Name:
Saccharum giganteum - Ludwigia sphaerocarpa - Panicum verrucosum Herbaceous Vegetation
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This herbaceous wetland of the Great Dismal Swamp is characterized by tall Saccharum giganteum, low to mid-height Ludwigia sphaerocarpa, and short, sprawling Panicum verrucosum in variable combinations and proportions. Any one of the three nominal species may dominate, or dominance may be mixed. In these seasonally inundated habitats, colonies of Ludwigia sphaerocarpa, with their extensively branched, almost woody, aerenchymatous stems, resemble miniature swamp 'forests.' Typical associates include Bidens frondosa, Diodia virginiana, Hypericum mutilum, Juncus canadensis, Ludwigia linearis, Rhexia virginica, and Scirpus cyperinus. Other conspicuous but more uncommon components include Bidens coronata, Rhynchospora macrostachya (= var. macrostachya), and Sagittaria latifolia (= var. latifolia). Ludwigia decurrens, Ludwigia leptocarpa, and Ludwigia pilosa may also be locally abundant. Known from the Great Dismal Swamp area, where it may occupy seasonally ponded depressions of anthropogenic origin, such as experimental marsh restoration clearings, burned-out peat areas, or depressional basins in powerlines. Some soils on which this vegetation occurs include Terric Medisaprists of the Bellhaven series and Typic Humaquepts of the Torhunta series. Slowly permeable, clay-rich subsoils probably impede internal drainage and contribute to surface water flooding at these sites.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.26758.SACCHARUMGIGANT
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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