The National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) represents a collaborative effort between four Federal agencies, under the administrative responsibilities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to update and administer the national list. In a several-year effort, the NWPL was updated for nomenclature, taxonomy, and wetland ratings for 7828 species across the United States and territories. The wetland ratings represent the frequency of occurrence of a plant species in a wetland and are used in direct support of the Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the Swampbuster provisions under the Farm Bill, and the National Wetland Inventory Program. The NWPL is used mostly in conjunction with wetland delineation protocols. It is also used to support wetland restoration and mitigation efforts and as an indicator to measure various environmental conditions. Updating the NWPL was a national effort involving Federal, state, academic, and public sectors. [source: Abstract, ERDC/CRREL TR-12-11] Wetland Indicator Categories estimate the probablity of a plant being found on a site classified as a wetland. The reported categories for each species are for the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain (AGCP) region. Seven of the species listed on this site have a different status in the Western Gulf Coast (WGC) subregion of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain. These are listed on the individual species pages, where applicable. NOTE: Effective 1 June 2012 the National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) has been finalized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We have made the List available both as a PDF, and as an .xlsx spreadsheet. The downloads are available below:
|
Obligate Wetland Species | Carya aquatica | OBL | Juglandaceae | waterhickory |
Carya x lecontei | OBL | Juglandaceae | bitter pecan |
Cephalanthus occidentalis | OBL | Rubiaceae | buttonbush |
Chamaecyparis thyoides | OBL | Cupressaceae | Atlantic white cedar |
Cliftonia monophylla | OBL | Cyrillaceae | buckwheat tree |
Crataegus opaca | OBL | Rosaceae | mayhaw |
Eichhornia crassipes | OBL | Pontederiaceae | water hyacinth |
Forestiera acuminata | OBL | Oleaceae | swamp privet |
Fraxinus caroliniana | OBL | Oleaceae | Carolina ash |
Fraxinus profunda | OBL | Oleaceae | pumpkin ash |
Nyssa aquatica | OBL | Cornaceae | tupelogum |
Nyssa biflora | OBL | Cornaceae | swamp blackgum |
Planera aquatica | OBL | Ulmaceae | planertree |
Quercus lyrata | OBL | Fagaceae | overcup oak |
Salix nigra | OBL | Salicaceae | black willow |
Saururus cernuus | OBL | Saurucaceae | lizard's-tail |
Taxodium ascendens | OBL | Cupressaceae | pondcypress |
Taxodium distichum | OBL | Cupressaceae | baldcypress |
Toxicodendron vernix | OBL | Anacardiaceae | poison sumac |
Facultative Wetland Species | |||
Alnus serrulata | FACW | Betulaceae | hazel alder |
Amorpha fruticosa | FACW | Fabaceae | false indigo |
Arundinaria gigantea | FACW | Poaceae | river cane |
Betula nigra | FACW | Betulaceae | river birch |
Brunnichia ovata | FACW | Polygonaceae | ladies’ ear-drops |
Celtis laevigata | FACW | Ulmaceae | sugarberry |
Clethera alnifolia | FACW | Clethraceae | pepperbush |
Cyrilla racemiflora | FACW | Cyrillaceae | white titi |
Fraxinus pennsylvanica | FACW | Oleaceae | green ash |
Gordonia lasianthus | FACW | Theaceae | loblolly bay |
Ilex cassine | FACW | Aquifoliaceae | dahoon holly |
Ilex coriacea | FACW | Aquifoliaceae | sweet gallberry |
Ilex decidua | FACW | Aquifoliaceae | deciduous holly |
Ilex glabra | FACW | Aquifoliaceae | gallberry |
Ilex verticillata | FACW | Aquifoliaceae | winterberry |
Illicium floridanum | FACW | Illiaceae | starbush |
