GCE-LTER Plant Species List
Scope of the List: This is a partial listing of the plant species that occur at or near Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research monitoring sites GCE1 through GCE10. The list has been constructed mainly from anecdotal observations at the sites but also includes species which are likely to occur but which have not been observed directly.
List Contributors:
Steven C. Pennings, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
Thomas Dale Bishop, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Additional Resources: You can also find species known from the GCE domain by searching the i-naturalist “place” for the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER. As of 2025, there are over 20,000 observations of over 3,000 species from the GCE domain. You can use the “filters” tab to narrow the list to a few broad taxonomic categories.
| Plantae - Tracheophyta (vascular plants) - Polypodiopsida (ferns) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Habitats (key) | Resources |
| Onoclea sensibilis (Onocleaceae) | sensitive fern |  |
|
| Osmunda regalis (Osmundaceae) | royal fern | S:F | |
| Thelypteris palustris (Thelypteridaceae) | marsh fern, meadow fern, eastern marsh fern | |
|
| Plantae - Tracheophyta (vascular plants) - Pinopsida (conifers) | |||
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Habitats (key) | Resources |
| Juniperus virginiana aka Juniperus silicicola (Cupressaceae) | eastern red-cedar, genévrier rouge, red cedar juniper, eastern redcedar | T:T |  |
| Taxodium distichum (Cupressaceae) | baldcypress, bald cypress | S:F | |
| Plantae - Tracheophyta (vascular plants) - Magnoliopsida (angiosperms) | |||
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Habitats (key) | Resources |
| Acer rubrum (Sapindaceae) | red maple | |
|
| Agalinis maritima (Orobanchaceae) | seaside gerardia, saltmarsh false foxglove | |
|
| Agalinis purpurea (Orobanchaceae) | purple false foxglove | H:MR, S:B | |
| Ampelopsis arborea aka Nekemias arborea (Vitaceae) | peppervine | H:MR, S:F | |
| Apios americana (Fabaceae) | groundnut, potatobean | H:MR, S:B | |
| Arundinaria tecta (Poaceae) | none | |
|
| Atriplex patula (Amaranthaceae) | halberd-leaf orache, spear saltweed, spear saltbush, spear orach, spear-scale, spreading orache | S:B | |
| Avicennia germinans (Acanthaceae) | black mangrove | |
|
| Baccharis halimifolia (Asteraceae) | eastern baccharis | S:M | |
| Batis maritima (Bataceae) | turtleweed, saltwort | S:M | |
| Bidens laevis (Asteraceae) | smooth beggarticks, bur marigold | H:MR, S:F | |
| Bolboschoenus robustus aka Scirpus robustus (Cyperaceae) | sturdy bulrush | S:B, S:M | |
| Borrichia frutescens (Asteraceae) | bushy seaside tansy, bushy seaoxeye | S:M | |
| Carex lupulina (Cyperaceae) | hop sedge | |
|
| Carex spp (Cyperaceae) | laîches | S:F | |
| Cephalanthus occidentalis (Rubiaceae) | buttonbush, common buttonbush | S:F | |
| Ceratophyllum demersum (Ceratophyllaceae) | coon's-tail, coontail, hornwort, common hornwort, coon's tail | H:UF, S:F | |
| Chasmanthium latifolium (Poaceae) | Indian woodoats, broadleaf uniola, Indian wood-oats | |
|
| Cicuta maculata (Apiaceae) | water hemlock, common water hemlock, poison parsnip, spotted cowbane, spotted parsley, spotted water-hemlock, spotted waterhemlock, spotted water hemlock | H:MR, S:F | |
| Cladium jamaicense aka Cladium mariscus (Cyperaceae) | Jamaica swamp sawgrass | H:MR, S:B | |
| Cuscuta indecora (Convolvulaceae) | largeseed dodder, pretty dodder, bigseed alfalfa dodder | |
|
| Cyperus haspan (Cyperaceae) | haspan flatsedge | |
|
| Cyperus pseudovegetus (Cyperaceae) | marsh flatsedge | |
|
| Cyperus spp (Cyperaceae) | nutgrass , | S:B, S:F | |
