Name:
Quercus rubra - Acer saccharum - Tilia americana var. heterophylla - Aesculus flava - (Cladrastis kentukea) Forest
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This is a mesophytic northern red oak - mixed hardwood forest which ranges from the Eastern Highland Rim of Tennessee north into the Cumberlands and Interior Low Plateau of Kentucky. The canopy of stands is typically dominated by <i>Quercus rubra</i> with <i>Carya ovata, Liriodendron tulipifera, Acer saccharum, Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Aesculus flava, Carya cordiformis, Carya ovalis, Prunus serotina var. serotina, Fraxinus</i> sp., and <i>Juglans nigra</i>. <i>Quercus alba</i> may sometimes be present. The subcanopy may contain the above-mentioned canopy species as well as <i>Fagus grandifolia, Ulmus americana, Ostrya virginiana, Juglans cinerea</i>, and <i>Cladrastis kentukea</i> (within its limited range). <i>Acer saccharum</i> may be a strong dominant in this stratum. Shrubs and small trees may include <i>Cornus florida, Asimina triloba</i>, and <i>Euonymus americanus</i>. The herbaceous flora is rich and diverse, including <i>Pachysandra procumbens, Caulophyllum thalictroides, Cardamine angustata (= Cardamine heterophylla), Cardamine concatenata, Cardamine diphylla, Packera obovata (= Senecio obovatus), Trillium flexipes, Phacelia bipinnatifida, Hydrophyllum appendiculatum, Delphinium tricorne, Monarda clinopodia</i> (<i>sensu lato</i>), <i>Iris cristata, Stellaria pubera, Carex austrocaroliniana, Carex plantaginea, Polystichum acrostichoides</i> (which may be dominant), <i>Adiantum pedatum, Asplenium resiliens</i>, and <i>Asplenium rhizophyllum</i>, as well as <i>Climacium americanum</i> and other mosses. On the dissected western escarpment of the Eastern Highland Rim of Tennessee, this association has been documented from the Mississippian Fort Payne Formation at 275-350 m (900-1100 feet) elevation. On the dissected eastern escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau and on Short Mountain, an isolated Plateau remnant, it presumably occurs on other Mississippian limestone strata at 350-600 m (1100-2000 feet) elevation. The exotic tree <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> may invade this community, usurping the role of <i>Liriodendron tulipifera</i> as a canopy-gap successional species.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.35303.CEGL007698
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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