Orange Jewelweed Herbaceous Vegetation is found on sections of shoreline that are in constant flux. These are areas without hardy flood-tolerant trees whose roots help hold soil in place. Without that anchor, fast-moving floodwaters can rapidly rearrange what’s on the edge of the river. As floodwaters subside, they deposit floating wood and leaf debris on small rises of ground. Floodwaters also carry floating seeds, which can lodge among the flotsam or gravel bars and take root. This is the main source of plant life found on these unstable sections of river bank. 

Because of the dynamic nature of the physical setting, this community can be short-lived. Orange jewelweed may spring up on a pile of driftwood left behind by a flood . . only to be washed away by the next flood. There is not much soil on the driftwood piles, but orange jewelweed takes root wherever small pockets of sediment have been deposited by the river.