Name:
Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Aletris farinosa - Packera paupercula Herbaceous Vegetation
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
Prairie-like vegetation occupying mafic substrates of the Southern Blue Ridge plateau. The habitat supporting this vegetation is rare and unusual, with seasonal wetness and strongly mafic conditions combining to form a very harsh environment for plant growth. Large areas of the ground surface are occupied by pebbles and abundant growths of Cladina spp. Schizachyrium scoparium and Sorghastrum nutans are abundant grasses, while additional graminoids include Agrostis scabra, Danthonia spicata, Dichanthelium spp., Juncus marginatus, and Rhynchospora capitellata. Characteristic forbs include Aletris farinosa, Rubus hispidus, Symphyotrichum cf. dumosum (= Aster cf. dumosus), Solidago nemoralis, Sericocarpus linifolius (= Aster solidagineus), Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, and Packera paupercula (= Senecio pauperculus). Annuals and Coastal Plain/mountain disjuncts are numerous, especially in the seasonally wet gravels. These include Polygala cruciata, Polygala sanguinea, Xyris torta, Scleria muehlenbergii, Lobelia nuttallii, Sabatia campanulata, Fimbristylis autumnalis, Hypericum gentianoides, Bartonia virginica, Hypericum virgatum (= Hypericum denticulatum var. acutifolium), Rhexia virginica, and Houstonia caerulea. Stunted shrubs such as Spiraea tomentosa, Spiraea alba var. latifolia, and Vaccinium corymbosum also occur in small numbers.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.22032.SCHIZACHYRIUMSC
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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