Name:
Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Aletris farinosa - Packera paupercula Herbaceous Vegetation
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
Prairie-like vegetation occupying mafic substrates of the Southern Blue Ridge plateau. The habitat supporting this vegetation is rare and unusual, with seasonal wetness and strongly mafic conditions combining to form a very harsh environment for plant growth. Large areas of the ground surface are occupied by pebbles and abundant growths of <i>Cladina</i> spp. <i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i> and <i>Sorghastrum nutans</i> are abundant grasses, while additional graminoids include <i>Agrostis scabra, Danthonia spicata, Dichanthelium</i> spp., <i>Juncus marginatus</i>, and <i>Rhynchospora capitellata</i>. Characteristic forbs include <i>Aletris farinosa, Rubus hispidus, Symphyotrichum cf. dumosum (= Aster cf. dumosus), Solidago nemoralis, Sericocarpus linifolius (= Aster solidagineus), Pycnanthemum tenuifolium</i>, and <i>Packera paupercula (= Senecio pauperculus)</i>. Annuals and Coastal Plain/mountain disjuncts are numerous, especially in the seasonally wet gravels. These include <i>Polygala cruciata, Polygala sanguinea, Xyris torta, Scleria muehlenbergii, Lobelia nuttallii, Sabatia campanulata, Fimbristylis autumnalis, Hypericum gentianoides, Bartonia virginica, Hypericum virgatum (= Hypericum denticulatum var. acutifolium), Rhexia virginica</i>, and <i>Houstonia caerulea</i>. Stunted shrubs such as <i>Spiraea tomentosa, Spiraea alba var. latifolia</i>, and <i>Vaccinium corymbosum</i> also occur in small numbers.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.35148.CEGL004999
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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