Northern sedge meadows are similar to southern sedge meadows, but generally occur north of the climatic tension zone. Species such as leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), marsh cinquefoil (Comarum palustre), northern blue flag (/I>Iris versicolor), and bog willow (Salix pedicellaris) tend to be more prevalent than species more typical of southern sedge meadows, such as Joe-Pye-weed (Eutrochium maculatum), jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea), glossy-leaved aster (Symphyotrichum firmum), and tall meadowrue (Thalictrum dasycarpum), though virtually all of these species range statewide. In addition, soils of northern sedge meadows range from neutral to strongly acidic, while those of southern sedge meadows tend to be neutral to mildly alkaline.
Northern sedge meadows can be differentiated from more alkaline northern fens (i.e., poor fen, boreal rich fen, and Great Lakes shore fen) by their lack of calciphiles, relatively few carnivorous plants, and relatively few pink-flowered orchids (Calopogon tuberosus, Pogonia ophioglossoides and Arethusa bulbosa). Northern sedge meadows may be differentiated from central poor fens by their location, as the latter tend to occur almost exclusively in the Central Sand Plains ecological landscape and are usually strongly acidic with a boggy, often continuous Sphagnum moss layer beneath lake and common yellow lake sedges (Carex lacustris and C. utriculata). In contrast, northern sedge meadows tend to occur in northern to east-central Wisconsin and usually have Sphagnum moss discontinuous or absent. Northern sedge meadows often intergrade with or are bordered by alder thicket but have less than 50% cover of tall shrubs.
