Releve Virginia Division of Natural Heritage, see http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/nh_plotform_instructions.pdf
Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated?
no
Stem Observation Area
100
m²
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(2) classification plot: sufficient for inclusion in a classification revision
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Tree Cover
15
%
Shrub Cover
5
%
Field Cover
30
%
Nonvascular Cover
10
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Plot is located on a steeply sloping, exposed greenstone outcrop and herbaceous/thinly scrubby vegetation. Most plants are confined to crevices and thin, gravel or soil deposits on ledges or shelves. The herbaceous flora contains a mix of annuals (e.g. Polygonum tenue, Eragrostis capillaris. Panicum philadelphicum), perennial graminoids (e.g. Danthonia spicata, Carex pensylvanica) and drought tolerant perennial forbs (e.g. Aster oblongifolius, Talinum teretifolium). Two unusual plants occur in and around the plot: the state rare golden rod Solidago rigida ssp. rigida and Lithospermum canescens, a calciphile that is not known elsewhere on greenstone.
Plot location: Shenandoah NP. Open greenstone outcrop on steep, western slope of the Blue Ridge, ca. 0.15 mi. downslope of Skyline Drive and 0.35 mi. north of Gooney Run Overlook.