Name:
Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda / Carex sterilis - Andropogon gerardii - Arnoglossum plantagineum Shrub Herbaceous Vegetation
Reference:
Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
Description:
This rich fen community is found in the upper midwestern United States and adjacent Canada on level to sloping seepage areas. Sites are minerotrophic and alkaline, with groundwater flowing through shallow peats and marls on glacial deposits. Graminoids dominate, though forbs and dwarf-shrubs can be prominent. Shrub swamps or tall-shrub fens often surround the core fen area. Diagnostic species include the prairie grasses <i>Andropogon gerardii</i> and <i>Spartina pectinata</i>, prairie forbs, such as <i>Arnoglossum plantagineum (= Cacalia plantaginea), Filipendula rubra, Liatris spicata, Silphium terebinthinaceum</i> (more eastern), <i>Oligoneuron ohioense (= Solidago ohioensis)</i>, and the sedges <i>Carex aquatilis, Carex haydenii, Carex hystericina, Carex leptalea, Carex sterilis</i>, and <i>Carex stricta</i>. Other characteristic species include <i>Doellingeria umbellata (= Aster umbellatus), Eupatorium maculatum, Gentianopsis virgata (= Gentianopsis procera), Lobelia kalmii, Lysimachia quadriflora, Muhlenbergia glomerata, Oxypolis rigidior, Pedicularis lanceolata, Pycnanthemum virginianum, Thalictrum dasycarpum</i>, and <i>Thelypteris palustris</i>. The most characteristic shrubs of this type are <i>Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda)</i> and <i>Salix candida</i>, but <i>Cornus foemina, Cornus sericea</i>, and <i>Salix discolor</i> can also be found. Open areas around spring discharges are often sparsely vegetated, and contain <i>Cladium mariscoides, Eleocharis elliptica, Eleocharis rostellata, Schoenoplectus acutus (= Scirpus acutus), Lobelia kalmii, Parnassia glauca</i>, and <i>Rhynchospora capillacea</i>.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.36994.CEGL005139
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
|