Southeastern mixed forests grow in below the pines. Sugar maple ("Acer saccharum"), a shade tolerant tree, grows amid the oaks and hickories in the northern part of this ecoregion. 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"), tulip tree ("Liriodendron tulipifera"), northern red oak, white ash ("Fraxinus americana"), black maple ("Acer nigrum"), sugar maple ("Acer saccharum"), basswood ("Tilia americana"), and bitternut hickory ("Carya cordiformis"). Understory trees include pawpaw ("Asimina triloba") and painted buckeye ("Aesculus sylvatica"). Mesic mixed hardwood forests grow on mesic uplands, ravines, lower slopes,
Nyssa sylvatica wear and some acids has led to its use as factory flooring. Nyssa sylvatica Nyssa sylvatica, commonly known as Tupelo, Black gum, sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeast USA and southern Ontario south to central Florida and eastern Texas, as well as Mexico. "Nyssa sylvatica"'s genus name "(Nyssa)" refers to a Greek water nymph; the species epithet "sylvatica" refers to its woodland habitat. The species' common name tupelo is of Native American origin, coming from the Creek words "ito" ‘tree’ and "opilwa" ‘swamp’; it was in use by the mid-18th