Wetland Flowers in Arlington, TN

Graminoids

• Hundreds of species of grasses are found in the wetlands, from huge bulrushes with multicolored flowers, to delicate sedges with stalks that produce small clusters of flowers.

Flowering Trees

• Flowering trees of wetlands have to be resistant to wood-rotting fungi. The bald cypress tree (Taxodium distichum) is one. So called because of its deciduous characteristic, it produces clusters of purplish flowers that add color to wetlands that extend throughout Tennessee and many of the southern states. Other flowering trees that find home in the wetlands include the water hickory (Carya aquatic) that produces yellow flowers that are not easily seen under its dense foliage, silky willow (Salix sericea) that has green flowers, and the eastern swampprivet (Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir) that produces starburst light-green flowers.

Flowering Shrubs

• The common buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis L.) is one of the varieties of shrub that makes its home in the wetlands of Arlington, Tennessee. It has pompom-like white flowers that emerge in the summer. Dogwood variegated yellowtwig (Cornus sericea "Silver and Gold") is another wetland shrub that grows to a fairly tall height of 6 to 8 feet (equally as wide) and produces a variety of colors throughout the year. Its bark is yellow that turns gold during the winter. Its deciduous leaves are yellow-green. White flower clusters appear during the spring, giving way to white berries as the summer progresses. The plant likes as much sun as it can get in the rich soil of the wetlands. Viburnum rhytidophyllum (Leatherleaf Viburnum) can grow to be a very large plant of 10 to 15 feet tall, spreading to and 10 to 15 feet wide. It gets its name from the leathery texture of the dark-green leaves. Large clusters of lightly fragrant yellowish-white flowers bloom in late spring; the flowers later form into blue berries that turn black as the summer season progresses. This shrub easily tolerates wet soil and shade.

Flowering Perennials

• The great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica L. ) creates a striking display in wetlands, with its stalks of blue flowers. The floating primrose-willow (Ludwigia peploides) is an example of a plant that can grow in a medium that is not solid soil (hydroponic). It has five-petal, yellow flowers with a white or yellow star center. A hearty plant, it is considered invasive.