Name:
Selaginella (tortipila, rupestris) Herbaceous Alliance
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This alliance includes vegetation characterized by shallow vegetation mats of mosses, lichens, and shallow-rooted vascular plants occurring on smooth rock substrates or rock with few crevices or fractures (e.g., granitic exfoliation domes). It includes communities found in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont of the Carolinas and Georgia. Associations in this alliance can be found at elevations up to 5000 feet (1525 m) in the Blue Ridge, but occur below 3000 feet (915 m) in the Piedmont. This alliance has sparse to dense (10-90%) coverage by Selaginella tortipila or Selaginella rupestris and physiognomically complex zones with many other dominants. Woody species from adjacent woodlands and shrublands may be scattered components in these associations, especially in marginal zones between open rock and forested vegetation. The vegetation of associations in this alliance has few deep-rooted forbs, shrubs, or trees and is dominated by shallow-rooted perennials and annuals growing in established vegetation mats. Associated species vary with elevation, exposure, and geology. Species characteristic of high-elevation associations include Hypericum buckleii, Packera millefolia (= Senecio millefolium), Carex biltmoreana, Carex umbellata, Solidago simulans, Danthonia epilis (= Danthonia sericea var. epilis), Trichophorum caespitosum (= Scirpus cespitosus), Rhododendron catawbiense, and Leiophyllum buxifolium. Lower elevation associations typically include Grimmia laevigata, Andropogon virginicus, Coreopsis major, Danthonia spicata, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Talinum teretifolium. Some unique associations with circumneutral influence include species indicative of high pH soils such as Arabis laevigata, Cheilanthes lanosa, Dodecatheon meadia, Sedum glaucophyllum, and Hylotelephium telephioides (= Sedum telephioides). Granitic domes, in general, are uncommon, especially at high elevations in the Blue Ridge, where they are threatened by heavy recreational use. Granitic dome communities are also known from the Piedmont of North Carolina and Georgia, where the associations are more xeric and differ floristically from the montane associations.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.18927.SELAGINELLATORT
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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