Name:
Aesculus flava - Acer saccharum - (Fraxinus americana, Tilia americana var. heterophylla) / Hydrophyllum canadense - Solidago flexicaulis Forest
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This association includes forests of protected coves in the southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and southwest Virginia. This type extends peripherally into the Cumberland Mountains of southwestern Virginia. These forests are associated with nutrient-rich soils and, often, mafic geologies, and occur on steep, middle to low protected slopes and coves at 610-1400 m (2000-4600 feet) elevation. Examples of this association have deciduous forest canopies dominated by either Acer saccharum, Aesculus flava, Fraxinus americana, Halesia tetraptera var. monticola, or Tilia americana var. heterophylla, or by various combinations of these species. Other common canopy species can include Carya cordiformis and Quercus rubra. A shrub stratum is vary sparse or absent, and the herbaceous stratum is dense and luxurious, with high species richness. The defining feature of this association is the lush herbaceous flora with many calciphilic species indicative of high pH or circumneutral soils. Characteristic species include Asarum canadense, Carex plantaginea, Cymophyllus fraserianus, Cystopteris protrusa, Deparia acrostichoides, Diplazium pycnocarpon, Prosartes lanuginosa (= Disporum lanuginosum), Dryopteris goldiana, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Hydrophyllum canadense, Osmorhiza claytonii, Solidago flexicaulis, and Viola canadensis. The herbaceous stratum can have local dominance by Laportea canadensis, Viola canadensis, Dryopteris intermedia, Actaea podocarpa (= Cimicifuga americana), Actaea racemosa (= Cimicifuga racemosa), and Caulophyllum thalictroides. This forest lacks dominance by Betula alleghaniensis and Fagus grandifolia, and has an herbaceous flora indicative of high-base status soils. This association typically has a much more diverse herbaceous stratum than other deciduous cove forests of the Southern Blue Ridge.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.24082.AESCULUSFLAVAAC
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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