Name:
Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana - Fraxinus quadrangulata / Polymnia canadensis - (Astranthium integrifolium) Woodland
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This woodland community is found on shallow soils of limestone slopes in the Central Basin and Cumberland Plateau escarpment of Tennessee and the Moulton Valley of Alabama; it may occur in association with limestone glades, on isolated eroded limestone knobs, on limestone ridges in the Highland Rim escarpment, or as a small patch within a matrix of dry to dry-mesic limestone oak forest (e.g., Quercus alba - Quercus rubra - Quercus muehlenbergii / Cercis canadensis Forest (CEGL002070) or Quercus muehlenbergii - Quercus shumardii - Carya (carolinae-septentrionalis, ovata) Forest (CEGL007808)). Fraxinus quadrangulata and Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana dominate the canopy and the subcanopy, but the composition of these strata may vary. Juniperus may share canopy dominance with the Fraxinus or other deciduous trees or it may be present as a distinct subcanopy. Quercus spp. do not dominate the relatively short canopy or the open subcanopy, either of which may include Celtis laevigata, Celtis occidentalis, Cercis canadensis, Ulmus alata, and Ulmus serotina. The shrub stratum may include Quercus muehlenbergii, Forestiera ligustrina, Rhus aromatica, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, Frangula caroliniana, Hypericum frondosum, and Viburnum rufidulum. Vines may include Bignonia capreolata and Smilax rotundifolia. Herbs which may be present include Polymnia canadensis (= var. radiata), Symphyotrichum shortii (= Aster shortii), Astranthium integrifolium, Sedum pulchellum, Minuartia patula (= Arenaria patula), Verbesina virginica, Opuntia humifusa, Commelina erecta var. angustifolia, Croton monanthogynus, Ruellia humilis, and Euphorbia dentata. The 'herbaceous' stratum in some examples may contain greater coverage of ferns (Cheilanthes lanosa, Pellaea atropurpurea), mosses (e.g., Pleurochaete squarrosa, Thuidium delicatulum, Climacium americanum), and foliose lichens (Cladonia spp.) than of flowering herbs. Scattered individuals of the near-endemic legume Astragalus tennesseensis may be found in some examples adjacent to glades. This woodland develops on rocky sites, which contain outcrops of Ordovician (or Mississippian) limestone. Soils primarily accumulate in fissures between the limestone. The exotics Ailanthus altissima and Lonicera maackii may invade examples of this vegetation in the vicinity of Nashville, Tennessee.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.25752.JUNIPERUSVIRGIN
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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