Itea virginica | FACW | Iteaceae | Virginia-willow |
Leucothoe axillaris | FACW | Ericaceae | downy leucothoe | Lindera benzoin | FACW | Lauraceae | spicebush |
Lyonia lucida | FACW | Ericaceae | fetterbush |
Magnolia virginiana | FACW | Magnoliaceae | sweetbay magnolia |
Morella caroliniensis | FACW | Myricaceae | southern bayberry | Persea palustris | FACW | Lauraceae | red bay |
Pinus elliottii | FACW | Pinaceae | slash pine |
Pinus glabra | FACW | Pinaceae | spruce pine |
Platanus occidentalis | FACW | Platanaceae | American sycamore |
Quercus laurifolia | FACW | Fagaceae | laurel oak |
Quercus michauxii | FACW | Fagaceae | cow oak |
Quercus pagoda | FACW | Fagaceae | cherrybark oak |
Quercus phellos | FACW | Fagaceae | willow oak |
Quercus similis | FACW | Fagaceae | delta post oak |
Quercus texana | FACW | Fagaceae | Nuttall oak |
Rhapidophyllum hystrix | FACW | Arecaceae | needle palm |
Rhododendron canescens | FACW | Ericaceae | wild azalea |
Sabal minor | FACW | Arecaceae | palmetto |
Sesbania drummondii | FACW | Fabaceae | rattlebox |
Sesbania herbacea | FACW | Fabaceae | coffeeweed |
Smilax laurifolia | FACW | Smilacaceae | laurel greenbrier |
Trachelospermum difforme | FACW | Apocynaceae | climbing dogbane |
Vaccinium elliottii | FACU | Ericaceae | Elliott’s huckleberry |
Viburnum nudum | FACW | Adoxaceae | possumhaw |
Vitis riparia | FACW | Viticeae | river grape |
Facultative Species | |||
Acer negundo | FAC | Sapindaceae | boxelder |
Acer rubrum | FAC | Sapindaceae | red maple |
Acer saccharinum | FAC | Sapindaceae | silver maple |
Ampelopsis cordata | FAC | Vitaceae | heartleaf peppervine |
Ardisia crenata | FAC | Myrsinaceae | Christmas berry |
Baccharis halimifolia | FAC | Asteraceae | eastern baccharis |
Berchemia scandens | FAC | Rhamnaceae | rattan |
Bignonia capreolata | FAC | Bignoniaceae | cross-vine |
Campsis radicans | FAC | Bignoniaceae | trumpet creeper |
Carpinus caroliniana | FAC | Betulaceae | bluebeech |
Carya cordiformis | FAC | Juglandaceae | bitternut hickory |
Cocculus carolinus | FAC | Menispermaceae | Carolina snailseed |
Cornus drummondii | FAC | Cornaceae | roughleaf dogwood |
Crataegus marshallii | FAC | Rosaceae | parsley hawthorn |
Diospyros virginiana | FAC | Ebenaceae | persimmon |
Euonymus americanus | FAC | Celastraceae | strawberry bush |
Gleditsia triacanthos | FAC | Fabaceae | honeylocust |
Halesia diptera | FAC | Styracaceae | two-wing silverbell |
Hypericum hypericoides | FAC | Hypericaceae | St. Andrew’s cross |
Ilex opaca | FAC | Aquifoliaceae | American holly |
Ilex vomitoria | FAC | Aquifoliaceae | yaupon |
Ligustrum sinense | FAC | Oleaceae | Chinese privet* |
Liquidambar styraciflua | FAC | Altingiaceae | sweetgum |
Lonicera japonica | FAC | Caprifoliaceae | Japanese honeysuckle* |
Lygodium japonicum | FAC | Lygodiaceae | Japanese climbing fern* |
Magnolia grandiflora | FAC | Magnoliaceae | southern magnolia |
Morella cerifera | FAC | Myricaceae | waxmyrtle |
Nekemias arborea | FAC | Vitaceae | peppervine | Nyssa sylvatica | FAC | Cornaceae | blackgum |
Pinus palustris | FAC | Pinaceae | longleaf pine |
Pinus taeda | FAC | Pinaceae | loblolly pine |
Populus deltoides | FAC | Salicaceae | eastern cottonwood |
Quercus michauxii | FAC | Fagaceae | cow oak |
Quercus nigra | FAC | Fagaceae | water oak |
Quercus shumardii | FAC | Fagaceae | Shumard oak |
Sabal palmetto | FAC | Arecaceae | cabbage palm |
Smilax bona-nox | FAC | Smilacaceae | saw greenbrier |
Smilax glauca | FAC | Smilacaceae | cat greenbrier |
Smilax rotundifolia | FAC | Smilacaceae | common greenbrier |
Symplocos tinctoria | FAC | Symplocaceae | sweetleaf |
Tillandsia usneoides | FAC | Bromeliaceae | Spanish moss |
Toxicodendron radicans | FAC | Anacardiaceae | poison ivy |
Triadica sebifera | FAC | Euphorbiaceae | Chinese tallow tree* |
