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,
Luzula sylvatica grow on acidic soils in damp habitats. "L. sylvatica" can be found on stream banks and well-drained, open woodland, as well as in open ground and rock ledges and peaty heath moors. Despite its preference for acidic soils, it can tolerate most soil pH levels. The leaves of "Luzula sylvatica" are picked in winter by golden eagles to line their eyries. The flowers and seeds of "L. sylvatica" are also the sole food source for the larvae of the "Coleophora sylvaticella" moth. "Luzula sylvatica" is commonly used in horticulture — its thick, patch-forming habit (which allows the plant to act