Name:
Quercus montana - Carya glabra / Cheilanthes lanosa - Carex pensylvanica - Camassia scilloides Woodland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This shale barrens vegetation occurs in the Ridge and Valley of northwest Georgia on steep exposed, weathered shale of the Red Mountain Formation (which includes interbedded Silurian sandstone, siltstone, shale and limestone). The physiognomy is predominantly a mix of open shrubland with dwarfed trees (<2 m) or large patches of grassland. Occasionally open woodland (50-20% canopy cover) of 7-12 m in height are found. Dominant species occurring in the dwarfed canopy may include <i>Quercus montana</i> and <i>Carya glabra</i>, along with scattered and patchy <i>Pinus virginiana</i>. Other more sparsely occurring canopy species include <i>Quercus rubra, Fraxinus americana</i>, and <i>Juniperus virginiana</i>. Conspicuous in the understory are <i>Amorpha nitens, Celtis tenuifolia, Cercis canadensis, Crataegus berberifolia, Crataegus spathulata, Ptelea trifoliata, Rhus aromatica, Ulmus alata, Vaccinium arboreum</i>, and <i>Viburnum rufidulum</i>. Large sections of the barrens are dominated by <i>Cheilanthes lanosa</i>, in some cases strongly associated with <i>Camassia scilloides</i>. In addition, <i>Carex pensylvanica</i> is also a conspicuous dominant of the ground cover. Other frequent or characteristic species include <i>Anemone berlandieri, Cynoglossum virginianum, Delphinium alabamicum, Manfreda virginica, Opuntia humifusa, Lithospermum canescens, Matelea obliqua, Solidago auriculata, Solidago sphacelata</i>, and <i>Taenidia integerrima</i>. In addition, <i>Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium</i>, and <i>Piptochaetium avenaceum</i> are patchy but important graminoid species. Areas of exposed weathered shale with smaller amounts of Red Mountain sandstone are frequent at the soil surface. Slopes are steep to very steep with southeast, south, and southwest aspects.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:35385-{C0CD1722-A32B-4ACE-9379-5E877BE45DEF}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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