Name:
Betula nigra - Platanus occidentalis / Alnus serrulata / Boehmeria cylindrica Forest
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This riverfront forest, dominated by Betula nigra and Platanus occidentalis, occurs primarily on levees along small rivers and streams. It also is found along flowages of larger rivers ('artificial oxbows'). It ranges from Virginia to southern Georgia in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain (and into the southern and lower-elevation parts of the Southern Blue Ridge, excluding the highest elevations of the Mountains) and west to eastern Texas, and possibly the Cumberland Plateau of northern Alabama. No effort has been made to subdivide this type into northern and southern, or Coastal Plain and Interior variants, although there are undoubtedly some floristic differences between these extremes, at least in the lower strata. Platanus occidentalis may be codominant, or at least prominent, with large individuals overtopping the Betula, which tends to have a greater number of stems, but Platanus occidentalis may be more conspicuous because of its larger size. Other canopy associates include Liriodendron tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua, Acer rubrum, Acer negundo, Ulmus americana, Ulmus rubra, Celtis spp., and Quercus spp. The subcanopy or tall-shrub strata may include Cornus florida and Carpinus caroliniana, along with Acer rubrum, Ilex opaca, Ulmus alata, Prunus serotina, and Carya spp. Shrubs and woody vines may include Alnus serrulata, Euonymus americana, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Smilax rotundifolia, Toxicodendron radicans, and Vitis rotundifolia. Herbs may include Boehmeria cylindrica, Polygonum virginianum, Rudbeckia laciniata, Sanicula sp., Symphyotrichum lateriflorum (= Aster lateriflorus), Thalictrum dioicum, Viola sororia, Polystichum acrostichoides, Woodwardia areolata, Botrychium dissectum, Botrychium virginianum, and Impatiens capensis. The exotics Ligustrum sinense, Lonicera japonica, Microstegium vimineum, and Rosa multiflora may spread into disturbed examples of this community.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.21248.BETULANIGRAPLAT
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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