Name:
Acer saccharum - Quercus muehlenbergii / Cercis canadensis Forest
Reference:
Description:
This calciphilic maple-oak forest is found in the Central Appalachians and adjacent regions of the eastern United States, ranging south and west to the Interior Low Plateau of Tennessee and the Cumberlands of Alabama. Stands occur in thin soils over calcareous substrates, sometimes in association with limestone glades. These are typically closed-canopy, rich, dry to dry-mesic forests; in some stands the canopy may vary from closed to somewhat open, particularly in Pennsylvania at the northern edge of the range. In the Mid-Atlantic region, stands occupying the driest sites are commonly open and somewhat intermediate in physiognomy between forest and woodland. The stands are primarily composed of <i>Acer saccharum</i> or occasionally <i>Acer nigrum, Quercus muehlenbergii, Fraxinus americana</i>, and <i>Ostrya virginiana</i>. Associates include <i>Quercus alba, Tilia americana, Acer nigrum, Ulmus rubra, Celtis occidentalis, Carya ovalis</i>, and <i>Carya ovata</i>. <i>Quercus prinus</i> may also be present in some examples. A variable subcanopy and shrub layer contains <i>Cornus florida, Cercis canadensis, Hamamelis virginiana, Rosa carolina, Rhus aromatica, Viburnum prunifolium, Viburnum rafinesquianum, Viburnum rufidulum</i>, and <i>Zanthoxylum americanum</i>. The sparse to well-developed herb layer may contain <i>Danthonia spicata, Elymus hystrix, Bouteloua curtipendula, Ageratina altissima (= Eupatorium rugosum), Antennaria plantaginifolia, Aquilegia canadensis, Arabis laevigata, Asclepias quadrifolia, Clematis occidentalis</i> (to the north), <i>Houstonia longifolia (= Houstonia tenuifolia), Polygonum scandens, Sanicula canadensis, Saxifraga virginiensis</i>, and <i>Packera obovata (= Senecio obovatus)</i>. Some other herbs recorded in Virginia examples include <i>Agrimonia rostellata, Anemone virginiana var. virginiana, Symphyotrichum patens var. patens (= Aster patens var. patens), Bromus pubescens, Dichanthelium boscii, Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus, Galium circaezans, Sanicula canadensis, Scutellaria elliptica</i>, and <i>Solidago ulmifolia var. ulmifolia</i>. Some stands attributed to this type are mesic forests of steep slopes in the Southern Ridge and Valley which are dominated by <i>Acer saccharum</i> and some combination of <i>Quercus alba</i> and/or <i>Quercus muehlenbergii</i> with <i>Liriodendron tulipifera, Carya</i> spp., and <i>Aesculus flava</i> in either the canopy or subcanopy. The same, or related forests, are reported from limestones of the lower Cumberland Plateau escarpment of Tennessee and possibly Alabama.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.36550.CEGL006017
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
34
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