Name:
Juniperus virginiana - Fraxinus quadrangulata / Polymnia canadensis - (Astranthium integrifolium) Woodland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This woodland community is found on shallow soils of limestone slopes in the Central Basin and Cumberland Plateau escarpment of Tennessee and the Moulton Valley of Alabama; it may occur in association with limestone glades, on isolated eroded limestone knobs, on limestone ridges in the Highland Rim escarpment, or as a small patch within a matrix of dry to dry-mesic limestone oak forest (e.g., ~<i>Quercus alba - Quercus rubra - Quercus muehlenbergii / Cercis canadensis</i> Forest (CEGL002070)$$ or ~<i>Quercus muehlenbergii - Quercus shumardii - Carya (carolinae-septentrionalis, ovata)</i> Forest (CEGL007808)$$). <i>Fraxinus quadrangulata</i> and <i>Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana</i> dominate the canopy and the subcanopy, but the composition of these strata may vary. <i>Juniperus</i> may share canopy dominance with the <i>Fraxinus</i> or other deciduous trees or it may be present as a distinct subcanopy. <i>Quercus</i> spp. do not dominate the relatively short canopy or the open subcanopy, either of which may include <i>Celtis laevigata, Celtis occidentalis, Cercis canadensis, Ulmus alata</i>, and <i>Ulmus serotina</i>. The shrub stratum may include <i>Quercus muehlenbergii, Forestiera ligustrina, Rhus aromatica, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, Frangula caroliniana, Hypericum frondosum</i>, and <i>Viburnum rufidulum</i>. Vines may include <i>Bignonia capreolata</i> and <i>Smilax rotundifolia</i>. Herbs which may be present include <i>Polymnia canadensis, Symphyotrichum shortii, Astranthium integrifolium, Sedum pulchellum, Minuartia patula, Verbesina virginica, Opuntia humifusa, Commelina erecta var. angustifolia, Croton monanthogynus, Ruellia humilis</i>, and <i>Euphorbia dentata</i>. The "herbaceous" stratum in some examples may contain greater coverage of ferns (<i>Cheilanthes lanosa, Pellaea atropurpurea</i>), mosses (e.g., <i>Pleurochaete luteola, Thuidium delicatulum, Climacium americanum</i>), and foliose lichens (<i>Cladonia</i> spp.) than of flowering herbs. Scattered individuals of the near-endemic legume <i>Astragalus tennesseensis</i> may be found in some examples adjacent to glades. This woodland develops on rocky sites, which contain outcrops of Ordovician (or Mississippian) limestone. Soils primarily accumulate in fissures between the limestone. The exotics <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> and <i>Lonicera maackii</i> may invade examples of this vegetation in the vicinity of Nashville, Tennessee.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:32616-{883BB13D-B881-4709-80B1-45EFAB9644E7}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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