Name:
Salix candida / Carex utriculata Shrub Fen
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This is a rare association that occurs between 1476 to 2348 m (4840-7700 feet) elevation in mountains and basins of western Montana, as well as at scattered localities in eastern Idaho, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and northwestern Wyoming. This association is restricted to continuously wet, anaerobic histosolic soils of peatlands. Stands often form on anchored floating mats along montane lake margins and sometimes occur in spring-fed rich-fens in intermountain basins. The association is characterized by widely scattered clumps of 1- to 1.5-m tall <i>Salix candida</i>, with lesser amounts of other low <i>Salix</i> species (e.g., <i>Salix planifolia, Salix exigua, Salix bebbiana, Salix serissima</i>, or <i>Salix wolfii</i>), <i>Betula glandulosa</i>, and/or <i>Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda</i>. The open shrub layer (up to 30% cover) occurs within a sward of <i>Carex utriculata</i>, often mixed with <i>Carex aquatilis</i>, which sometimes includes other graminoid species such as <i>Carex simulata, Carex nebrascensis, Deschampsia cespitosa, Calamagrostis canadensis, Glyceria striata</i>, and <i>Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis</i>. Total forb cover is generally low to moderate, mostly composed of <i>Gentianopsis thermalis, Menyanthes trifoliata, Packera streptanthifolia, Symphyotrichum foliaceum, Triglochin maritima</i>, and various rare and/or endemic fen species.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:30097-{C6CD070B-8D95-4A95-91D3-3AC2016F0856}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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