Ulmus americana | FAC | Ulmaceae | American elm |
Ulmus rubra | FAC | Ulmaceae | slippery elm |
Vitis rotundifolia | FAC | Vitaceae | muscadine |
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis | FAC | Rutaceae | Hercules club |
Facultative Upland Species | |||
Aesculus pavia | FACU | Sapindaceae | red buckeye |
Amelanchier arborea | FACU | Rosaceae | downy serviceberry |
Aralia spinosa | FACU | Araliaceae | devil's walking-stick |
Asclepias variegata | FACU | Asclepiadaceae | while milkweed |
Asimina parviflora | FACU | Annonaceae | dwarf pawpaw |
Asimina triloba | FACU | Annonaceae | pawpaw |
Broussonetia papyrifera | FACU | Moraceae | paper mulberry* |
Callicarpa americana | FACU | Verbenaceae | French mulberry |
Carya cordiformis | FACU | Juglandaceae | bitternut hickory |
Carya glabra | FACU | Juglandaceae | pignut hickory |
Carya illinoinensis | FACU | Juglandaceae | sweet pecan |
Chamaecrista fasciculata | FACU | Fabaceae | partridgepea |
Chionanthus virginicus | FACU | Oleaceae | fringetree |
Clitoria mariana | FACU | Fabaceae | butterfly pea |
Eupatorium album | FACU | Asteraceae | dog fennel |
Fagus grandifolia | FACU | Fagaceae | American beech |
Fraxinus americana | FACU | Oleaceae | white ash |
Galactia volubilis | FACU | Fabaceae | milkpea |
Gelsemium sempervirens | FACU | Loganiaceae | yellow jessamine |
Hamamelis virginiana | FACU | Hamamelidaceae | witch-hazel |
Juniperus virginiana | FACU | Cupressaceae | eastern redcedar |
Kalmia latifolia | FACU | Ericaceae | mountain laurel |
Liriodendron tulipifera | FACU | Magnoliaceae | yellow-poplar |
Lonicera sempervirens | FACU | Caprifoliaceae | coral honeysuckle |
Maclura pomifera | FACU | Moraceae | Osage-orange | Morus rubra | FACU | Moraceae | red mulberry |
Ostrya virginiana | FACU | Betulaceae | eastern hophornbeam |
Oxydendrum arboreum | FACU | Ericaceae | sourwood |
Parthenocissus quinquefolia | FACU | Vitaceae | Virginia creeper |
Paspalum notatum | FACU | Poaceae | bahia grass |
Pinus strobus | FACU | Pinaceae | eastern white pine |
Prunus caroliniana | FACU | Rosaceae | cherrylaurel |
Prunus serotina | FACU | Rosaceae | black cherry |
Pueraria lobata | FACU | Fabaceae | kudzu* |
Quercus alba | FACU | Fagaceae | white oak |
Quercus falcata | FACU | Fagaceae | southern red oak | Quercus hemisphaerica | FACU | Fagaceae | Darlington oak |
Quercus virginiana | FACU | Fagaceae | live oak |
Rhamnus caroliniana | FACU | Rhamnaceae | Carolina buckthorn |
Sassafras albidum | FACU | Lauraceae | sassafras |
Sorghum halepense | FACU | Poaceae | Johnsongrass |
Styrax grandifolia | FACU | Styracaceae | bigleaf snowbell |
Tilia americana var. caroliniana | FACU | Tiliaceae | Carolina basswood |
Toxicodendron pubescens | FACU | Anacardiaceae | poison-oak |
Ulmus alata | FACU | Ulmaceae | winged elm |
Ulmus parvifolia | FACU | Ulmaceae | Chinese elm* |
Vaccinium arboreum | FACU | Ericaceae | tree huckleberry |
Vaccinium darrowii | FACU | Ericaceae | evergreen blueberry |
Viburnum dentatum | FACU | Adoxaceae | arrow-wood |
Upland Species | |||
Catalpa bignonioides | UPL | Bignoniaceae | southern catalpa |
Cercis canadensis | UPL | Fabaceae | eastern redbud |
Cinnamomum camphora | UPL | Lauraceae | camphor tree* |
Cornus florida | UPL | Cornaceae | flowering dogwood |
Juglans nigra | UPL | Juglandaceae | black walnut |
Melia azedarach | UPL | Meliaceae | Chinaberry* |
Paulownia tomentosa | UPL | Paulowniaceae | empress tree* |
Quercus stellata | UPL | Fagaceae | post oak |
Rhus copallinum | UPL | Anacardiaceae | winged sumac |
Robinia pseudoacacia | UPL | Fabaceae | black locust |
Smilax pumila | UPL | Smilacaceae | dwarf greenbrier |
Viburnum rufidulum | UPL | Adoxaceae | rusty blackhaw |
Wetland Designation Varies by Species/Location | |||
