Name:
Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Aletris farinosa - Packera paupercula Grassland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association includes prairie-like vegetation occupying mafic substrates of the Southern Blue Ridge plateau. The habitat supporting this vegetation is rare and unusual, with seasonal wetness and strongly mafic conditions combining to form a very harsh environment for plant growth. Large areas of the ground surface are occupied by pebbles and abundant growths of <i>Cladina</i> spp. <i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i> and <i>Sorghastrum nutans</i> are abundant grasses, while additional graminoids include <i>Agrostis scabra, Danthonia spicata, Dichanthelium</i> spp., <i>Juncus marginatus</i>, and <i>Rhynchospora capitellata</i>. Characteristic forbs include <i>Aletris farinosa, Rubus hispidus, Symphyotrichum cf. dumosum, Solidago nemoralis, Sericocarpus linifolius, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium</i>, and <i>Packera paupercula</i>. Annuals and Coastal Plain/mountain disjuncts are numerous, especially in the seasonally wet gravels. These include <i>Polygala cruciata, Polygala sanguinea, Xyris torta, Scleria muehlenbergii, Lobelia nuttallii, Sabatia campanulata, Fimbristylis autumnalis, Hypericum gentianoides, Bartonia virginica, Hypericum virgatum, Rhexia virginica</i>, and <i>Houstonia caerulea</i>. Stunted shrubs such as <i>Spiraea tomentosa, Spiraea alba var. latifolia</i>, and <i>Vaccinium corymbosum</i> also occur in small numbers.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:33767-{DE3BE98E-EA86-4B70-AF00-F76DFF0C246E}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
3
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