Wet meadows are characterized by moist to saturated soils with standing water present for only brief to moderate periods during the growing season. Vegetation includes a wide variety of herbaceous species, from sedges and rushes to forbs and grasses. Woody vegetation, if present, accounts for less than 30% of the total area cover. Wet meadows were once common through Illinois, but now only small remnants remain. They were often found associated with wetland types, especially at the drier fringes of a lake, pond, or marsh. In some areas, wet meadows are often partially drained and farmed , and therefore lack the vegetation typical of this community. The soils in this community consist of silty and clayey materials in depressional areas. The reaction is typically neutral. The major soils are dominantly wet phases, or undrained phases of Peotone silty clay loam, Rantoul silty clay, Booker clay, Edinburg silty clay loam, Brooklyn silt loam, and Denny silt loam. *Used throughout the community descriptions to indicate the most commonly occurring code in Illinois