| Daucus carota (Apiaceae) | bird''s nest, wild carrot, Queen Anne''s lace | |
|
| Dichanthelium spp (Poaceae) | rosette grass , | |
|
| Distichlis littoralis aka Monanthochloe littoralis (Poaceae) | none | |
|
| Distichlis spicata (Poaceae) | desert saltgrass, marsh spikegrass, saltgrass, inland saltgrass, seashore saltgrass | S:B, S:M | |
| Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae) | common water-hyacinth, water hyacinth, floating waterhyacinth, floating water hyacinth, jacinthe d'eau, jacinto de agua, lirio acuatico, mbekambekairanga, common water hyacinth | |
|
| Eleocharis fallax (Cyperaceae) | creeping spikerush | |
|
| Eleocharis palustris (Cyperaceae) | spikesedge, creeping spikerush, common spikerush, marsh spike-rush, creeping spike-rush | |
|
| Eleocharis spp (Cyperaceae) | spikesedge | S:F | |
| Eustoma exaltatum (Gentianaceae) | catchfly prairie-gentian, catchfly prairiegentian, catchfly prairie gentian | |
|
| Fimbristylis spadicea aka Fimbristylis castanea (Cyperaceae) | none | |
|
| Fimbristylis thermalis aka Fimbristylis spadicea (Cyperaceae) | hotsprings fimbry, hot springs fimbry | S:B, S:M | |
| Fraxinus caroliniana (Oleaceae) | Carolina ash | |
|
| Helenium autumnale (Asteraceae) | common sneezeweed, fall sneezeweed, mountain sneezeweed, bitterweed, false sunflower | |
|
| Helianthus annuus (Asteraceae) | common sunflower, sunflower, wild sunflower, annual sunflower | |
|
| Hydrocotyle umbellata (Araliaceae) | umbrella pennyroyal, manyflower marshpennywort | |
|
| Ipomoea pes-caprae (Convolvulaceae) | bayhops | H:BD, S:M | |
| Iris virginica (Iridaceae) | Virginia iris | H:MR, S:F | |
| Iva frutescens (Asteraceae) | Jesuit''s bark, bigleaf sumpweed | S:B, S:M | |
| Juncus effusus (Juncaceae) | lamp rush, common rush | S:F | |
| Juncus megacephalus (Juncaceae) | bighead rush | |
|
| Juncus roemerianus (Juncaceae) | needlegrass rush | S:B, S:M | |
| Kosteletzkya pentacarpos aka Kosteletzkya virginica (Malvaceae) | Virginia saltmarsh mallow | S:B | |
| Lilaeopsis chinensis (Apiaceae) | eastern grasswort | S:B, S:F | |
| Limonium carolinianum (Plumbaginaceae) | Carolina sealavender, Carolina sea lavender, canker root, seaside thrift, American thrift, lavender thrift | S:B, S:M | |
| Liquidambar styraciflua (Altingiaceae) | sweetgum | |
|
| Ludwigia peploides (Onagraceae) | floating primrose, creeping waterprimrose, floating primrosewillow, floating primrose-willow | |
|
| Ludwigia repens (Onagraceae) | creeping primrosewillow, creeping waterpurslane, creeping primrose-willow | H:MR, S:F | |
| Lycium carolinianum (Solanaceae) | Carolina desert-thorn, Carolina wolfberry | |
|
| Lythrum lineare (Lythraceae) | wand lythrum | |
|
| Magnolia virginiana (Magnoliaceae) | laurier doux, swamp-bay, sweetbay | |
|
| Mikania scandens (Asteraceae) | climbing hempvine, climbing hempweed | S:F | |
| Moehringia lateriflora aka Arenaria lateriflora (Caryophyllaceae) | bluntleaf sandwort, blunt-leaf grove-sandwort, grove sandwort | |
|
| Morella cerifera (Myricaceae) | waxmyrtle, wax myrtle | |
|
| Nyssa aquatica (Nyssaceae) | water tupelo | S:F | |
| Nyssa sylvatica (Nyssaceae) | black gum, black tupelo, blackgum | S:F | |
| Opuntia humifusa (Cactaceae) | Nopal del este, devil's-tongue, pricklypear | |
|
| Orontium aquaticum (Araceae) | goldenclub | H:MR, S:F | |
| Panicum spp (Poaceae) | panicum | |
|
| Panicum virgatum (Poaceae) | old switch panic grass, switchgrass | |
|
| Peltandra virginica (Araceae) | green arrow arum, Virginia peltandra | S:F | |
| Persicaria arifolia aka Tracaulon arifolium (Polygonaceae) | halberdleaf tearthumb | |
|
| Persicaria hydropiperoides aka Polygonum hydropiperoides (Polygonaceae) | swamp smartweed | |
