Name:
Sedum nuttallianum - Selaginella peruviana Granitic Outcrop Sparse Vegetation
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This community contains large expanses of exposed granite surfaces, with scattered soil-filled depressions, crevices, gravel areas, and shallow pools. The vegetation is dominated by annuals and species adapted to drought conditions. Bare rock is occupied by scattered patches of crustose and foliose lichens, mosses, and several ferns and fern allies including Selaginella peruviana, Selaginella arenicola ssp. riddellii, Cheilanthes lindheimeri, Cheilanthes tomentosa, Woodsia obtusa ssp. occidentalis, and Pellaea ternifolia. Typical species that occur in areas where shallow sand or gravel accumulate include Sedum nuttallianum, Plantago wrightiana, Talinum parviflorum, Helenium amarum, Campanula reverchonii, Aphanostephus skirrhobasis, Hypericum gentianoides. Areas with deeper soils are dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium occurring with other grasses such as Bouteloua hirsuta, Bouteloua curtipendula, and Aristida purpurea. Large crevices that contain sufficient soil accumulation support woody species characteristic of the surrounding woodland, including Quercus stellata, Quercus marilandica, and Carya texana. Narrow, shallow crevices harbor species tolerant of the most xeric conditions including Echinocereus reichenbachii, Eriogonum tenellum, and Opuntia leptocaulis. This community occurs on gently sloping, exposed massifs of late Precambrian granite in Texas and Oklahoma. It is known from southwestern Oklahoma, in the Wichita Mountains, and from central Texas, in the Llano Uplift (Central Mineral Region of the Edwards Plateau).
Accession Code:
VB.CC.22782.SEDUMNUTTALLIAN
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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