Name:
Acer rubrum var. trilobum - Nyssa sylvatica / Osmunda cinnamomea - Chasmanthium laxum - Carex intumescens / Sphagnum lescurii Forest
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
These forested acid seeps occur in the Cumberland Plateau, the Ridge and Valley, lower elevation areas of the western portions of the Southern Blue Ridge, as well as in the Appalachian Plateaus of Kentucky (Cliff section), and western Kentucky, at the edge of the Shawnee Hills. Canopy coverage can be moderately dense to quite open. Canopy composition is highly variable, but Acer rubrum var. trilobum, Nyssa sylvatica, Liriodendron tulipifera, and Liquidambar styraciflua are common. Subcanopy trees can include Ilex opaca var. opaca, Carpinus caroliniana, and (within range) Magnolia macrophylla. Tall shrubs are scattered and may be locally dominant. Typical shrubs include Ilex verticillata, Alnus serrulata, Rhododendron maximum, Photinia melanocarpa (= Aronia melanocarpa), Vaccinium simulatum, Viburnum nudum var. nudum, and Cornus foemina. In examples from the Southern Blue Ridge, Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides will replace var. nudum in this type. Woody vines can be common, and include Toxicodendron radicans and (especially towards the southern part of the association's distribution), Decumaria barbara and Bignonia capreolata. Typical herbaceous species include Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis, Chasmanthium laxum, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Woodwardia areolata, Oxypolis rigidior, Carex intumescens, Carex debilis, Carex crinita, Medeola virginiana, Lobelia cardinalis, Oxypolis rigidior, Juncus effusus var. pylaei, Scirpus polyphyllus, Rubus hispidus, Solidago patula var. patula, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, and Viola X primulifolia. Platanthera integrilabia and Platanthera clavellata are also known from these forested seeps but are more typical in the more open woodland seeps [see Acer rubrum Saturated Woodland Alliance (A.657)]. Patches of Sphagnum spp. are common and Sphagnum lescurii is typical. These forests are found primarily in streamhead swales on broad ridges on sandy, saturated soils derived from shales and sandstones. This community develops where a perched water table is present, as opposed to seepage from the base of a slope [for vegetation related to this latter condition, see Acer rubrum var. trilobum - Nyssa sylvatica / Rhododendron canescens - Viburnum nudum var. nudum / Woodwardia areolata Forest (CEGL004425)]. In the Daniel Boone National Forest (Kentucky), some stands can contain Tsuga canadensis, and be transitional to Tsuga canadensis - Acer rubrum - (Liriodendron tulipifera, Nyssa sylvatica) / Rhododendron maximum / Sphagnum spp. Forest (CEGL007565).
Accession Code:
VB.CC.24912.ACERRUBRUMVARTR
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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