Riparian and Wetland

Wetlands are a vitally important link in the overall health of the environment, providing natural filtration for water systems, supporting a rich community of riparian species and a nursery for many other species as well. The Federal government accords special priority to preserving healthy wetlands and rehabilitating disturbed riparian areas. Wetland areas can also be developed to enhance landscape design in parks and golf courses with aesthetic plantings that attract additional wildlife.

A fundamental aspect of healthy wetlands and riparian areas is species diversity, and Granite Seed offers a large variety of grasses, sedges, rushes, as well as several forbs and shrubs which perform well in standing water, and/or temporarily or intermittently flooded areas. On the following page we list wetland species including their National Wetland Indicator Status (NWIS) which is a rating of their frequency of occurrence in wetlands versus non-wetlands.

OBL — Obligate species occur in wetlands nearly all the time (over 99%).
FACW — Facultative Wet species occur most of the time in wetlands (66-99%)
FAC — Facultative species are found in wetlands equally as often as in non-wetlands (33-66% of the time in wetlands)
FACU — Facultative Upland species occur mostly in uplands (only 33% or less of the time in wetlands)
UPL — Upland species nearly always occur in uplands (less than 1% of the time in wetlands).

The NWIS is a compilation of the Regional Indicator Status of a given species. There are 10 regions in the lower 48 states. Therefore, if a species shows two NWIS symbols, it reflects the range of that species occurring in wetlands across various regions in the country. Only those species Granite Seed carries which have at least a partial NWIS of OBL or FACW are listed.

Wetland creation, mitigation and restoration are increasing and our supply of new species is growing too. The species listed are those that we regularly stock at the time. If you require a species not on this list, please ask.