bush, or spoonwood, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, that is native to the eastern United States. Its range stretches from southern Maine south to northern Florida, ...

''). Common pine (''

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ...

'' spp.) species are shortleaf pine (''

Pinus echinata ''Pinus echinata'', the shortleaf pine, is a species of pine native to the southeastern United States. Description The tree is variable in form, sometimes straight, sometimes crooked, with an irregular crown. The tree reaches heights of with a ...

'') and loblolly pine (''

Pinus taeda ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine. ...

''). The pine forests are regenerated by fire. Without fire,

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

species grow in below the pines. Sugar maple (''

Acer saccharum ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the pri ...

''), a shade tolerant tree, grows amid the oaks and hickories in the northern part of this ecoregion. Small stands of these forests extend into North Florida BeltWoods2

Mesic forests

Mesic forests occur in fertile, mesic, low-elevation habitats such as deep ravines and sheltered north- or east-facing slopes. Dominant trees include American beech (''

Fagus grandifolia ''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...

''), tulip tree (''

Liriodendron tulipifera ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus '' Liriodendron'' (the othe ...

''), northern red oak, white ash (''

Fraxinus americana ''Fraxinus americana'', the white ash or American ash, is a species of ''ash tree'' native to eastern and central North America. The species is native to mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, ...

''), black maple (''

Acer nigrum ''Acer nigrum'', the black maple, is a species of maple closely related to '' A. saccharum'' (sugar maple), and treated by some authors as a subspecies of it, as ''Acer saccharum'' subsp. ''nigrum''. Identification can be confusing due to the t ...

''), sugar maple (''

''), basswood (''

Tilia americana ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

''), and bitternut hickory (''

Carya cordiformis ''Carya cordiformis'', the bitternut hickory, also called bitternut or swamp hickory, is a large pecan hickory with commercial stands located mostly north of the other pecan hickories. Bitternut hickory is cut and sold in mixture with the true h ...

''). Understory trees include pawpaw (''

Asimina triloba ''Asimina triloba'', the American papaw, pawpaw, paw paw, or paw-paw, among many regional names, is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and Canada, producing a large, yellowish-green to brown fruit. ''Asimina'' is the on ...

'') and painted buckeye (''

Aesculus sylvatica ''Aesculus sylvatica'', the painted buckeye, is a species of shrub. The species has five leaflets that are long and wide. The flowers are yellow and occasionally have red also. The species have dry fruit and brown, scaly bark Bark may refe ...

''). Small stands of these forests extend into North Florida.

Mesic mixed hardwood forests

Mesic mixed hardwood forests grow on mesic uplands, ravines, lower slopes, and well-drained flatwoods. Typical trees are American beech, tulip tree, various oaks and hickories, and several other hardwoods. Understory trees include American hornbeam (''

Carpinus caroliniana ''Carpinus caroliniana'', the American hornbeam, is a small hardwood tree in the genus ''Carpinus''. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, musclewood and muscle beech. It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and ...

''), flowering dogwood (''

''), and American strawberry-bush (''

Euonymus americanus ''Euonymus americanus'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae. Common names include strawberry bush, American strawberry bush, bursting-heart, hearts-a-bustin, and hearts-bustin'-with-love.Successional forests include eastern juniper (''

Juniperus virginiana ''Juniperus virginiana'', also known as red cedar, eastern red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico a ...

''), black locust (''

Robinia pseudoacacia ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to a few small areas of the United Sta ...

''), and quaking (''

Populus tremuloides ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

'') and bigtooth aspen ('' Populus grandidentata'').

Remaining intact habitat

Sumter National Forest The Sumter National Forest is one of two forests in South Carolina that are managed together by the United States Forest Service, the other being the Francis Marion National Forest. The Sumter National Forest consists of which are divided into 3 ...

Uwharrie National Forest Uwharrie National Forest ( ) Talk Like A Tarheel
from the North Car ...

Bienville National Forest Bienville National Forest is a United States National Forest in central Mississippi, named for Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. In descending order of land area, it lies in parts of Scott, Smith, Jasper, and Newton counties and has an area ...

Talladega National Forest The Talladega National Forest is located in the U.S. state of Alabama and covers 392,567 acres (613.39 sq mi, or 1,588.66 km2) at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Before it was bought by the federal government in the 1930s, t ...

SW unit *

Oconee National Forest Oconee may refer to: Places in the United States *Oconee, Georgia * Oconee, Illinois * Oconee, Nebraska *Oconee County, Georgia *Oconee County, South Carolina *Oconee River, Georgia * Oconee Township, Shelby County, Illinois * Oconee Township, Nebr ...

* Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge * Sauratown Mountains *

Brushy Mountains (North Carolina) The Brushy Mountains are a mountain range located in northwestern North Carolina. They are an isolated "spur" of the much larger Blue Ridge Mountains, separated from them by the Yadkin River valley.''North Carolina: The History of a Southern State ...

South Mountains (North Carolina) The South Mountains are an ancient and deeply eroded mountain range in western North Carolina. They are an isolated remnant of the much larger Appalachian Mountains to the west, and are separated from the Appalachians by the Catawba River valley. ...

Tunica Hills
in southwestern Mississippi and eastern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

Arlington Woods Trend-Arlington is a suburban neighbourhood in Knoxdale-Merivale Ward in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The neighbourhood is located with in the former City of Nepean in the west end of the city. It is located west of Greenbank Road, ea ...

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Arlington House is the historic family residence of Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army, and a national memorial in his honor serving as a museum, located in Arlington, Virginia. It is situated in the middle of Arlington National C ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

* Duke Forest *

William B. Umstead State Park William B. Umstead State Park is a North Carolina state park in Wake County, North Carolina in the United States. It covers nestled between the expanding cities of Raleigh, Cary, and Durham, North Carolina. It offers hiking, bridle, and bike tr ...

Eno River State Park Eno River State Park is a North Carolina state park in Durham and Orange Counties, North Carolina. Together with the adjoining West Point on the Eno city park, the two parks preserve over 14 miles (22.5 km) of the Eno River and surroun ...

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society o ...

* Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge * Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge in the Great Pee Dee River basin of piedmont North Carolina * Belt Woods,

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...

References

{{Reflist Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the United States Ecoregions of the United States Forests of the United States Nearctic ecoregions