|
| Persicaria sagittata (Polygonaceae) | arrowleaf tearthumb | |
|
| Physostegia virginiana (Lamiaceae) | obedient-plant, obedient plant | |
|
| Pluchea carolinensis aka Pluchea odorata (Asteraceae) | cure for all | H:MR, S:F | |
| Pluchea odorata (Asteraceae) | sweetscent, marsh fleabane | |
|
| Polygonum spp (Polygonaceae) | smartweed species | S:F | |
| Pontederia cordata (Pontederiaceae) | pickerelweed | S:F | |
| Ptilimnium capillaceum (Apiaceae) | threadleaf mockbishopweed, herbwilliam | ||
| Quercus falcata (Fagaceae) | southern red oak | |
|
| Quercus laurifolia (Fagaceae) | laurel oak | |
|
| Rayjacksonia phyllocephala (Asteraceae) | camphor daisy | |
|
| Rhynchospora careyana (Cyperaceae) | broadfruit horned beaksedge | H:MR, S:B, S:F | |
| Rumex verticillatus (Polygonaceae) | swamp dock | S:F | |
| Sabatia arenicola (Gentianaceae) | sand rosegentian, sand rose gentian | |
|
| Sabatia stellaris (Gentianaceae) | rose of Plymouth | S:B | |
| Saccharum giganteum aka Erianthus giganteus (Poaceae) | sugarcane plumegrass | |
|
| Sagittaria lancifolia (Alismataceae) | bulltongue, scythefruit arrowhead, bulltongue arrowhead | H:MR, S:F | |
| Sagittaria latifolia (Alismataceae) | wapato, sagittaire latifoliée, broadleaf arrowhead, common arrowhead, duck-potato | H:MR, S:F | |
| Salicornia bigelovii (Amaranthaceae) | dwarf saltwort | S:M | |
| Salicornia depressa aka Salicornia virginica (Amaranthaceae) | Virginia glasswort | S:M | |
| Salicornia maritima aka Salicornia europaea (Amaranthaceae) | slender glasswort, slender grasswort | S:M | |
| Saururus cernuus (Saururaceae) | lézardelle penchée, lizard''s tail | |
|
| Schoenoplectus americanus aka Scirpus olneyi (Cyperaceae) | chairmaker's bulrush, American bulrush, Olney bulrush, Schoenoplectus | S:B | |
| Schoenoplectus pungens aka Scirpus americanus (Cyperaceae) | common threesquare, Schoenoplectus | S:B, S:F | |
| Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani aka Scirpus validus (Cyperaceae) | softstem bulrush, great bulrush, soft-stem bulrush | S:F | |
| Serenoa repens (Arecaceae) | saw palmetto | |
|
| Sesuvium portulacastrum (Aizoaceae) | shoreline seapurslane, cencilla | |
|
| Setaria magna (Poaceae) | giant bristlegrass | H:MR, S:F | |
| Seutera angustifolia aka Cynanchum angustifolium (Apocynaceae) | Gulf-coast swallowwort, marsh swallowwort | S:M | |
| Solidago sempervirens (Asteraceae) | seaside goldenrod | S:B, S:M | |
| Spartina alterniflora (Poaceae) | smooth cordgrass, Atlantic cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass | S:B, S:M | |
| Spartina bakeri (Poaceae) | sand cordgrass | S:M | |
| Spartina cynosuroides (Poaceae) | big cordgrass | S:B, S:F | |
| Spartina patens (Poaceae) | saltmeadow cordgrass, marshhay cordgrass, salt meadow cordgrass | S:B, S:M | |
| Spartina spartinae (Poaceae) | gulf cordgrass | S:M | |
| Sporobolus virginicus (Poaceae) | seashore dropseed | S:M | |
| Suaeda linearis (Amaranthaceae) | annual seepweed | S:M | |
| Symphyotrichum tenuifolium aka Aster tenuifolius (Asteraceae) | perennial saltmarsh aster | S:B, S:M | |
| Typha angustifolia (Typhaceae) | narrowleaf cattail, narrow-leaf cat-tail | S:B, S:F | |
| Typha domingensis (Typhaceae) | southern cattail | |
|
| Ulmus americana (Ulmaceae) | American elm | |
|
| Uniola paniculata (Poaceae) | seaoats | |
|
| Zizania aquatica (Poaceae) | annual wildrice | H:MR, S:F | |
| Zizaniopsis miliacea (Poaceae) | giant cutgrass | S:F | |
Key to Habitats:
H:BD - Habitat Type: Beach/Dune
H:MR - Habitat Type: Marsh
H:UF - Habitat Type: Upland forest
S:B - Salinity Zone: Brackish water
S:F - Salinity Zone: Fresh water
S:M - Salinity Zone: Marine
T:T - Tidal Zone: Terrestrial
