The southern coastal plain nonriverine cypress dome is a forested

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

community found in the southern

Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, in the states of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. They are small forested wetlands characterized by their dome-shaped appearance, with taller trees in the center and shorter trees around the perimeter. These wetlands occur on poorly drained depressions surrounded by pine flatwoods. The stagnant water in these wetlands is highly acidic. It is deep in the center, becoming shallower at the margins. Pond cypress (''

Taxodium ascendens ''Taxodium ascendens'', also known as pond cypress, is a deciduous conifer of the genus ''Taxodium'', native to North America. Many botanists treat it as a variety of bald cypress, ''Taxodium distichum'' (as ''T. distichum'' var. ''imbricatum'') ...

'') dominates the canopy, which it shares with swamp tupelo (''

Nyssa biflora ''Nyssa biflora'', commonly referred to as the swamp tupelo, or swamp black-gum is a species of tupelo that lives in wetland habitats in the United States. Taxonomy Some authors treat swamp tupelo as a variety, ''Nyssa sylvatica'' var. ''biflora ...

'') and sweetgum (''

Liquidambar styraciflua ''Liquidambar styraciflua'', commonly known as the American sweetgum among other names, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central A ...

''). Shrubs include myrtle holly ('' Ilex myrtifolia''), dog hobble ('' Leucothoe racemosa''), southern wax myrtle (''

Morella cerifera ''Myrica cerifera'' is an evergreen tree or large shrub native to North and Central America and the Caribbean. Its common names include southern wax myrtle, southern bayberry, candleberry, bayberry tree, and tallow shrub. It has uses in the garde ...

''), buttonbush (''

Cephalanthus occidentalis ''Cephalanthus occidentalis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae that is native to eastern and southern North America. Common names include buttonbush, common buttonbush, button-willow, buck brush, and honey-bells. Descripti ...

''), sweet pepperbush (''

Clethra alnifolia ''Clethra alnifolia'', the coastal sweetpepperbush or summer sweet, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Clethra'' of the family Clethraceae, native to eastern North America from southern Nova Scotia and Maine south to northern Florida, ...

''), fetterbush lyonia (''

Lyonia lucida ''Lyonia lucida'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae known by the common names fetterbush lyonia, hurrahbush, and staggerbush. Other plants may also be called fetterbush. This broadleaved evergreen plant grows on the coastal ...

''), and snowbell ('' Styrax americanus'').

References

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References

See also