Ambrosia sp. | varies | Asteraceae | ragweed |
Crataegus sp. | varies | Rosaceae | hawthorn |
Desmodium sp. | varies | Fabaceae | beggar lice |
Dichanthelium sp. | varies | Fabaceae | panic grass |
Eupatorium sp. | varies | Asteraceae | joe-pye weed |
Rosa sp. | varies | Rosaceae | rose* |
Rubus sp. | varies | Rosaceae | dewberry (blackbery) |
Solidago sp. | varies | Asteraceae | goldenrod |
Verbena sp. | varies | Asteraceae | ironweed |
Vicia sp. | varies | Fabaceae | vetch |
Vitis spp. | varies | Vitaceae | wild grape |
Wisteria sp. | varies | Fabaceae | wisteria |
Juncus sp. | varies | Juncaceae | rush |
Lespedeza sp. | varies | Fabaceae | lespedeza |
No Wetland Designation (Undefined, or Exotic Species*) | |||
Acer floridanum | --- | Sapindaceae | Florida maple |
Acer rubrum var. rubrum | --- | Sapindaceae | Drummond red maple |
Albizia julibrissin | --- | Fabaceae | mimosa* |
Andropogon sp. | --- | Poaceae | bluestem |
Aronia arbutifolia | --- | Rosaceae | red chokeberry |
Asclepias tuberose | --- | Asclepiadaceae | butterfly milkweed |
Carya tomentosa | --- | Juglandaceae | mockernut hickory |
Castanea pumila | --- | Fagaceae | chinkapin |
Cayratia japonica | --- | Vitaceae | bushkiller* |
Ceanothus americanus | --- | Rhamnaceae | New Jersey tea |
Cedrus deodara | --- | Pinaceae | deodar cedar* |
Centrosema virginianum | --- | Fabaceae | spurred butterfly pea |
Croton capitatus | --- | Euphorbiaceae | woolly croton |
Cycas revoluta | --- | Cycadaceae | sago palm* |
Ditrysinia fruticosa | --- | Euphorbiaceae | candleberry |
Elaeagnus pungens | --- | Elaeagnaceae | Russian olive* |
Erythrina herbacea | --- | Fabaceae | coral bean |
Firmiana simplex | --- | Sterculiaceae | Chinese parasoltree* |
Ginkgo biloba | --- | Ginkgoaceae | ginkgo* |
Koelreuteria bipinnata | --- | Sapindaceae | goldenrain tree* |
Lagerstroemia indica | --- | Lythraceae | crapemyrtle* |
Lespedeza bicolor | --- | Fabaceae | bicolor lespedeza |
Ligustrum lucidum | --- | Oleaceae | tree ligustrum* |
Magnolia macrophylla | --- | Magnoliaceae | bigleaf magnolia |
Malus angustifolia | --- | Rosaceae | southern crab apple |
Mimosa microphylla | --- | Fabaceae | sensitivebriar |
Nerium oleander | --- | Apocynaceae | oleander* |
Osmanthus americanus | --- | Oleaceae | devilwood |
Phoradendron serotinum | --- | Loranthaceae | American mistletoe |
Pinus echinata | --- | Pinaceae | shortleaf pine |
Pinus x sondereggeri | --- | Pinaceae | Sonderegger pine |
Pinus virginiana | --- | Pinaceae | Virginia pine |
Pleopeltis polypodioides | --- | Polypodiaceae | resurrection fern |
Podocarpus macrophylla | --- | Podocarpaceae | Japanese yew* |
Poncirus trifoliata | --- | Rutaceae | trifoliate orange* |
Pyrus calleryana | --- | Rosaceae | Bradford pear* |
Quercus acutissima | --- | Fagaceae | sawtooth oak* |
Quercus incana | --- | Fagaceae | bluejack oak |
Quercus laevis | --- | Fagaceae | turkey oak |
Quercus marilandica | --- | Fgacaeae | blackjack oak |
Quercus velutina | --- | Fagaceae | black oak |
Rhus glabra | --- | Anacardiaceae | smooth sumac |
Rhynchosia reniformis | --- | Fabaceae | dollarleaf rhynchosia |
Rhynchosia tomentosa | --- | Fabaceae | velvetleaf rhynchosia |
Salix exigua | --- | Salicaceae | sandbar willow |
Sambucus nigra | --- | Caprifoliaceae | elderberry |
Smilax smallii | --- | Liliaceae | lance-leaf greenbrier |
Stylosanthes biflora | --- | Fabaceae | pencilflower |
Tephrosia spicata | --- | Fabaceae | brownhair tephrosia |
Tephrosia virginiana | --- | Fabaceae | goat's rue |
Tillandsia recurvata | --- | Bromeliaceae | ball moss |
Vernicia fordii | --- | Euphorbiaceae | tung-oil tree* |
xCupressocyparis leylandii | --- | Cupressaceae | Leyland cypress |
Yucca filamentosa | --- | Liliaceae | bear grass |